The Family Bed

I know, I know. She'll never leave the bed. She'll be spoiled. I've heard it and I'm sticking with it. Having M in bed with us is ideal. She fusses and she gets a boob. When she's done she lets go and we continue to snooze. Really she doesn't even need to fuss. I feel her signs and in seconds she has food. It may sound crazy, but it's true. I love her being so close. To me it's the most amazing bonding experience to share sleep space with her.

Now the husband is not as much of a fan. My plan for M is for her to decide when she wants to leave the bed. Honestly I don't care when that is. I have a small window to have her like this. Before I know it she is going to be giving attitude and begging to go on dates. We've had the discussion several times. At this point he's just like 'whatever I'm done hearing about your hippie ways and you'll do it anyway.' Which is right.

We have a firm mattress which is ideal for baby. When she's in the bed I take off my pillow and pull my blankets down to my waist. She sleeps on my side of the bed, and probably will for some time. When we first started this I slowly transitioned her into the bed. She would start off in her Rock N' Play and then at six am when she woke up she would come in bed with me. Then I started putting her in at her three am wake up. The past several nights she has been in the whole night. This was more for me than it was for her. She would stay in bed all day with me if she could. I would too. I think I needed to slowly get in to this because of first time mom fear of something going wrong. Then once I saw that she was safe and this was doable we were set. I'm loving it. It feels right. Like it's what we are supposed to be doing. M and I also share the shower. When I get done I bring her in with me. She loves it. I love it. Everybody is happy. I'm telling you, when you and your baby are so much apart of each other's routines and so close it's magic. The attached life is a great life.

Here are some links on how to bed share safely and the benefits of doing so:

http://safebedsharing.org/safetyguidelines.html

http://www.suite101.com/content/psychological-benefits-of-cosleeping-a71446

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/sleep-safety/latest-research-co-sleeping-safety