Baby in the Bed

[Gerryd]

Hi There,

Just reading that some of the mothers on this site have their baby sleep in their bed at night... surely this isnt worth the risk as 300 children a year die this way..

Any comments...

I have coslept with both my DDs, I think it is a lovley very safe way of you both sleeping and feeding. If you follow the guidelines correctly as others have mentioned re alcohol, smoking etc I'm sure it reduces the risk.

I have spoken to several mothers from other countries where cosleeping is the norm as is natural babywearing, they think prams and cots are alien. They also say that cot death is very rare in their countries. Also the cot is only a modern invention so if cosleeping was really that dangerous there would be a lot less of us about.

Again it is your own choice and we all do what we believe is best for our children.

I think alot of it is scare tatics by some statistics, thanks for all your posts, i wont be so scared to bring my baby into bed with me for feeds etc. Usually wake myself up and make sure i am on the sofa or something! . I didnt mean to offend or cause argument - new on here(note to self be aware of my tone!)

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

n: (gerryd)

more babies die or are injured when a tired mum falls asleep feeding on a sofa or chair, than does a baby who is cuddled and who co-sleeps safely at the breast of his sleeping mum. also breastfeeding mother and child never enter into the 3rd stage (deepest stage) of sleep, so they are ready to wake at a moments notice should something go wrong. the same is not true for bottle feeding mums though (and anyway, i defy you to make up a bottle while still sleeping in bed! lol)

mummy2ashton, making a bottle while in bed is easy peasy, you poke your dh and make him get it!!! haha
Also, although we started out mixed feeding we are now just on bottles (dh is 21mths) and I can truthfully say that I sleep very lightly but restfully and am fully aware of every tiny flicker of movement that ds makes. When he had a temperature about 4wks ago I found sleeping next to me actually brought his temp down and helped to regulate it, and although I didn't get a full night of real quality sleep for a few nights (who does with a poorly baby?) I did get some good rest and was hyper aware of every little movement/shuffle/sniffle/sigh/fart/snore. The deep sleep thing might be true on the whole for bfing families, but even though we´re on bottles I believe it's true for us too and I'm sure for others.
I agree though that it is of course best to be well informed and to be aware that the expert opinion is as you mention.

This may be of intrest to you
unicef
I co slept with both of mine, and it made breastfeeding sooooo much easier, and they have both been great sleepers. I just made sure i was very careful and followed obvious precautions.
Waaa hooo my first sucessful link (I hope!!!)

Co-sleeping is safe if basic precautions are followed. Many babies sadly die in their beds each year, whether their bed is with their parents or in a cot or moses basket. In cultures where co-sleeping is the norm, they don't have a word for "cot death" - it is simply unknown. The evidence strongly suggests that co-sleeping is protective against SIDS. For anyone who is interested I would recommend reading "Three in a Bed" or "Our Babies Ourselves" - both excellent books with a lot of accurate information about co-sleeping.