How many parents co-sleep or have co-slept with their babies?

Question

Some studies have shown that over half of parents bring their baby into bed with them at least part of the night. And the number that sleep with their infants the whole night is probably considerable as well. In fact, in most countries around the world sleeping with your baby is the norm, not the exception. And what is the incidence of SIDS in these countries? During the 1990s, in Japan the rate was only one tenth of the U.S. rate, and in Hong Kong, it was only 3% of the U.S. rate. These are just two examples. Some countries do have a higher rate of SIDS, depending on how SIDS is defined.

Answer 1

i slept with my baby every night until he was about 3 months old. i was nursing and it was just easier to have him righ there. i was very paranoid of rolling on him or having my husband throw the covers over him, so i made my husband sleep on the couch, since he couldn't help feed.
i don't think i would have starting having him sleep with me until i realized he wouldn't sleep ANYWHERE out of my arms. when we laid him in his crib or bassinet, he would wake up instantly. i guess i started having him sleep with me to keep my sanity!!!

Answer 2

Not sure what you're asking, but yes co-sleeping does lower the risk of SIDS. I co-slept with both of my babies (my first fir about 9 months, my second is still sleeping with me at 13 1/2 months). There are four things that seem to lower the chances of SIDS the most: 1) not smoking around the infant, 2) breastfeeding, 3) co-sleeping, and 4) putting the child on his or her back or side to sleep. I put a few links at the bottom if you are looking for sources.

Answer 3

I kind of co-slept for a while. When my daughter was really little and needing 2-3 feedings a night my husband and I took turns bringing her to bed and feeding her. When the feeding was done sometimes we'd just let her sleep with us for a while, it was so much easier than risking her waking up again taking her to her bassinet. We tried not to do it too much though since we didn't want to have to break her of that habit. I personally feel that parents need that alone time and when the child is constantly in the bed with them it can put a damper in the relationship, especially if it continues into the toddler years.

Answer 4

My daughter slept with me from the time she came home from the hospital until she was 14 months old. Her pediatrician recommended she sleep on the opposite side of me away from my husband. He explained that whoever is the primary caregiver is usually more likely to wake up and not sleep as deeply with a baby in the bed. The risk of SIDS is lower because the baby (nor the parents!) doesn't sleep as soundly because the parent's movements and noises. Co-sleeping is not for everyone. If one parent sleeps very deeply the baby should not be in bed.

Answer 5

As infants i never co-slept with my baby unless I was spending the night at my mothers house or something like that. Now that the kids are older I do find that they are sleeping in my bed, all but the youngest he has only slept in a bassinet and then from there he went to a crib.

Answer 6

In the interest of getting a decent night sleep my baby sleeps in bed with us for most of the night. My husband and I are not heavy sleepers and also not that large and have never had an incident where we have nearly rolled on him but I have a friend whose husband did, lucky she woke up.
If I could get my baby to sleep through the night I would definitely put him back in the cot. Actually I really should. I think he wakes more often in our bed because he can smell my milk.

Answer 7

With my twins I co-slept in order to nurse in the middle of the night. It was not something that was planned, it was just easier and I got more sleep. It made for a difficult transition from my bed to their crib. One had a tougher time than the other, and he is still known (at 8 years old) to crawl into bed with my husband and I. When I gave birth to my daughter I made sure that she never slept in our bed and she has been an excellent sleeper since she was 6 weeks old.

Answer 8

I did with my first child but that was because I lived in a studio apartment ( I was young when I had her0 but the other two sleep in there beds just because I can stand being kicked and hit in the night. The last two slept in there swings next to my bed untill they were about 3 weeks old tehn they moved to a crib. They are all health kids now.

Answer 9

My (almost) 2 year old rarely coslept, but he was also formula fed and very independent. My 10 week old on the other hand, is a high needs breast-fed baby. He hasn't been able to sleep on his own since the day he was born. Because I don't believe in allowing a baby to cry it out, into my bed he goes. And he will stay there until HE is ready to transition to independent sleeping.

Answer 10

my daughter would NOT sleep in her crib. no matter how hard i tried i couldnt get her to fall asleep in there or lay down in there and sleep, so she ended up in my bed. let me tell u, i slept on a mattress in the floor, so the risk of her rolling off wasnt as bad as u think, i didnt move while i slept ever (i sleep like im dead) and it was as some people said, easier to nurse her, which i did til she was 18 months. shes 3 now, and i just got her to finally sleep in her toddler bed all through the night. im glad she does. but i have another one on the way and i have my heart set on getting this one to sleep in her/his crib every night. even though i plan on nursing. i think i have more disipline this time. and that makes a difference. btw, ive never had a scare from my daughter with her sleeping in my bed. there werent pillows around her. (just mine under my head) and she didnt like the blanket anyway so it stayed away too. (as time went by she wanted a pillow and of course to use the blanket.)

Answer 11

i have two kids. We have always allowed them to sleep in our bed. The oldest ( almost 4) will most of the time sleep in our bed, but will go through period where she likes her own bed. We let her choose where she can sleep.
Our youngest (2 1/2) has slept in our bed before. But he does better in his own bed. So he sleeps in his own all the time now. I really think it depend on the child. Some kids feel safer and sleep better with their parents, other don't.