Our first three babies were easy sleepers.Then along came our fourth child, Hayden. Hayden hated her crib. Finally one night, out of sheer exhaustion my wife, Martha, brought Hayden into our bed. From that night on we all slept better. We slept so happily together that we did it for four years, until the next baby was born! Nowadays, more and more parents are discovering the joys of what we call “co-sleeping,” either sleeping with baby alongsidethem in bed or utilizing a bedside bassinet (such as those available at www.armsreach.com.) Here are 7 of my favorite benefits of co-sleeping with baby.
1. Babies Sleep and Stay Asleep Better
Nighttime is a scary time for little people. Co-sleeping with baby will create less nighttime separation anxiety between mother and child. A calmer baby sleeps better.
2. Mothers and Infants Achieve Nighttime Harmony
Mothers also sleep better because their closeness helps them not worry about their baby. Co-sleeping mothers and babies get their sleep cycles in a synchrony called nighttime harmony. When baby is about to awaken, mother gives her familiar presence, or close-by touch, which coveys a reassuring “it’s okay, go back to sleep” message to baby.
Co-sleeping with baby allows easier access to the hungry baby. When baby is sleeping close-by in a co-sleeper, mother is able to easily get baby in and out for comforting and feeding, oftentimes without either member of the nursing pair fully awakening. Certainly this is much easier on mother and baby than having to get out of bed and go across the room or into another room to comfort a crying baby. By that time both mother and baby are wide awake and upset, and may have difficulty going back to sleep. On the other hand, co-sleeping enables both members of the nursing pair to get back to sleep more quickly.
4. Co-Sleeping with Baby fits with Busy Lifestyles
Sleeping close to each other allows mother and baby to reconnect and make up for any “touch-time” they missed during the day. This is why the Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper is an especially valuable nighttime parenting tool for working parents.
5. Easier for Baby to Grow
Babies who cry less, grow better. When co-sleeping with baby, they cry less so they can divert the energy that they would have wasted on crying into growing. One of the oldest “treatments” for babies who are not growing optimally is “sleep close to your baby.”
Co-sleeping with baby enhances parent-infant bonding. Because you have X hours of nighttime touch and comforting, co-sleeping allows family intimacy. Parents have their own sleeping space, baby has his or her own sleeping space, yet parents are close by baby to fulfill nighttime needs.
7. Infants Develop Healthy Sleep Habits
Co-sleeping helps your baby develop a healthy sleep attitude. Baby grows up regarding sleep as a pleasant state to enter and a fearless state to remain in. This healthy sleep attitude is one of the best lifelong investments you can make.
Also see the following articles for additional co-sleeping information:
Scientific Benefits of Co-Sleeping
Safe Co-sleeping Habits
More information about the Co-Sleeper bassinet is available atwww.armsreach.com.
We wish your family a restful night’s sleep!
Dr. Bill Sears
Dr. Sears, or Dr. Bill as his “little patients” call him, has been advising busy parents on how to raise healthier families for over 40 years. He received his medical training at Harvard Medical School’s Children’s Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the world’s largest children’s hospital, where he was associate ward chief of the newborn intensive care unit before serving as the chief of pediatrics at Toronto Western Hospital, a teaching hospital of the University of Toronto. He has served as a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California School of Medicine, and University of California: Irvine. As a father of 8 children, he coached Little League sports for 20 years, and together with his wife Martha has written more than 40 best-selling books and countless articles on nutrition, parenting, and healthy aging. He serves as a health consultant for magazines, TV, radio and other media, and his AskDrSears.com website is one of the most popular health and parenting sites. Dr. Sears has appeared on over 100 television programs, including 20/20, Good Morning America, Oprah, Today, The View, and Dr. Phil, and was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine in May 2012. He is noted for his science-made-simple-and-fun approach to family health.
Less stress means lower levels of cortisol (stress hormone), which in turn means a healthier baby. Co-sleeping also stabilises an infant's body temperature and raises their oxygen levels by way of loving parental touch and gestures that naturally occur during sleep.
There is no consensus on when a baby should stop co-sleeping and start sleeping in their own room. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing for at least the first 6 months, which is when the risk of injury or death during sleep is highest.
Reports also show that children who co-slept in their parent's beds allowed relationships to foster between the child and their parents. The extra time spent together, even when sleeping creates a tight bond and closeness with each other.
A small 2004 study of 83 preschoolers found that children who slept alone from an early age fell asleep more on their own and slept more through the night, but the preschoolers who coslept from an early age were more likely to dress themselves, entertain themselves, and work out problems with peers on their own.
Co-sleeping with a child over 1 year old has a little less risk than with one under 12 months. At a toddler's age of 1 to 2 years old, they can roll over and free themselves in case they are trapped in the bed. As a child gets older, it becomes less risky to co-sleep, but it's still best for them to sleep on their own.
Higher self-esteem. Boys who co-slept with their parents between birth and five years of age had significantly higher self-esteem and experienced less guilt and anxiety. For women, co- sleeping during childhood was associated with less discomfort about physical contact and affection as adults (Lewis & Janda, 1988).
If you are co-sleeping with a baby who is under 12 months, we would recommend getting them sleeping in their own bed again as soon as possible. Over 12 months, the risk of SIDs - sudden unexplained infant death, decreases, so there is less urgency in stopping co-sleeping.
Like all mammals, humans have been sleeping alongside their babies for millions of years. Babies have an innate desire to stay in constant contact with their caregivers for survival.
Co-sleeping is a species-typical and experience-expectant environment directing infants' neurodevelopment. Complexity science is used to show how the mother-infant dyad is a complex adaptive system (CAS). Co-sleeping is related to attachment, parental sensitivity, responsiveness, and mother-infant synchrony.
Those who reported sleeping with a partner also generally indicated that they felt more supported in their relationships. Additionally, researchers found that participants sleeping with a partner reported fewer cases of insomnia, fatigue, and more time asleep than those sleeping alone.
Studies have shown that extended co-sleeping can improve long-term emotional and mental health. Self-esteem, anxiety, happiness, and behaviour problems can all potentially be positively affected by choosing to practice extended co-sleeping.
Staying close to the adult's body helps the baby remain at a more stable body temperature. Physical contact, in close cosleeping, helps babies to "breathe more regularly, use energy more efficiently, grow faster, and experience less stress," says McKenna.
Several studies show that the prevalence of co-sleeping is a result of cultural preference. In a study of 19 nations, a trend emerged, depicting a widely accepted practice of co-sleeping in Asian, African, and Latin American countries, while European and North American countries rarely practiced it.
Overall, babies simply find it easier to fall and stay asleep next to mom than they do dad. Mothers are also the source of breastfeeding which makes it much more natural to continue the night when milk is available.
Bed-sharing increases the chance of suffocation, strangulation, and SIDS. An adult bed has many safety risks for a baby, including: suffocation from a soft mattress, memory foam, waterbed, or loose or soft bedding such as pillows, blankets, or quilts.
The AAP says co-sleeping is especially dangerous if the baby is younger than 4 months, was born prematurely, or had a low birth weight. The risk also increases if someone in bed smokes, drinks, or takes drugs—or if the co-sleeping surface is soft and has bedding.
Introduction: My name is Saturnina Altenwerth DVM, I am a witty, perfect, combative, beautiful, determined, fancy, determined person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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2. Mothers and Infants Achieve Nighttime Harmony
2. Mothers and Infants Achieve Nighttime Harmony
