King Beds Are Made For Two, End Co-Sleeping

So on July 24th, our house flooded. We lost our bedroom, closets, bathroom, den, playroom, and office! Everything is torn out and gutted. Still figuring out how all the water got in. That is why we are still not back downstairs in our bedroom! I tell you all this because we lost our bedroom when this happened. We are camped out in our living room now until it is fixed. But since this has happened now my three years old wants to camp out with us as well! I struggled with that for a moment because I love snuggling with my daughter. But then it hit me, my husband and I were already sharing a full-size air mattress and adding even the smallest little girl; I just couldn’t imagine how that would end up! HA! That is what brought me to write this, though. I know so many who co-sleep and I want to know why. Why, when co-sleeping is so dangerous and unhealthy. Of course, there are articles out there saying it is ok. People who want to co-sleep write them…but that’s just my opinion.

I get this is a very touching subject; I am a mom of two kids, and I did not co-sleep with either of them! Some of you believe that sleeping with their little one can help with nursing and bonding! Of course, I snuggled with my little one, a lot, I also nursed them both for about 17 months, but I never fell asleep with either of them. There are others who believe co-sleeping could affect their little one from eventually sleeping on their own, cause sleeping problems, increase risks of suffocation and disturbances or causes issues with being independent!

The one thing I am standing firm with is that The the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) position is that babies should sleep close to their parents but not in the same bed.

My husband almost died from co-sleeping! His mom was sleeping with him, and his face was buried in the bed and sheets. Thankfully, someone came in and noticed and rescued him in time! There are so many other families out there that weren’t as lucky, though.

In MY opinion, I was so fearful that I would roll over my child and smother him or her! I move all over the bed! That and I sleep with like a sheet, blanket and huge comforter…also did I mention…You are asleep! How can you control your body? And I have a friend who said that “she knew her child was there, and she would never roll over her child bc she could sense her child was there”… OK, then you aren’t getting a decent amount of sleep because you are being so self-conscious about what you are doing when you are sleeping! I was already on such a small amount of sleep if I had to keep one eye open the whole night I would be a zombie!

Something else I lost sleep over was SIDS. I had such a fear of this until my kids were well over one-year-old. My son is 18 months old, my daughter three years old and I still check in on them to make sure they are sleeping on their back and breathing well. Every time I wake up, I check the baby monitor too! I want to be very cautious because I have friends who have lost a child to SIDS.

I just want to bring awareness to parents who do sleep with their little one. If something did happen and due to co-sleeping I just couldn’t live with myself when I could have been prevented! We had a bassinet right beside our bed! They even make some that can be in the bed but is high enough that the newborn won’t roll out! Why not use something like that? Just my opinion there!

I have read things stating that co-sleeping can decrease SIDS but if your bed isn’t safe enough, you smoke or drink, you are increasing the risk! Is It Worth IT?

Again, speaking from friends that have slept with their child, once you are ready for your bed back, how hard was it to keep your bed empty! When my son was four months old, my husband and I made the decision to move him out of the bassinet in our room to his crib in his room. It didn’t happen overnight, but we got him there, and now he sleeps soundly. Now for my friends who slept with their kids..oh I mean sleep with their 4 and two-year-old! I love that when my kids wake up, they jump in bed with us if we aren’t already up. But at night… this mommy and daddy want our space! My husband works an odd schedule, and when he gets home late at night, he just wants to come home and crash. Or if he needs to vent or talk and if we had kids in the bed we would be tiptoeing around making sure we didn’t wake them! My friends four year old now struggles each night when they try to get him to sleep in his big boy bed! The other one wants to sleep with her brother, and they allow it! MOM..DAD.. kids need space. It is ok to allow them to grow up! I promise they will still need you and love you the same amount in the morning if you make them sleep alone.

My goal in writing this was not to tick anyone off. I wanted to share the danger of co-sleeping.
Doctors at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital say they hear about co-sleeping deaths every year.
The life of your child is too important! You can have them close…just not so close! There has been even cases where the parent was charged because their little one died from co-sleeping. I disagree with this because it is tragic. Losing a child is devastating! No one should learn the hard way here…Not when it can be prevented, though! Help spread the awareness!

Also read our other parenting tips:

4 Tips to Parenting
Gentle Parenting
Karla’s Korner: Top Ten Parenting Tips …Sort of