Co-sleeping – A Dads Perspective

There is one thing I never thought I would be doing and that is co-sleeping with our baby. A baby is supposed to sleep in their crib right? Well spoiler, my opinion has changed, read more to find out why.

Guidelines for Co-sleeping:

We came across Dr. James Mckenna who advocates for cosleeping and how to do it safely following these guidelines.

Reasons and Benefits:

When looking at different cultures and how they raise children, they don’t have their infants sleeping in other rooms away from the safety and security of their parents.

Some people will argue that they sleep deeper when they are by themselves. This does seem to be supported by science. You also have to ask, why? We are social animals that are happier when being with people. Dr. James Mckenna has an answer for this:

“The latter stages of sleep i.e. deeper sleep, is known to be more difficult for infants to arouse from in order to terminate life- threatening apneas or breathing pauses.”

The above is found on his Frequently Asked Questions page.

Co-sleeping has led to better sleep for me, my wife and my son. A newborn waking up in the middle of the night for milk is inevitable. Co-sleeping has made it easier for my son to eat and my wife to feed him then go straight back to sleep.

Co-sleeping can result in the baby waking up more frequently through the night. We personally decided this was worth it for the bonding and comfort and can easily be mitigated by going to bed a little earlier.

While co-sleeping is not always rainbows and sunshine, I do love waking up to my wife and son. These days my son will just start babbling, laughing and making fun baby noises. It is not like that every day, sometimes there are tears instead.

One of the most important reasons why I like it is because my wife likes it. It makes her happy. I could not take that away from her. My son will only be young for a short period, embracing every moment is so important.

The Future:

What is our plan for the future with co-sleeping? We are not really sure. We plan to see how it goes. I am not sure if I want to co-sleep with a second baby so I may and push for my son sleeping on this own before then if he hasn’t already decided to do so himself.

Disclaimer: If you do not feel it is safe and do not think it is for you, please do not do it. Pediatricians will often advise against it usually because cosleeping is a term that encompasses unsafe sleeping with infants and babies. Ultimately it is YOUR decision.