Co-Sleeping: Change of Heart?

I think so!

So I did talk about this in my Youtube video, but I just wanted to have it in my blog to have more specific details on the matter.

Co-Sleeping with Josiah:

Yes, we slept in the same room till he was rolling over. When he started doing that, we moved him from his bassinet to his crib so that he had more room to "roll". He never really slept with us, the first couple of weeks he slept on mine or Ben's chest on and off and after that he was fine and slept by himself in the bassinet beside me. I didn't bedshare with him because 

a.) I did what society told me that's what I was suppose to do with my baby 

and 

b.) I didn't know what the heck I was doing!

I honestly think that if I would have done my research and asked questions I probably would've have succeeded with a lot of things. I regret some of the things that I did(and didn't do) with Josiah. 

But all in all I'm glad that he is healthy and alive today!

I'm so happy that I get to try again, I know more of what I am doing now. I feel more confident than ever with this baby. I'm not scared like I was the first time around. I'm reading and watching and doing and experimenting. I'm choosing to do things that I didn't do the first time. I'm doing what is comfortable for me. 

Co-Sleeping with #2:

More like Bed sharing! I'm still trying to convince my husband,(which I'm slowly succeeding at!)he still doesn't quite understand the benefits of it all. But that's OK, I'm a patient woman, and I will continually try to point out the facts to him. Facts are big to this guy! :) My thoughts on this now is that your baby has been inside of you for 9+ months, that's all it has known! Why put that poor little newborn in a bed all by itself? Let's just say that mom and baby, aren't going to get as much sleep as nature planned. 

But I had the hardest time breastfeeding Josiah, my thought then was, why should I always have to be the one up in the night every 2 hours? Little did I know that if I bed shared with the little guy, it would've have made breastfeeding at night 100xs better! Instead of getting up out of my bed, picking him up, get situated, get boob out, then feed. I could have just(let's just say it cause its true) plop boob out, then feed. I could still be half asleep(but aware), while feeding little Josiah.

Like I said, before I had no idea. Now? Bring it on!

Here is another good reason to bed share

Now what momma doesn't want to wake up to that every morning?

This was about March, but it was still so cold that we all camped upstairs by the fireplace where it was nice and warm. We didn't sleep altogether on the air mattress, but when i woke up to make breakfast, I set my little man down right next to my hubby. I love this picture. :)

The only issue that I have with bed sharing is the room. We only have a queen size bed and just with Ben and I needing our own space, its close to fine. But there is a solution that I found(actually my friend Jessica posted) that may work. I just gotta put the hubby to work about a few weeks before LO is born. 

It'll be perfect and I can't wait for the experience.

My blogger friend Kayla did an excellent post on her view on Co-Sleeping and the facts.

I copied a list of the benefits of co-sleeping,(hope you don't mind K)but check her blog out! 

She's got some awesome views on topics that I'm going to be using with #2!

• Mother's can react better and quicker to their baby.  As in, they can sense when their baby is waking more easily and quicker and can get them settled back down and back to sleep.  If the baby is in another room, the baby has to wake up more fully to be able to cry louder to wake up the mother, which then can take longer to settle the baby back down and get him/her back to sleep.

• Nighttime bonding makes for more independent children.  Research has shown that babies that co-sleep are more independent and have higher self-esteem than solitary sleepers because they have secure attachments to their parents.

• Feeding is easier.  It encourages breastfeeding.  It's so easy to just roll over and feed your child.  Neither the mother or baby has to fully wake up, which makes falling back asleep that much easier.  The studies show that co-sleeping babies want to eat about 3 times as often as solitary sleepers during the night, but because of not having to get out of bed or fully wake up, co-sleeping moms have reported better and longer sleep than those who have to get out of bed.  (I can 100% attest to this!)

• The working father gets to have snuggle time and extra bonding with his child, when he doesn't get a lot of time during the day for it. 

• Co-sleeping can reduce the risk of SIDS because the baby is hearing the mother's breathing rhythm and her carbon dioxide breath encourages deeper breaths from the baby.

• Stress hormones are lower in both the mother and baby, which helps promote healthy growth.

• They grow up actually more independent from their peers.

• They perform better in school, have higher self-esteem and fewer health problems.

• Co-sleeping is commonplace in 2/3^rd’s of the world. 

• Co-sleeping children have fewer nightmares and fewer nighttime disturbances.

• Although there are risks of co-sleeping (blankets, getting trapped in between the bed and headboard), there are also plenty of risks that come with babies sleeping in their own crib also.  (Crib safety recalls are anything but rare.) 

Thanks for reading!

-Jess