Comments on: “Did you think it was going to be easy?”

By: Josey

Josey — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:49:49 +0000

My daughter just turned 3 months old, and she ALWAYS sleeps better if she’s cuddled up with me and swaddled tighly. Screw the ppl who saw I’m endangering her. It’s just not true!

By: Concerned mama

Concerned mama — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:38:19 +0000

If you still are determined to have baby in bed with you, consider buying a mini co-sleeper. You put baby in bed with you, but the sleeper has walls so that when you roll you cannot smother the baby. We used it with all three of my babies- it’s great.

By: Concerned mama

Concerned mama — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:33:00 +0000

So, I am an AP parent all the way. But PLEASE listen to this word of warning. Our close friends lost their newborn son in October from a co-sleeping incident. He was their THIRD child and of course nothing like it happened with their other two. The father accidentally rolled and smothered him. Exhaustion and lack of sleep can do funny things to our sense of awareness. If you fall into a deep sleep, horrifying things CAN happen.
I photographed this sweet pea’s newborn shots. (On my website, he’s the baby boy under newborns suspended from his daddy’s hands in black and white.) He was perfectly healthy and beautiful. And now he’s in heaven and his parents are left here, devastated by the off-chance situation.
PLEASE consider putting him back in the cosleeper when possible.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:50:55 +0000

I think all the people who tell you don’t do this, this is a no-no, SIDS risk blah blah blah have never had a baby! We had the same problem. We ended up sleeping him on his tummy since he wouldn’t stay wrapped and had tummy pains on his back. I also brought him into bed with us in the early morning hours to feed and sleep because let’s face it, you can’t a the best parents when you are not sleeping. I think this is absolutely fine. Our boy is 5 months now and he sleeps in his own cot in his own room, can roll himself over if he get uncomfortable and we all get 8+ hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. You can teach her to sleep on her own later. She is a brand new baby and needs her mummy and daddy cuddles. She is just forming her bonds and establishing trust so you need to give her whatever she wants right now. It MAY make it harder to get her to sleep on her own later, but you can deal with that as it comes, every baby is different. Well done!

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:25:50 +0000

I must ask, after reading so much about your toxic free lifestyle and rather un orthodox approach…have you vaccinated your daughter? Of course this is completely your decision, however, if you haven’t researched, please take the time to research the dozens of toxic ingredients in vaccines before allowing them into your baby.

By: Mel

Mel — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:43:52 +0000

Im glad you found something to help you and your daughter get more rest at night. We also coslept for a short time, but in our case, the only one getting more sleep was our daughter! She would only sleep on my husband’s chest, so when she was there, she was great between feeding. Would not sleep on the bed next to us or next to the bed in a bassinet or swing. Had to be on him. So, he slept really lightly and woke up anytime she would make a peep or a slight movement and I barely slept because I was worried she’d somehow tumble off him, he’d roll over, or he’d unknowingly pull the covers over her (didn’t happen once. Because he barely slept). I’m cerainly glad she got better rest in that time, but we were super thankful when she started sleeping in a crib a couple months later. When my husband and I were a bit more rested, things got immeasurably easier.

By: katherine

katherine — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:22:23 +0000

Hi Elena,

Science is on the side of CIO (“cry it out”) for infants older than 4 months. Your instincts are right to respond to your newborn’s every need but as the child gets older, you and your readers should know that CIO is not a harmful sleep technique. No reputable, peer-reviewed article has ever demonstrated that a week’s worth of ignored crying (after that point the infant learns to sleep) is in any way damaging to the child, his/her development, his/her emotions, and his/her attachment to you. Meanwhile, there are numerous articles demonstrating the detrimental effects of not getting enough sleep or getting fragmented sleep.

CIO is not for everyone — it is a choice — but it is not a harmful one. Some families find that co-sleeping works better for them, or that other solutions work out. But know that CIO is a safe method for older infants.

By: stacie

stacie — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:30:03 +0000

Great! That’s a positive outlook. And please, do not let anyone worry you into thinking your supply is low. That’s something we breastfeeding mama’s worry about enough on our own. Pumping is not indicative of supply anyway because it doesn’t suck the milk out like baby. Great work on your beautiful baby and good luck. Positive thoughts that sleep is in your future.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:51:17 +0000

You are totally right on that one! Most charts at the pedi office and lots of books are based on formula fed babies. But even so, each baby is different. Even 2 bf babies will be different. My oldest dd was bf and sttn at 3 mths. Before that, she went 2-3 hour stretches and then ate snd back to sleep. My second dd had colic snd never slept more than 45 min-1 hour. Also bf. my ds is a great sleeper. Goes 4-5 hours at night and is 3 mths old. Also bf. so every child is different. Gl with everything. Bf and the whole NB thing can be hard :)

By: Stacy

Stacy — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:40:52 +0000

I agree with Ali. My son just had a heart transplant 6 weeks ago. If you’re afraid of gripe water and zantac, just be glad you don’t have to give 13 different meds a day. I breastfeed too, but obviously can’t worry about his intestinal flora too much. I do what I have to do. He is alive and healthy due to all those “evil meds.” as a mom, things change every day. My second dd had such bad colic that dh and I had to switch off holding her in order for either of us to get an hour or do if sleep. She was up screaming all the time.