Is It Better To Co-Sleep With Your Baby Or Use A Crib?

Answer 1

It's better to have your child sleep in a crib. 1. You can roll on your baby and suffocate him/her. 2. you are training your child bad habits, the child will not be able to go to sleep on their own b/c he/she is used to you sleeping with them. 3. It will be harder in the future to keep them out of your bed.

It's best to have the child sleep in the crib. Train the child to associate the crib with sleeping only. Never put the child in the crib unless you want him/her to go to sleep. AND mostly it's better on you. Get the child on a schedule, when it's time place the child in the crib they'll go to sleep or play until they fall asleep. At first, they'll cry until he/she becomes comfortable with sleeping in the crib. Crying is perfectly normal, and great for the child's lungs. Remember, as long as the baby has on a dry clean diaper, fed..he/she is just fine.

Answer 2

Definately Crib

Answer 3

I think it's better to co-sleep for the first 3-4 months when you are a breastfeeding mom. After that babies sleep for longer stretches can be put into a crib and mom only has to wake up like once a night.

Answer 4

It's a personal choice... I wasn't sure what I would do either, and then when my son was born, it just sort of happened. I kept him in a bassinet right next to me and after a feeding he would often fall asleep next to me. And if you have a child that awakes alot during the night, you don't want to disturb him. I have to admit, that the sleep that I was getting at these times was not great, because I was afraid to shift or move or really stretch out... I guess what I am trying to say is that doing both co-sleeping and crib sleeping was beneficial for both of us. We experienced the closeness of mother and child, but I was also able to get some "good sleep" from time to time, when he was sleeping in the crib. Just do whatever feels right to you.

Answer 5

Depends on the mom. Babies do best when mom is close by although they don't nessacerily have to be in bed with mom. There is some proof that baby's sleep synchonizes with mom's sleep patterns even from an early age.

If you are going to co-sleep with baby, do it safey. Be mindful of the fact that blankets and pillows can suffocate baby. Also gaps between the materress and the bedframe can pose a trapping hazard. Moms (and dads) that sleep heavily and are hard to rouse from their sleep are definate no-nos. Also overweight parents as well as those that smoke will probably want to keep baby in a crib nearby.

All that said. research suggests that sleeping with mom and dad in the room is safest. You will notice if something is wrong the baby just by the way s/he breathes iin middle of the night.

Cribs have thier dangers too. To think cribs are the safest things ever made is false. There are recalls on them every year. Sheets can be pulled off and strangle/suffocate even a toddler. There are reports of toxic vapors from the crib mattresses, ect ect. If you look at the numbers, more babies die in cribs then from sleeping with parents.

All that said. I coslept withh all of mine and swear that cosleeping saved my second born who had reflux and frequently spit up vast amounts and often choked as a result. He would often spit up at night and I'd wake up just to make sure he was beathing alright before going back to sleep.

And bad habits?? Naw... My older two were sleeping in their own beds between 18months and 2 years. (My last one sleeps part of the time in his tot bed, but isn't quite 2 yet,)

Even if you use a crib, keep it near your bed if there is room.

Answer 6

defintely use a crib or basinnet,but if u have to let the baby sleep with u then u can use a Contour Changing Table "mattress pad".u can put that on ur bed and let the baby sleep in it. it will prevent u from accidently rolling over the baby.plus,its great for use while travelling and staying in hotels or places where u cant get a crib.i would definately recommend this as a must for every parent.besdes this dual purpose u can even place the newborn baby any wher in ur house.like on a table ,the baby will b safe in it.here is a pic of the mattress pad:
http://www.ababy.com/itempage.asp?CategoryID=6&Total=65&Cur=1&itemno=2114

Answer 7

CO-SLEEPING: YES, NO, SOMETIMES?

that's is the title of the article in the second link. Thats my view- Yes, No, and sometimes.

Yes it is great! the baby is right there, it is easier to breast feed and mom and babe gget better nights rest. ALSO it has been noted in studies that the baby's breathing will sync with moms so if you have a babe that is prone to respriatory issues this might be a HUGE plus.

No- It isn't for everyone. Sometimes that someone is dad. My husband was scared to death he'd bash the babe in the head so after i recovered from the delivery and was released by the doc the babe would go to bed with us then be put in a bassenet next to the bed. By babe #3 and a bigger bed hubby was A-okay fine with the co-sleeping

Sometimes, even the most hard core co-sleepers need a BREAK! LOL my #3 was like a leech when it came to nurseing so I would put him on the floor surrounded by rolled up blankets so I could sleep but still have him nearby. He was too big for the bassenet but not yet venturing far from me- he knew his milky was right there and would only go so far.


In the end it is a personal choice. if you are nursing your babe you might find yourself a Sometime co-sleeper just because you both fall asleep.

As for is it better for babe- I can find nothing wrong with close contact with ones infant offspring at all. Now you have me wanting to go find a babe to play with.

~m

Answer 8

Better for whom?

It is absolutely better for the baby to sleep in the parents' bed. A baby who co-sleeps is more comfortable. Babies are *designed* to sleep close to an adult; a few generations of doctors warning parents of imaginary dangers is not enough to change basic human biology.

A baby who co-sleeps is less likely to die of SIDS. There is one research study that pointed out that some babies who co-sleep die of suffocation, but this study didn't distinguish between babies co-sleeping in a safe and unsafe environment, nor did it compare the relative risk of suffocation in a crib. Most importantly, however, dozens of babies die of suffocation every year in the US, whereas thousands die of SIDS. There is no comparison in terms of relative risk.

Babies in bed with their parents *may* wake more often (this is probably the mechanism that protects them from SIDS, as babies who sleep too long or too deeply are at increased risk), but they don't have to wake up all the way before the mother can roll over and nurse them back to sleep. So, everyone's sleep is less disturbed. Further, mother and baby sleep in synch so that when the mother *is* awakened, it's from a lighter sleep stage, disturbing her sleep even less.

In case of fire, a baby is safer next to her/his mother. Even if she/he is in a crib across the room, there is a greater chance that the parents can't get to her/him, and if baby is in a separate room, there may be no way to do it!!

If the night turns suddenly cold, or if the heating system suddenly stops working, baby is right there and can cuddle up and stay warm.

There will be those who will argue that having a baby in bed prevents the parents from having sex. One should note that people throughout history *did* have second kids, so this is obviously not true. Parents can wait until baby is asleep...and they can find another room in the house. But for many women, especially with a very young baby, having sex in the same room is actually better--as soon as the mother's attention is off baby, she/he wakes up crying...when baby is in bed with her, she is always aware of her/him, so baby sleeps through it...

Not to even mention how great it is to wake up to a smiling little face in the morning!!!

Answer 9

Use a crib or bassinet that is placed in your room. They have special beds that are called c-sleepers, and they attatch to one side of your bed, which makes it nice for breast feeding moms to easily feed the infant at night and not have to get out of bed or run the risk of having the baby in bed and risk accidental rollover death. The co-sleepers are enclosed on three sides and have one side open. You place your infant in the co-sleeper and when it's the three am feeding you move over to the edge of the bed and then scoot baby over towards you so they can eat and then you just scoot them back over, but this way baby is in his/her own bed at all times. Also by baby being in his/her own bed at all times, you won't need to worry about you or your spouse accidently rolling over on baby and suffocating them. You and baby will both sleep so much better that way. So if you don't want your baby to be put into his/her own crib in your room or another room, use a co-sleeper bed for your sanity as well as for the most important of all reasons, your baby's life.

Answer 10

Since I breast fed I compromised. I got a bassinet and folded the legs under it so that it fit nicely beside the bed and I could reach the baby quickly and easily to nurse and then return them to bed. I was too stressed out if they were not near me since my first child and my only son had died. With them in the bassinet beside me I could check on them at a whim and yet they were in their own space with no danger of me rolling over on them. When they were old enough to sleep through the night at about a year or a year and 1/2 I then moved them to a crib in a room close by :) Good Luck and congratulations on becoming a parent:)