Last week I got the opportunity to watch a four month old baby for the evening, the first baby whose birth I attended. He and his mom practice breastfeeding and co-sleeping, so I was surprised when she gave me his schedule, and told me that after his bath I could put him down and he should sleep till they got home. For my family, breastfeeders and co-sleepers as well, the thought of putting my son down to sleep and having him actually fall asleep is a foreign one. I assumed that if you made the choice to breastfeed and co-sleep that you would be bed bound with your boob-bound child until you both decided to wean. I was fascinated to learn that this is not necessarily so.
You hear about scheduling your baby, you hear about letting them "cry it out". Neither of these approaches sounded like they were going to work for our family, the former because, working retail, there is no set schedule, and the latter because it didn't feel like a fit for us. But, two years in to breastfeeding and co-sleeping, and two years in to not having a night away from my son for fear that my husband wouldn't sleep a wink, I wonder about setting up a routine for my son. They say (whoever "they" may be) that children like routine, that it feels comforting to them. My son seems to be comfortable at the breast, routine or not, but now I'm intrigued. Tonight was the first night that we had dinner at a reasonable hour, brushed my sons teeth, gave him a bath, and read him a book (Daddy's reading it as we speak). I'm curious to see how it goes, knowing well enough that we will not put our son down to sleep tonight and have it work, but that at some point it will. At some point Elijah will be so used to eating dinner, brushing his teeth, taking a bath, and reading a book that he will be able to sleep on his own. I look forward to this day with excitement, and yet, a little bit of sadness as well.
For more info on the benefits of co-sleeping please visit Dr. James McKenna's website at: http://cosleeping.nd.edu/
You hear about scheduling your baby, you hear about letting them "cry it out". Neither of these approaches sounded like they were going to work for our family, the former because, working retail, there is no set schedule, and the latter because it didn't feel like a fit for us. But, two years in to breastfeeding and co-sleeping, and two years in to not having a night away from my son for fear that my husband wouldn't sleep a wink, I wonder about setting up a routine for my son. They say (whoever "they" may be) that children like routine, that it feels comforting to them. My son seems to be comfortable at the breast, routine or not, but now I'm intrigued. Tonight was the first night that we had dinner at a reasonable hour, brushed my sons teeth, gave him a bath, and read him a book (Daddy's reading it as we speak). I'm curious to see how it goes, knowing well enough that we will not put our son down to sleep tonight and have it work, but that at some point it will. At some point Elijah will be so used to eating dinner, brushing his teeth, taking a bath, and reading a book that he will be able to sleep on his own. I look forward to this day with excitement, and yet, a little bit of sadness as well.
For more info on the benefits of co-sleeping please visit Dr. James McKenna's website at: http://cosleeping.nd.edu/
