Have you decided to co-sleep with your baby from the moment you got home? Or perhaps you realized after a few nights that it just made sense for breastfeeding? Whatever convinced you that co-sleeping was the natural way for human babies and mothers to sleep, I'm glad you're here!
In an ideal world, all new moms would get good information on why co-sleeping is best for babies and how to make sure to co-sleep safely. Unfortunately, the reality is that we're often rather focusing on highlighting expensive products like your friend's amazing co-sleeping bassinet or cute nests for baby to sleep in.
Hospital nurses do provide useful information on discharge but in most countries (and I hear this is changing!), these don't include co-sleeping recommendations other than the common:
- Keep baby in your room for the first 6 months (reduces the risk of SIDS and supports establishing breastfeeding)
- Monitor your room's temperature to keep it somewhere between 16 and 20 Celsius degrees
- And too often, simply: don't bring baby into your bed as it causes risks of suffocation (from duvets, covers, etc.)
It would be so much better (and safer!) if parents received information on the different ways to co-sleep and how to bedshare safely should ever baby sleep in their bed. And we know this happens all the time! Regardless of whether a new mom was planning on it or not. I think I saw a stat that around 90% of breastfeeding moms end up co-sleeping at some point.
It can also just be that you fall asleep while nursing baby in the side-lying breastfeeding position. Whatever the reason, it makes sense to prepare for it. It's way more dangerous to tell moms they simply shouldn't bedshare! So how do you plan your bed for safe bedsharing and more generally for co-sleeping without any risks?
Here we'll focus on the safe bedsharing principles, the main ones being referred to as the Safe Sleep Seven*, which were defined by the breastfeeding association La Leche League.
- Non smoker parent and no smoking in the room
- Sober and unimpaired parent
- Breastfeeding mom
- Healthy and full-term baby
- Baby on his back
- Lightly dressed
- On safe surface that's firm enough
If you look at it from a different angle, we're just trying to re-create the safety that baby has in the crib or the other sleeping environments that might have been prepared using the same precautions. It's actually pretty simple, no?
I wish you great nights with your baby (or as good as they can be at this stage!)
Here's the full Safe Sleep Seven resource: llli.org/news/the-safe-sleep-seven
Just discovered that there's a bedsharing song to help you remember the seven principles. How cool!
And if you're looking for helpful breastfeeding pyjamas, this is the place to be! Click here to view Pyjamam nursing sleepwear.
With love, the Pyjamam 💕
Creating the nursing PJs of my dreams & soon of your nights too!