Should You Co- Sleep?
There’s a lot of things to plan and prepare for when pregnant. Often, we can get caught up in the decoration of the nursery or finishing important jobs around the house before bub arrives. However, it may be worth giving some serious consideration as to where your baby is going to sleep before you bring them home from hospital.
The recommendation is that your baby sleeps in your bedroom in a cot or bassinet for the first 6 months.
The theory behind this is that with your baby in your room with you, you will be close by when he or she cries in the night and able to attend to their needs quickly and easily.
It’s good to know though that babies are actually noisy sleepers and this will have an impact on yours and your partner’s sleep too. They wiggle, grunt, flinch and startle in addition to waking up crying. If your partner needs to work the following day the disturbance may affect him/her.
It’s best to have these discussions with your partner now to least understand what options you may have. It’s important to do what is best for all 3 of you. This may mean your partner temporarily moving into the spare room.
If, however you decide to put the baby in their own room it’s advisable to have a monitor so that you can hear or see what is happening.
BUT WHAT ABOUT CO-SLEEPING?
Putting your baby to bed with you can be a good idea especially if you are breastfeeding. This makes is simple for Mum to feed the baby as well as rest. However, it’s not recommended:
1- Before the baby is three months old,
2- If the baby is born prematurely
3- Weighs less than 2.5kg
4- If you or your partner smoke, have consumed alcohol or are excessively tired.
If you put your baby to bed with you when they are older, you and your partner are less likely to roll over on to them.
There are a number of sleep products available that assist in protecting the baby from rolling parents that may be worth considering if you are intending on co-sleeping with your baby.
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