Zzzzzzzzz....

Whenever I meet a pregnant Mom I always give her one piece of unsolicited advice - If you ever want to sleep again, breastfeed and co-sleep. Most of the time they will show some concern for the safety of their infant when sleeping in the same bed with Mom and Dad. I must admit I shared the same concerns when my first child was born. In fact, Michael and I originally planned to have our son sleep in a crib. Well, he did end up sleeping in a crib...just not in the traditional sense.

The truth be known I didn't even know the word co-sleep. My Mom actually convinced us to try co-sleeping, she even taught me how to nurse lying down. So we adopted the family bed. Even against the "you'll regret it later" advice of other family members, all we knew was that life was much easier (ie. my baby and I were both happier and well rested) when he slept with us and could nurse throughout the night. I got so used to him suckling that it didn't even interrupt my sleep. Michael and I felt much more at ease having our son close by, knowing he was safe and felt loved.

For many months the baby slept in between my husband and I in our bed. As he grew, we sought out another sleep solution. I knew all I needed to do was visit the MDC (mothering.com) discussion forums to find what we needed. That is where I discovered the sidecar technique - it has worked wonderfully for both of my babies.


This is a crib that has been sidecared. (Not mine, I "stole" this pic from another crunchy mama.)

Directions:

1) Remove one side of the crib.
2) Scoot crib next to your bed making sure the mattress heights match up.



3) Secure the crib to the bed rails of your bed with bungee cords.



4) Place a pool noodle in between the remaining crib wall and the crib mattress, to insure there is not room in between the mattresses.



With this setup you get the benefits of co-sleeping AND your own space. This also works great for us now that we have TWO kiddos who like to sleep with Mom and Dad!

If you are interested in finding out more about co-sleeping read this article by Dr.Sears.

PS- Our son is now three and half and we do not regret bringing him into the bed with us. It has been a beautiful bonding experience for us all. We learned that parenting doesn't pause when the sun goes down. We have chosen to continue providing love and sercurity to our children during the night, just as we do during the day. I am sure it has also saved us many hours of needed rest.

"Try This Product" Tuesday

Before my first baby was born I had a plan. I read every mainstream baby book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. (The Baby Whisperer, Baby Wise..blah blah blah.) I had a rough draft of my baby's daily routine drawn up, a list of what to do and one of what not to do. I was over prepared!

I gave birth to my son and my husband and I brought him home. We were both excited and nervous...BUT we had a plan. I nursed the baby, Daddy swaddled him, and we layed him in his bassinet to go to sleep...

HE HAD OTHER PLANS!

Apparently he wasn't down with that. After two days of him disagreeing with the "baby experts" (from our coveted library of baby how-to books), Michael and I decided to throw out our plans AND those silly books and go with our instincts.

At night we brought our son into the bed with us. He slept much better next to Mommy, where he could nurse on demand and feel comforted. During the day when he cried I knew that he was just talking to me and I tried to understand what he was saying and meet his needs accordingly. From then on everything went pretty smoothly.

BUT there was one hitch - he wanted to be held during his naps! I would swaddle, I would shush, I would sway, I would rock...the second I would lay him down his eyes would pop open and he would scream. So, guess what? He was held during nap time for the first 3 months of his life. It was exhausting, but I have never regretted doing it. My son needed to know I was there for him when he was awake AND asleep.

SKIP TO THREE YEARS LATER

When I was pregnant with my daughter I decided it would be impossible for me to hold her during naps AND wrangle a spirited toddler. But by then I had learned about babywearing. What a blessing! Really, it only makes sense to wear your baby on the outside of your body after birth. Especially when you consider that you've been wearing them on the inside of your body for 10 months.

I, once again, did an outrageous amount of research into baby carriers and discovered this gem - the Moby Wrap.



All I can say is, "GO GET ONE NOW!" My baby girl lived in this thing for 8 months. Now I wear her when I want to get things done around the house and when we go on outings. She is close to me, knows I am present for her and I don't go out of my mind.

Here is a quote from an article I found that says it all...

"Carry our babies to the car in a container, out of the car in a container, through the mall in a container, into the restaurant in a container, back to the car in a container, and home to a container, so that objects define our baby's existence more so than our body, is not just a step away from tradition. It is a cataclysmic change far out of step with the rhythmic pas de deux to which our babies' minds and bodies were choreographed... No species in a hundred years or so can turn the time-tested mother-baby relationship on its head without consequences. In the short term, diminished contact makes babies fussier than they need be and mothers more conflicted than they need be."


The Moby Wrap - the loving solution.

Normal Birthing Threatened

Seriously?!

The American Medical Association has CROSSED THE LINE! Doctors are making an attempt to make homebirths ILLEGAL!

Read about it here.

Personally, if this resoulution goes anywhere I say we as women must take action and make our voice heard. I am thinking we should take a trip to DC and have a "Million Mom March".

Are you in?