To Co-Sleep or Not

Outside pressures took their toll on me last night. I didn't want to co-sleep with my daughter. I want to be in my own bed. I want my mom to stop worrying. I want all those nay-sayers to shut-up. So, I told my daughter, "I am not sleeping with you tonight!" After 4 hours of dealing with an over-tired baby, I caved and we both slept so well!

Truth is, I don't want to co-sleep. Fact is, it's pretty much a given if mom is nursing and wants to get some sleep at night. Of course, I take every precaution, and I try to soothe her in her bassinet before finally curling up with her.

She's not even 2 weeks old, yet. She needs me. Besides, while I'd rather wake up to a handsome, bearded face in the morning, it is rather nice to wake up to the tiny, beautiful features of my daughter happily snoozing in the crook of my arm. In a short time, though it seems long now, I will be back in bed with hubby. For now, I'm going to stop stressing and start enjoying the small time I have with my newborn.

After all, she's already over a week old, her cord stump already fell out, and Bubby is already over 2 years old!

Comments

Anonymous said…
No need to stress! Just enjoy the time with your newborn. I've co-slept with all of my children and I never planned it that way, it just seemed like the only common sense way I was going to get the rest I needed with a nursing baby. A rested mother = a happy baby..... problem solved no body has the grumpies!

It's funny when we had our first child my husband wasn't big on the baby in bed with us but by the time our 5th was born he said he prefers it that way. He tells me that they just need to be with their mommy, to feel safe and secure and loved.
3:27 PM
Anonymous said…
This stage will be over soon....I feel the same way, I hate to co-bed with my babies. I get so jealous for my husband. I'm glad you are able to get some sleep though. I will pray for you.
4:45 PM
a suburban housewife said…
Relax!! The fact of the matter is, all those who tell you what you should and should not do don't live in your household with your responsibilities! Obviously, you can't apply this reasoning to every situation, but we're not talking about sin issues here! In reality, you will be more rested in these early days doing what you are doing. Ironically enough, I'm telling you this as one who would hyperventilate at the thought of co-sleeping with my first ones. With my last two babies, however, I realized that there are safety precautions one can take and still sleep quite comfortably!

Blessings to you and your sweet family :)
10:31 AM
KitKat said…
I never co-slept with our first baby. She just wasn't that kind of kid. She slept perfectly from the start. Then my second little girl came along and she had completely different needs. We co-slept until she was almost 5 months old - until it got to the point that it was affecting both of our sleep negatively instead of positively. I felt exactly the way that you do. I wanted my marriage bed to be just for hubby and I. But the time did pass rather quickly and before I knew it my tiny little baby could sleep all by herself. (ALthough it took some work to get her to sleep alone for the first few nights in her crib because she was USED to sleeping next to me but DH and I were keeping her from sleeping properly after a few months. So I strongly recommend that you be prepared for that possibility.) This is just a short season in your life, and you sound like you are listening to your "mothering insticts" very, very well. You have to do what is best for you and your new little baby and only YOU can really make that decision. :)

Take care and God Bless!!
8:40 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

She's Here!

Image
Our daughter was born at 7:17 pm, May 27th after only 2 1/2 hours of labor and 10 minutes of pushing! She weighed in at 6lbs 5 ounces and measured at 19 inches long....another little peanut! It was all-natural, baby! No induction, no pitocin, no pain relievers, no episiotomy! All prayers have been answered by the Lord except for her nursing ability. She's not a very good nurser, though she was a champ just after she was born. She's getting better, though and I continue in prayer that she improves. I pray that when my milk comes in, she'll be a great nurser. I'm also in prayer about her jaundice. Right now, it's not bad at all, but I learned with Bubby how quickly that can change, especially with her not being a good nurser. The picture above was taken yesterday. That's me and my son and daughter. Poor hubby's not in the picture because he wasn't at the hospital at that time. He was there earlier, but I sent him home to get some rest and some ...
Read more

Blessing, Wisdom, Modesty, Feminine Influences

My wonderful husband bought me a new vacuum! My old one threw sparks out at me, so I refused to run it for fear of my life. So, hubby bought me a new vacuum and it's wonderful! It even has a self-cleaning duster attachment! Hubby appreciates the hepa filter. I enjoy having a vacuum that actually does it's job. Oh, and my other favorite attachment is the special adjustable upholstery and stairs doo-hickey with it's own rotating brush. It's great for dog hair. I recently had my 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed. Hubby teased me that I was going to lose my wisdom, but I actually gained some! While I was in dreadful pain and recovering, I had to eat VERY carefully. During this time I learned that: 1. I eat when I'm not hungry...not a good habit to get into. 2. I eat too fast and don't savor my food. Therefore, I tend to eat a bit more so as to enjoy the flavor. 3. I put food in my mouth when I'm still chewing the first portion I put in. Blech...what a...
Read more

1 Week

Image
Baby Boy is one week old today! He's doing so well and we are all smitten with him. I am amazed at his growth and progress in just 1 week! Baby Boy is a quiet lad who only cries when it is necessary (at least so far). During his wakeful times, he enjoys staring at patterns or his mommy. He's great at turning his head to look around and listens intently when I sing. He's not the strongest feeder, yet and prefers multiple quick snacks rather than spaced out dinners. His umbilical cord stump is almost ready to fall off. He likes to be swaddled and loves being held. So much so that when I do hold him, he falls asleep almost instantly, but if I put him down, he wakes up. Not all the time, though. :)
Read more