Coming Out

I am coming out of the Closet.  No, not like that....I am coming out of the co-sleeping closet. We are a co-sleeping family.  It was not in my original familial plan.  It began when Kyle was a newborn.  Jason couldn't handle the"cry it out" bit.  Despite my telling him if we do this now don't be mad when he is STILL in our bed at 2 and 3...which he is.  And what I do for one I have to do for the other.  So after buying a new KING size bed there are 4 of us in it every night.

It is not something I like all the time, but the nights they are not in here I miss them.  Don't get confused; once they are asleep I always put them in their beds but inevitably they come back in.  I was ashamed of this fact until recently.  I learned the other day that there are more and more families co-sleeping and that there are a lot of benefits to SAFE co-sleeping.

Ease of breastfeeding

Better sleep for mom and baby

Mothers can react to baby

Bed bonding results in more independent children: Generally speaking, research around secure and insecure attachments show that children that are securely attached to their parents become independent more easily and those that are insecurely attached end up being anxious or overly dependent. As it relates to bed sharing specifically, one study (reported on p.141 of Natural Parenting – Back to Basics in Infant Care) found that “routinely sharing the parents’ bed in infancy has been associated with greater self-reliance and social independence at preschool age than a history of solitary sleeping (Keller, M. A., and Goldberg, 2004).” Other studies have also consistently reported higher self-esteem among children and adults that co-slept during childhood.

Allows working parents to connect with their child

Those are just a few benefits I found.  There are more.  I know co-sleeping isn't for everyone and not everyone agrees with it and I can see your side too.  It just seems to be what works in our family.  Though not every night is comfortable I know one day they will not want to sleep with us anymore and I know I will miss it.   Who am I trying to kid: Jay will miss it too.

So there it is..now you know.. WE ARE CO-SLEEPERS.  Kinda feels good to get it out there =) I am off to put the babes in their own beds.  Hopefully it will be for the night, but we'll see.  Happy sleeping, in whatever way works for YOUR family =)

P.S Watch for my blog about fighting over the pillow!