Don't Sleep With Your Baby

I found this story on Fox 2 News.
"Allowing babies to sleep with their parents is a bad idea," says the American Academy of Pediatrics and the consumer Product Safety Commission. They say it can pose a risk of strangulation or even suffocation. Some of the risks that are involved with a baby younger than 2 years old sleeping in bed with you are; suffocation with pillows, blankets or comforters; strangulation and/or entrapment of the baby's head in any part of the bed frame itself; it increases the chance of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome); and also increases the chance of injuries by the parents accidentally rolling over onto the child, or having the child roll of the side of the bed. All of these are hazards for babies. The report also says, "Co-sleeping often results in poor sleep for parents and children." Baby's move around a lot more during sleep, which can interrupt the parents sleeping as well. And the baby can also get used to sleeping with the parent and depend on it more often, such as nap time: Kids won't want to take a nap without a parent because of the attachment they get when sleeping together. This can also contribute to behavioral problems. The last paragraph of the report said, "If parents let their babies sleep with them, they should have a firm mattress that fits snugly into the bed. There should be no soft bedding, pillows, or stuffed animals." It also encourages parents to not drink or take any medication that could affect their alertness while having a baby sleep with them. And always place the baby on his/her back to reduce the chance of SIDS.

My first reaction to this was, how could sleeping with a baby be dangerous if you’re careful? I know that babies could suffocate, but not if you watch what’s around them and make sure your baby is safe.

As I read the article the one and only thing that stuck out that could be bad (for me and my own baby) was the attachment part. My baby is now 8 months old and he has only slept in bed with me and my husband maybe a handful of times. There are times when he just can't sleep, whether he was teething or just not feeling good, and he wanted to sleep in bed with us to be close. I completely understand that a baby could suffocate while in bed with parents because of all of the pillows and blankets that are soft and could easily cover the baby's face. I, however, am a very light sleeper: I wake up to every little tiny noise around me. If my son is sleeping in his crib next to me, and he rolls over, or even makes a cooing noise while sleeping, it wakes me up right away. I'm so used to hearing him make a noise and I lean over and give him his pacifier. This too is a very bad idea because now if I don't give him his pacifier right away, he wakes up crying.

I think this is a great article for new mothers. Sometimes people don't understand that babies, especial newborns, can't defend themselves. If a newborn baby gets a blanket or pillow over their heads they don't know how to use their arms well enough to free their face. And the increase of SIDS, I’m not too sure about. I don't think where the baby sleeps has an effect on if SIDS takes place. But I’m not the expert, so I guess whatever makes my baby safer, then I’ll do.