Three Pieces of Breastfeeding Advice to Ignore
(This is second in a series of posts. To see the others, click on the “bad breastfeeding advice” tag.)
Three Pieces of Breastfeeding Advice to Ignore — Bad Advice #2:
“Whatever you do, don’t let baby sleep in your bed.”
While co-sleeping may not be the answer for all families, it can make nighttime breastfeeding (and sleeping) less of an ordeal for parents and babies. Most families throughout the world sleep next to their babies. The US is one of a few countries where this act is considered taboo. But why?
According to the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, babies and mothers who co-sleep receive more sleep than those who sleep separately.
But what about long-term negative effects of co-sleeping?
Research shows there aren’t any.
Actually, babies who co-sleep tend to have something in common—they’re thriving—both physically, mentally and intellectually. And they’re nursing well. Babies who co-sleep tend to eat more at night, maintaining mom’s milk supply and promoting natural child-spacing.
Co-sleeping makes nighttime nursing much easier and is safe, provided you take some safety precautions and are nonsmokers. If baby wakes during the night, all you have to do is roll on your side and let the nursing begin. Then you can continue getting your snooze on while baby nurses back to sleep.
Ignore those people who say you might roll on your baby (highly unlikely if you’re sober) or are being a sap. People talk like sleeping next to your baby is a slippery slope—do it once and you’ll never have a child-free bed until the teenage years roll around. But this isn’t necessarily true.
As with everything, do what works in your family’s situation. After all, those naysayers may only be jealous that you’re getting so much sleep while, at the same time, being able to cuddle with a sweet baby.
