Co sleeping and SIDS leaflet at doctors

[Rowanhart]

I was planning in co sleeping when our DD is born in three weeks.

I was at docs today waiting for whooping cough jab when saw a leaflet called Risks of co sleeping.

In it said that infant mortality due to co sleeping is high the area we live in and we should never co sleep.

Also had quotes from two mums whose babies had died due to co sleeping,

I thought it was recommended? Confused now but thinking co sleeping is a big no no...

I had a bedside cot but most of the time my children slept in our bed, they still do come in quite a lot even now they are older. I never intended them to be there but I actually loved having them close as babies and I still love having them near me.

I initially wanted them close as I BF them both.

Its when they are small really you have to be careful. Mine both still come into my bed (aged 7 and 2.5) but that?s because I don?t discourage it.

I have with all four of mine. From day one with all of them. In fact DS 1 who was a c-section was put in the hospital bed next to me on the first night. DS 2 quite liked the moses basket and did sleep in it for the earlier part of the night but ended up in with me later. I always found that I got really sleepy during the night feeds in the first few months so for me sitting in a chair to feed would have been dodgy.

Baby always slept on top of the duvet (although I have read since that might not be the best thing to do as potentially baby could still get hot from lying on top of the duvet - personally I would worry about the duvet falling on top of them during the night if they weren't on top of it) with cellular blankets. I have a bedguard on the bed and baby was always next to me with pillows well away.

I love it and it feels totally unnatural to put a baby in a cot to me. Just my opinion and I know that there are pros and cons to either decision.

x

Just looking at the OP again Rowan and noticing it has the phrase "infant mortality due to co-sleeping" am just thinking that no-one can really say any death is due to co-sleeping anymore than you'd say "due to cot sleeping"

• Even if it is shown that there is a slightly increased risk (which I don't think we know yet ?) it would still just be one of the circumstances of the tragedy and possibly one of the risk factors.

SIDS is sudden unexplained infant death isn't it ? It would be good if we knew more about the reasons and could do more to prevent these tragedies.
ATM I think we just have some risk factors to take into account as we make the best decisions we can in our parenting.

This has really useful information too. www.unicef.org.uk/BabyFriendly/News-and-Research/Research/Bed-sharing-and-infant-sleep

I co slept with both my boys for a short period of time. My first really didn't like sleeping alone when he was very little - why would he? I used to try and try all sorts of ridiculous, exhausting tricks to get him to settle in his moses basket each night until I let him sleep with me. I too was terrified about the dangers as had be "warned" about it and certainly never felt comfortable about it to begin with. Time made me grow more comfortable with it.

Even before he was born I decided that if my second baby wanted to sleep with me then he would. I certainly wasn't going to try all the tricks again (warming his little bed with a hot water bottle, lowering him into the basket at painstakingly slow speeds...). It was too much - I wanted sleep.
For each child after each breast feed I would put them into their basket but if they didn't settle quickly then they would quickly come in with me. And for both boys they settled into their own cribs in their own time after several weeks of bed sharing. Obviously when they were comfortable and secure enough.

I have to admit that I never really slept properly when they were in with me ( they did though!) but it was so much better than hearing them cry and me wearing myself out trying to settle them. And on more than one occasion did I have that awful feeling that they had squiggled under the quilt. A few seconds of frantic searching all over the bed until I realised they were snoozing away in their own bed. Really terrifying when you are more than half asleep.

As with all things - inform yourself and then do what is right for you and your baby.