Co-Sleeping Beauties...

~ Posted on Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 9:17 AM ~

Welcome to the Safe Cosleeping Blog Carnival!

This post was written for inclusion in the Safe Cosleeping Blog Carnival hosted by Monkey Butt Junction . Our bloggers have written on so many different aspects of cosleeping. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.


When Ben was 17 months old, I wrote a post about the Beauty of Co-sleeping with him. He's 33 months old now and yeap, still co-sleeps with us. Our 3 months old baby girl is also co-sleeping with us on the same bed.

Now, I co-sleep to:

* breastfeed BOTH my children (yes, even my 33 months old boy)

* sleep better, I don't need to physically get out of the bed in order to feed my child. All I need to do is just turned sideways (Ben on my left, Alyson on my right) and nursed them back to sleep

* provide assurance and comfort to my children

* enjoy the beautiful sight of pure angelic faces sleeping next to me!

Of course, if you googled around, there are many more benefits (and risks) of co-sleeping. What works for us, may not necessarily works for others. All I'm saying is co-sleeping works for us.

I myself co-sleep with my parents until I turned 7 years old. I remember the comfort of being right next to my parents, waking up from a nightmare and realising I'm protected by my parents who are just right next to me and feeling everything is going to be fine.

How long is this going to last? As long as we want to be next to them I guess...


Safe Cosleeping Blog Carnival

Thanks for reading a post in the Safe Cosleeping Blog Carnival. On Carnival day, please follow along on Twitter using the #CosleepCar hashtag.
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
  • Emotive Co-Sleeping Campaign - Miriam at Diary of an Unconscious Mother talks about her feelings on Milwaukee’s anti-cosleeping crusade and its latest advertising campaign.
  • Why Cosleeping has Always been the Right Choice for My Family - Patti at Jazzy Mama shares how lucky she feels to have the privilege of sleeping with her four children.
  • Cosleeping is a safe, natural and healthy solution parents need to feel good about. - See how Tilly at Silly Blatherings set up a side-car crib configuration to meet her and her families' needs.
  • Black and White: Race and the Cosleeping Wars - Moorea at Mama Lady: Adventures in Queer Parenting points out the problem of race, class and health when addressing co-sleeping deaths and calls to action better sleep education and breastfeeding support in underprivileged communities.
  • Reflections on Cosleeping - Jenny at I’m a Full Time Mummy shares her thoughts on cosleeping and pictures of her cosleeping beauties.
  • Cosleeping and Transitioning to Own Bed - Isil at Smiling Like Sunshine shares her experiences in moving beyond the family bed.
  • What Works for One Family - Momma Jorje shares why cosleeping is for her and why she feels it is the natural way to go. She also discusses the actual dangers and explores why it may not be for everyone.
  • Really High Beds, Co-Sleeping Safely, and the Humanity Family Sleeper - Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama gives a quick view of Jennifer’s bed-sharing journey and highlights the Humanity Family Sleeper, something Jennifer could not imagine bed-sharing without.
  • Crying in Our Family Bed - With such a sweet newborn, why has adding Ailia to the family bed made Dionna at Code Name: Mama cry?
  • Dear Mama: - Zoie at TouchstoneZ shares a letter from the viewpoint of her youngest son about cosleeping.
  • Cuddle up, Buttercup! - Nada of The MiniMOMist and her husband Michael have enjoyed cosleeping with their daughter Naomi almost since birth. Nada shares why the phrase "Cuddle up, Buttercup!" has such special significance to her.
  • Co-Sleeping With A Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler - Kerry at City Kids Homeschooling shares how co-sleeping calls us to trust our inner maternal wisdom and embrace the safety and comfort of the family bed.
  • Fear instead of Facts: An Opportunity Squandered in Milwaukee - Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction discusses Milwaukee’s missed opportunity to educate on safe cosleeping.
  • Cosleeping: A Mini-rant and a Lovely Picture - Siobhan at Res Ipsa Loquitor discusses her conversion to cosleeping and rants a little bit about the Milwaukee Health Department anti-cosleeping campaign.
  • Our Cosleeping Story - Adrienne at Mommying My Way shares her cosleeping story and the many bonus side effects of bedsharing.
  • Cosleeping can be safe and rewarding Christy at Mommy Outnumbered shares how her cosleeping experiences have been good for her family.
  • Adding one more to the family bed Lauren at Hobo Mama discusses the safety logistics of bed sharing with a new baby and a preschooler.
  • The Truth About Bedsharing - Dr. Sarah at Parenting Myths and Facts discusses the research into bedsharing and risk - and explains why it is so often misrepresented.
  • Cosleeping as a parenting survival tool - Melissa V. at Mothers of Change describes how she discovered cosleeping when her first baby was born. Melissa is the editor and a board member for the Canadian birth advocacy group, Mothers of Change.
  • Dear Delilah - Joella at Fine and Fair writes about her family bed and the process of finding the cosleeping arrangements that work best for her family.
  • CoSleeping ROCKS! - Melissa at White Noise talks about the evolution of cosleeping in her family.
  • Safe Sleep is a Choice - Tamara at Pea Wee Baby talks about safe sleep guidelines.
  • 3 Babies Later: The Evolution of our Family Bed - Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment talks about how her family’s cosleeping arrangements evolved as her family grew.
  • Tender Moments - The Accidental Natural Mama discusses tender cosleeping moments.
  • Cosleeping Experiences - Lindsey at An Unschooling Adventure describes how she ended up co-sleeping with her daughter through necessity, despite having no knowledge of the risks involved and how to minimise them, and wishes more information were made available to help parents co-sleep safely.
  • The early days of bedsharing - Luschka at Diary of a First Child shares her early memories of bedsharing with her then new born and gets excited as she plans including their new arrival into their sleeping arrangements.
  • The Joys of Cosleeping in Pictures - Charise of I Thought I Knew Mama shares pictures of some of her favorite cosleeping moments.
  • Symbiotic Sleep - Mandy at Living Peacefully With Children discusses how the symbiotic cosleeping relationship benefits not only children but also parents.
  • Co-sleeping Barriers: What’s Stopping You? - Kelly at Becoming Crunchy shares how she was almost prevented from gaining the benefits of co-sleeping her family currently enjoys.
  • Co-Sleeping with the Family Humanity Sleeper - Erica at ChildOrganics shares a way to make co-sleeping safe, comfortable and more convenient. Check out her post featuring the Humanity Organic Family Sleeper.
  • Why We Cosleep - That Mama Gretchen’s husband chimes in on why cosleeping is a benefit to their family.
  • Adding to the Family Bed - Darah at A Girl Named Gus writes about her co-sleeping journey and what happens when a second child comes along.
A big thank you to all of the Safe Cosleeping Blog Carnival participants!

Comments (16) -

mei

Just curious if daddy also on the same bed for your case - 2 adults and 2 children co-sleeping? We are also considering whether to let the coming 2nd child co-sleep with us, since we've given up moving the 1st child to his own bed after co-sleeping with us for almost 2 years.  

Jenny @ I'm a full-time mummy

Hello mei!
Yes, daddy is of course is sleeping with us. Back before baby #2 comes along, Ben and I will be sleeping on the King size mattress and daddy will be on the single bed mattress right next to it (daddy afraid he might treat Ben as bolster Tong) but when Alyson came along, we bought a Queen size mattress to replace the single bed mattress. Somehow, Ben, Alyson and I ended up sleeping on the Queen size bed and daddy ends up hogging the whole King size bed!

mei

Nice. You have really big room!! Thanks for sharing. Recently my 2 year old toddler let us hug him like a bolster at night, so that he have the adult bolster all to himself :p so cute and warmth Smile Oh ya, what are the precautions you take to avoid the little one from falling down from the bed? Remove the bed frame and put the mattresses on the floor instead?

Jenny @ I'm a full-time mummy

Yes Mei, recently also my boy wants me to hug him until he sleeps. If I move my hand away, he'll turn around and grabbed my hand and hug himself with my hand Tong

Our bed mattress is on the floor. The moment my 1st child start crawling, we took out the bed frame already. Ever since then, mattress never put back on the frame... At the early stage of our child crawling, we also put those alphabet foam mats on the floor to soften the fall in case...

Lindsey

Lovely. I love having my daughter next to me too. There's nothing like waking up to her beautiful face right beside me. Smile

aurie

Awe - I would love waking up to those adorable faces too!!

Dionna @ Code Name: Mama

I *love* having two little faces next to me at night Smile And it's awesome that you remember cosleeping with such fondness - I don't think I've ever talked to an adult who coslept for so long!

Moorea Malatt

I don't think I'll get to have a second, but this post makes me look forward to cosleeping with two!
Moorea@MamaLady

Dominique@Dominique's Desk

I co-sleep with my youngest. But she's on a single bed next to our queen size bed.

Jenny @ I'm a full-time mummy

Hey Aurie!
Smile

Hi Christy!
Thank you!

Hey Dionna!
Oh yes, co-sleeping with my parents is one of the fondest memories I have of them!

Hi Moorea!
Smile Thanks for dropping by!

Hey Dominique!
I think it might be easier to transition your girl to her own bed next time with your arrangement now Smile

jasmine

awwwww, such a sweet, heartwarming post. Smile

Carol

I have two children (oldest girl- 6) and (boy-3). Interestingly enough my daughter is the one who still comes in to our bedroom every night at some point. She is clearly afraid of the dark even though we use multiple night lights. We have a king sized bed so it helps when she comes in. We have accepted her coming in to our bed during the night however it has been getting more difficult as she moves around a lot when sleeping and causes my husband and I to get less sleep as we wake up frequently. What is the best way to transition her in to her own bed full-time? Any ideas/methods?  

Jenny @ I'm a full-time mummy

Hi Carol!
I have friends who put their child on their own bed right next to their bed, meaning for your case, you and hubby will still be on the King size bed and your child will be on a separate mattress but still right next to your bed. I co-sleep until I was 7 years old and then moved onto my own bed.

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