Naturally Attached!
These are our children, lets take responsibility for them!
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Having our children sleep in the same bed with us feels so
natural and right. I can't even imagine them elsewhere. I had never heard of the
family bed when my first child was born. We had bought a crib because that is
what society says is right, who was I to think anything different (I've learned
since). My daughter did sleep in her crib the first weeks of her life, and when
I would put her down I would sleep on her floor right next to the crib. I
couldn't imagine sleeping in my own room. Silly huh? Well that didn't last long,
as soon as I brought her into our bed things got much easier and my worries were
laid to rest. I should have listened to my intuition.
*Imagine for a moment. Imagine a baby existing in a
mommies belly, safe and secure for 9 months. The baby is born and the experience
is tremendously frightening, yet when ever he is near his mother he feels the
familiar feeling of security. A few weeks pass and he is introduced to his new
sleeping quarters, resembling some kind of cage. He has always found peace when
sleeping by listening to his mothers heart beating or her breathing, yet now
suddenly he is thrust into this cage. It's scary in here, a bit cold not being
near mom, lonely, and the familiar sounds I am use to hearing are gone. This is
quite an enormous difference. Imagine the feelings of helplessness and
confusion. Now Imagine this baby shares sleep with his parents. His *desires or
needs* whether it be hunger, security or comfort are being tended to. He grows.
He begins to feel secure within himself and his surroundings. He develops trust.
His feelings are important, he is important. He is allowed to develop naturally
and respectfully without interference. He is given a gift from his parents, he
is worthy of attention and love.
We now have four people in our bed and I still wouldn't
change anything, either would my husband. We have a regular king size bed,
although we may get a California size soon. We all fit fine. I rarely get out of
bed at night with my baby, nor do we fully awaken. I do remember waking
frequently when my daughter slept in a crib, I would feed her or rock her back
to sleep, neither one of us slept much. I'm awakened to the underlining reasons
for this now. Nighttime parenting in the family bed has many advantages and one
of the best is having a good nights rest, a mom who is well rested is a much
better mom during the day. The first few nights sleeping in our family bed I did
worry about rolling over onto my baby, these feelings were short lived after I
realized even in my sleep I was fully aware of exactly where my baby was. I also
love the fact that when my children wake in the morning, I don't need to rush up
out of bed. We awaken slowly and stir around in the bed until everyone is fully
awake (this is nice if your not a morning person!)
I love having my children feel safe and secure with me
during the day and also at night.
CO-sleeping:
Nighttime bonding.
Babies learn to imitate healthy breathing patterns from
their parents.
Nurturing our babies won't stop when night falls.
Parents who bring their babies to bed sleep longer and
better.
Nursing is as simple as rolling over.
A well rested mom is a more productive mom
Links:
Suite
101/Family Bed
Ten
Reasons to Sleep Next to your Child
Go
Ahead-Sleep with Your Kids
The
Family Bed (article)
Nighttime
Nurturing
Infants
Rest A Lot Easier If Parents Sleep Nearby