Co-sleeping - making it work

Elizabeth Pantley
May 14, 2008
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Baby

Elizabeth Pantley, Author of of "Gentle Baby Care" and "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" , talks about co-sleeping.

Question:
We're expecting our first baby soon and thinking about using a family bed. We've done a lot of research on the "whys" - and there's lots of information out there. But what about the practical tips? How do we set things up?

Learn about it
The family bed, co-sleeping, shared sleep - no matter what you call it, it means that your baby sleeps with you, or very close to you. The family bed is becoming more and more common (or perhaps it's always been common but more people are now talking about it.) Sharing sleep is very popular with parents (particularly nursing mothers) of young babies who wake throughout the night, since it allows parents to avoid getting up out of bed and traveling up and down a dark hallway. Co-sleeping is popular also with parents of older babies who enjoy the night time closeness with their child.

There are as many different styles of family beds as there are families! Here are a few of the typical sleeping arrangements:

The family bed
Parents and baby sleep together in one bed ¾ usually king-sized.

Side-by-side
The child sleeps on a separate mattress or futon on the floor next to the parent's bed.

Sidecar
A cradle or crib is nestled adjacent to the parent's bed, sometimes with one side of the crib removed.

Shared room
The baby and parents have separate beds in the same room.

The use of these arrangements varies from home to home also. Some of the common sleep situations are:

Shared sleep with the baby during the night and for naps.

Part-time shared sleep for either naps or nighttime only, or some of both, with baby in a crib, cradle or other place for other sleep times. Continued...