How and why we Co-Sleep?

When I got pregnant with my first child I put on the baby registry's list a crib and bottles among other things. I bought what I thought a baby needs to have. How did I know what a baby needs? I worked as a nanny and all the children I babysat they had a crib and had bottles. So how would I ever know that those where the most useless things I acquired.

I am proud to say that neither of my children EVER spend a night in a crib or have a bottle. Family members where concerned that they would get seriously hurt. But how ironic...99 % of the time I put Big Boy as a baby in  the crib he got his arms stuck and screamed louder than the siren of a fire truck. So 3 out of 4 times he got hurt in the crib...but only 1 time in his 2 and 1/2 years old of age got hurt in the bed. He did fell from the mattress (luckily we lowered our bed a few days before it happened). He was 4 months old and at that age he started beginning crawling where he would place his forehead on the ground and push forward with his feet and that is how I think he got from the center of the bed to the edge and down.

We LOVE co-sleeping. It works great for us. And to me it makes total sense! I don't like to sleep alone...I love having my husband next to me. I feel safe and I like that. Now, if I as an adult sleep in the same bed with my husband, and not in a room alone. Why would I expect my baby to sleep solo. It has been proved I think that co sleeping helps them sleep better, feel more secure and loved. Have you heard about premature twin babies that they put them next to each other to help them develop? I believe that it works the same way with term babies.

If you wonder but how do they have their mommy and daddy "time"? Because we co-sleep we don't use our bed the way we use to use it before having children. Our bed is for sleeping purposes only. There are other places in the house. Enough of this subject. It makes me flush :-o

So how we co-sleep you may wonder. When Big Boy was 4 months we took the base of the bed and put it away. So we have the king size mattress on the floor. And we moved the mattress against the two walls. BB would sleep between us. Right before Little Princes was born I placed the crib mattress on the floor between the two walls and right next to our mattress. The funny thing it was that it was meant for LP once she is born not for him. It was perfect! BB liked the new bed and now LP sleeps between us in a organic diaper changing pad that I was given. I know it may sound bad but it is actually a very high end quality one and is way much better than the little First Years co-sleeper that is short, noisy, thin padded and who knows what materials they used to make it...The king size mattress seems a bit small right now to me. But once we get her "bed" out of it, we'll have a bit more space.

To recap, we always co-slept with our children. They sleep good and we do too. I will never expect them to do something that I don't like doing myself. It is good for their growth. It is better for emotional well being. And we LOVE it!