co-sleeping

I never thought I would become an advocate for co-sleeping.
In fact, I was against it due to the SIDS recommendations. Before I had Charlotte, I couldn't imagine people wanting to sleep with their babies. I understood the wanting to be close to the baby, but the risks involved outweighed the benefits in my mind.

Enter Charlotte.

I enjoyed snuggling with her at night even in the hospital after she was born. She slept better and I could tend to her needs a lot easier and be a lot less awake when she was next to me. We attempted side-lying nursing in the hospital but it was impossible.

Roughly two weeks ago I started bring her into bed in the mornings. She would be in her crib, and fussy. Most of the time she had just been fed and changed, so I knew that wasn't the issue. As soon as she was next to me, she snuggled in and fell asleep. She slept soundly, and thus, so did I. I figured out the logistics of side-lying nursing (although two weeks later it's still occasionally a struggle) and a happy pair we were.
James was not. He *still* struggles with the notion that it's dangerous and that it can lead to SIDS. This is understandable and a valid point to address.

I started looking into safe co-sleeping as this was clearly something that is working for us. Little did I know what a benefit it actually has for both the mother and the baby. That if all the safety precautions are met, there is no increased risk for SIDS at all to have the baby sleeping in the bed.

I plan to read up on it a lot more as I am sure I will get some heat if the word gets out about this taking place. I want to be prepared to answer questions. I don't intend on having Charlotte sleep in our bed every night for the whole night ... seeing as I work three nights a week and James is much too heavy a sleeper to have her sleeping just with him right now. As she gets older ... especially when she starts sleeping through the night ... hopefully I can wean down the amount of time she spends in our bed, because I don't want to have to wean her back to a crib.

For the mean time, I LOVE sleeping with my baby girl. It's such a wonderful feeling to have her snuggle in to me and peacefully sleep. I love knowing that it's me she wants and it's me that can calm her. I know the day will come too soon when she no longer wants or needs her mom for that (although I don't think it will ever completely go away ...)