How to Safely Share Your Bed With Your Baby

Studies have shown that children who share their parents' bed have high levels of independence and self-esteem. Follow these steps for a safe and restful night's sleep for everyone.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bed Rail

1. Discuss the length of time you plan to share your bed with your infant. Make a plan and stick to it.

2. Eliminate gaps between the bed and wall that could be hazardous to your baby.

3. Get rid of heavy comforters and oversize pillows.

4. Install a guardrail. They are cheap and effective, and a great way to stop little people from falling out of bed.

5. Dress your baby lightly ' babies who share sleep with their parents also share body heat and don't need to be in heavy pajamas.

6. Don't worry about rolling over onto your baby. Just as you know, even in your sleep, how close you are to the edge of the bed, you will also have a good sense of the whereabouts of your baby.

7. Consider adding a "sidecar" to your bed ' take one side off a crib and attach the crib tightly to the side of your own bed, with the mattress at the same height as your own. You can reach your baby easily for nursing or cuddling, then move him back into his crib (and give yourself more space) when he falls asleep.

8. When you're ready to move your child out of your bed, do it gradually and gently. Don't make him "cry it out" or lock him in his room. Work on a consistent, positive bedtime routine.

Tips & Warnings

• If the snuffling sounds of a newborn baby keep you awake, add some white noise to the room with a fan.
• Decide if the family bed is for you. Once you start sharing your bed, you may find that your child will stay in it until he's old enough for a toddler bed. If it's important to you not to share your room with a toddler, you may want to make other arrangements.
• Consider the family bed if you are breast-feeding; studies have shown that it increases the success level and endurance of the nursing relationship.
• If you are a smoker, don't share sleep with your baby! This combination has been shown to increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, though there is some evidence that sharing a bed may reduce the risk when both parents are nonsmokers.
• Don't share sleep with your baby if you have had too much alcohol, or if you are on other drugs (legal or illegal) that could suppress alertness.
• Get rid of the waterbed if you have one ' it poses a suffocation risk for young babies.

[mckinleysmum]

on 7/27/2009 I let my little one sleep with me. Everyone says I will regret it but I honestly don't think so. I can either have her in my bed with me or I can put her in her own bed and worry about her all night long. Then Mommy's crabby due to lack of sleep. NO FUN! I would rather have people tell me how "dumb" I am :)

[bluepeacecalm]

on 1/16/2009 This is a great and well intended article. I agree that a parent should attach a small bed to their own bed so the child has its own area to sleep in. I do not think small babies should sleep with their parents as adults sometimes DO roll over in bed on small children and suffocate them. An exhausted person, when falling into the deep levels of sleep cannot always prevent themselves from rolling over. And lets face it, all new parents are exhausted. I advise against parents sleeping with infants and small babies. Studies show this as a leading cause of infant death.

[Nyko]

on 5/23/2008 I posted a comment a year ago and now I will update. My son will be three this upcoming August and he still sleeps in the bed with someone. I live in a area where the noises greatly scare him and he needs to have some kind of comfort before going to bed. If he stays the night at my mother's house, he sleeps in the bed with my grandmother. If he's at home with me, he falls asleep on his own and then I join him in bed later on. He knows what time I sleep. If I don't get into bed by that time he will wake up and give me hell.

[Nyko]

on 5/23/2008 I posted a comment a year ago and now I will update. My son will be three this upcoming August and he still sleeps in the bed with someone. I live in a area where the noises greatly scare him and he needs to have some kind of comfort before going to bed. If he stays the night at my mother's house, he sleeps in the bed with my grandmother. If he's at home with me, he falls asleep on his own and then I join him in bed later on. He knows what time I sleep. If I don't get into bed by that time he will wake up and give me hell.

[Nyko]

on 4/27/2007 Okay, seeing how everyone has their own opinion, I'll give you all mine. My son will be two in august. I am very paranoid and think that the worst will happen to my son.

*In December 2006 a tree branch crashed through my living room and also in my son's room. Fortunately, my son was sleeping with me at the time.

It is because of that that my son still sleeps with me. If you don't want your child in the exact same bed as you i recommend the following:

1. Purchase a bed that can be set next to your's. Try to have it flushed between your bed and the wall. (this way they don't have to go too far if they decide in get into your bed and also you as the parent putting them back. If you do this, all you have to do to wean is simply move the bed into the child's room