Co-sleeping is a practice in which babies and young children sleep close to one or both parents, as opposed to in a separate room. Co-sleeping individuals sleep in sensory proximity to one another, where the individual senses the presence of others.
From the very beginning, I never gave it a second thought. My child would sleep with me forever. Or at least until she felt comfortable and confident to sleep in her own room. It is definitely going to be her decision, not mine. I carried her inside of me and slept every night with her in my belly for 33 weeks and 4 days, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of being away from her even if it were down the hall. She was in the NICU for 2 weeks and 2 days, and it was extremely hard to be away from her, but we pushed through. I took the advice of the nurses to do skin-to-skin, and I would hold her and put her down my shirt. She was so tiny, she would just fit right there. Her favorite spot was to get positioned right over my heart. I would sit with her for hours between feedings; it was magical to me that the closeness I felt with her was beyond words to describe.
So even though we were now home, I still continued this all day long, every day. They say if you hold a baby all day they will be spoiled. I couldn’t see it, nor did I hear what they were saying. She was my baby, and this was what we were doing.
Being that she was so tiny, I would lay with her in the bed until she was completely asleep. Then I would put her in the bassinet, and I would sleep until it was time to pump. Once she was bigger and outgrew the bassinet, it was all night with Mommy. My left shoulder is her favorite spot to drift off to sleep. And, here we are, four years later, and her sleeping in the bed is the only way she can sleep. Even throughout the night, she has to be touching me with a foot or her hand somewhere so that she has the reassurance that I am there.
Time goes by so fast, and now as I am writing this, she will be waking up for her first day of PreK. Knowing that I have been able to wake up to her beautiful smiling face each morning has been worth every bit of good sleep that I may have lost with her feet in my face or not being able to turn over without waking up. It’s truly been worth it, and I know our time will come to an end sooner than I want. But for now, she is always going to be my baby, an extension of myself, and having her right beside me has and always will be one of my fondest memories.
Cosleeping isn’t for everyone, and it doesn’t make you a better mom if you do or a bad mom if you don’t. It’s whatever works for you that is most important. No matter what others say because trust me .everyone has their opinion. At the end of the day, it’s your life, your child and your choice.