Is it safe to co-sleep with your baby?

Dear Steemmoms and steemdads,

If you want to sleep with your children you can do it, if you don't want to it is okay too, but what's most important is to pay attention to your baby/child needs and meet them.

This is my baby fer holding her Daddy's hand while sleeping: We practice bed sharing and breast sleeping

Let's begin clarifying some concepts:

Co-sleeping: Sleeping in the same room. I.e. when you have the crib next to your bed or if you have two beds and your child sleeps in one bed and you in the other one.

Bed-sharing: Sleeping in the same bed or using a crib that it's attached to the bed

Internet's photo

Breast-sleeping: Is a new term used by the leading infant sleep expert James Mackenna, to describe when a sober breastfeeding mother sleeps with her baby on the same surface in absence of all hazardous factors

So, there are some hazardous factors to take into account and some instances in which is not recommended to bed-share nor breastsleep with your little one.

1. Never sleep with your baby in a sofa, chair or any other furniture in which your baby can be traped. Even the nursery chair is a dangerous place to fall sleep.

2. Never sleep with the baby or child if you have drunk more that one glass of wine or are under the effect of any substance, medication or smoke.

This is because if you have, you are not qualified to respond to your baby's needs, you could harm him without knowing because you are not fully conscious.

Maybe you brushed your teeth or smoked outside, but your breath and lungs still have nicotine, which makes your baby or child a second hand smoker. This means he is breathing your nicotine and other toxic quemicals. So, my advice, even if you don't co-sleep but have children: Quit smoking, for your children's sake.

1. Make sure the mattress is firm and clean of suffocating objects: No pillows, no stuffed animals, no toys. In other words: Just the mattress and the baby in her pijamas

2. Bottle-fed babies under a year of age shouldn't bed-share never. Only co-sleeping in a different surface from the parents. Not even an attached crib

3. Good moment to start thinking about continuing breastfeeding! Breastfeeding your baby protects her against SIDS, plus you can sleep with her!!!

4. Long hair? Tie it up!

5. Parenting must be a comfortable experience for mom, dad and children, so make sure both parents agree with the co-sleeping

My baby and I taking a Sunday nap!

1. Side lying Breastfeeding position ensures the safety of the baby in bed

One arm is between the baby and your pillow, so no suffocation there.

Your bended knees under the baby, prevent her to go under your sheets, again no suffocation.

Your elbow prevents daddy to accidentally hit the baby while sleeping. One less worry for Daddy!!!

1. Babies under a year of age shouldn't sleep with older children nor pets. If you have an older child then you can arrange the bed as follows: Baby, mom, dad, older children. So they are far away!

This is because older children could hit the baby without knowing while sleeping.

1. Breastfeeding mom's sleep is synchronized with her baby's sleep, amazing!!! isn't it? So, if you are breastfeeding don't worry! You will not fall asleep on top of your baby or something like that.

Would you like more child sleep posts like this? Upvote me or let me know in the comments!

Love,
Fernanda