Co-sleeping: I Didn’t Mean To Do It.

This is one perspective of a writer on Oklahoma City Moms Blog's team. We are not medical experts on this topic, but are sharing one moms experience with co-sleeping. We encourage you to do your own research for safe-sleeping practices. We have listed some resources at the end of this post.

It started innocently enough.

After bringing my son home from the hospital, myself, my husband, or another family member/friend held my son while he slept. He was up every three hours anyway! At his 2 month check-up, I revealed to my pediatrician that yes my son had started sleeping 5-6 hour stretches, but I was still holding him every time he slept. She was quick to tell me that I must stop this,  because I needed to get some sleep for my own health and sanity. I said okay, but after checking out, I asked if I could speak to her in her office.

I sobbed and begged of her – how do I get him to sleep in his crib? He hates it. He hates when I lay him down. She had no real advice except to keep trying.

So I did. And my son “learned” to take naps in his crib and to sleep in a bassinet next to my bed which he did until 7 months of age. Then, there came something called a sleep regression.

Those are rough times for baby and mama. My son would scream on both sides of every nap and wouldn’t sleep for longer than an hour at a time during the night. Once he learned he could pull up in his crib, there was no getting him to stay asleep in there. The only thing that calmed him was sleeping with mama. I didn’t hate the snuggles. But I wanted him to sleep in his crib. Why? Probably because all the blogs I read about how children NEED to LEARN how to sleep in their cribs ALONE or they would be dependent on you forever. So every night I would attempt to rock him and put him down in his crib alone. Some nights it worked the first try, some nights it took my husband going in, and some nights it failed and he ended up in my bed.

Finally, one night, I was just too tired to attempt the transfer. So I took him to bed with me. We slept better that night than we both had in months. Thus, we became co-sleepers. I researched safe co-sleeping. I moved our bed against the wall and removed all bedding except my pillow and a fitted sheet to create the safest co-sleeping surface I could.

Now our routine has changed and we co-sleep every night. Yes, I could get more things done if I didn’t go to bed with my son at 7 PM. Yes, it would be nice to lay him down in his crib and have him fall right to sleep without crying or screaming. Yes, I plan to eventually move my son to his own room. Yes, my son is napping on me while I write this. No, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anyone else out there an accidental co-sleeper?

**Additional Resources**

Safe to Sleep Campaign

6 Safe Sleep Ideas for Exhausted (and Imperfect) Parents

How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe: AAP Policy Explained

 

Previous article10 Reasons Why PMS After Pregnancy is the Actual Worst
Next articleThe Night My Blessings Slapped Me in the Face
Jenna Myrick
Jenna became Mama Myrick in January 2017 and is learning to embrace every up and down of mom life. Before mom life, Jenna was using her MS in Organizational Leadership and Professional Human Resources certification to develop corporate learning & development programs. Jenna lives tiny and loves big with her husband, son, and three dogs in Edmond, OK. She enjoys hiking, yoga, and iced decaf americanos. A semi-crunchy minimalist, she is on a mission to live a meaningful life, raise a loving family and make the world a better place. You can follow her adventures at http://myrickmusings.wordpress.com.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here