The Cosleepy Blog

There’s a special sense of doom reserved for bedsharing moms who know they’ll need to spend a night away from their toddler. How will their toddler sleep without them for the first time in their life?!

Until a baby is able to move her head or roll her body away from hair that falls on her face, she is in danger. Wait until your baby reaches that developmental milestone, months from now.

As a new cosleeper, I religiously curled my body into a “C” at the beginning of every night and tried my best not to move a muscle. Of course this meant I was constantly achy and sore!

Your fellow cosleeping parents will probably tell you that the safest way to bedshare is to place your mattress directly on the floor. But what if there are good reasons why you can’t do that?

I used to panic when I woke up to my baby sleeping on his side or tummy. I knew that back-sleeping is vital to safe bedsharing, and I would drown in mom guilt.

It took us a while to figure out the perfect nightly routine as a bedsharing family. I want to break it down, step by step, to give you a jumping-off point to create a routine of your own.

It only took a few months for me to experience cosleeping burnout. My days blurred together as life revolved around the family bed: nursing to sleep, contact naps, and nursing on demand all night long.

My aunt cautioned me not to bedshare, whispering, “Once you let your baby into your bed, he will never leave.” I disregarded her advice. Bedsharing can end at any point with a gentle transition.

I was six months pregnant with my second and nursing hurt; I needed to night wean my toddler. I couldn’t have done it in a slow, respectful, or nurturing way without the help of this book.