One thing I’ve learned about being a first time mom is there is no right or wrong way to do things, so when I see people questioning my parenting it can be super annoying especially when it comes to going to the doctors. The conversation usually goes like this,

Does your baby sleep with you or in his crib?

He sleeps with me for the most part but he takes naps in his crib

Does he lay on his back or stomach?

I put him on both but he sleeps better on his stomach.

After these questions are asked here come the doctor with the same textbook response that I’m sure they give to every parent that walks in to their office. It goes something like,

When it comes to co-sleeping it is best that you let your child sleep in their own crib because it is safer for them. Some parents unknowingly roll over on their children or drop them from sleeping too hard. Also it is best for your baby to sleep on his/her back because it decreases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Once upon a time it was said that babies should sleep on their stomachs and not their backs. When it comes to which position you want your child to sleep in I say it’s all up to you. For the first three months I did as I was told and let my son sleep on his back. A lot of the times I found that he liked sleeping on his side because he would always turn himself that way. Though the doctors always said it was safer to have him on his back I did fear that he would choke from spitting up. The first few times I put him on his stomach it was during the day and I made sure to keep an eye on him. I feared that he would bury his head into the mattress/couch like he would do to my chest. For that reason I didn’t allow him to sleep on his stomach at night until he was able to turn his head on his own, which he start doing I’d say a little before he hit four months. He is now five months and sleeps on his stomach no problem.

As far as putting him in his crib I’m not on a very good routine. During the day when he takes naps I will let him sleep in there or I try my best to put him down whenever he falls asleep in my arms. Upon arriving home from the hospital I quickly found out how hard it was to get any rest especially with me nursing. Getting in and out the bed whenever he cried or was hungry became a lot.

I found that having him sleep next to me worked better. I didn’t fear rolling over on him or him falling out of the bed because of how light of a sleeper I am. I made sure to place a pillow around the border of the bed to be sure that wouldn’t happen as well. Breastfeeding also became much easier. I could nurse while we both lay down. Co-sleeping builds a bond between you and your child, which I believe is really important. Currently I’m a stay at home mom but for mothers that had to get back to work right away letting your baby sleep with you at night is a great way to connect. Another benefit of co-sleeping is you and your baby will sleep through the night. I found that my son sleeps longer and when he does wake up in the middle of the night he falls right back to sleep unlike when he slept in the crib I’d spend hours trying to get him back to bed.

Anyways moral of the story is doctors sometimes get on my nerves. I’m sure half of them let their kids sleep in their bed. Sometimes I want to say shut up I do what I want. Lol.

Parents, what worked best for you?  If you co-slept how long did you do it for?