Story about co-sleeping on the Today Show

[turtle2who]

They are talking about it this morning. I hope it comes on before I go to work- I want to see what they say.

[camelfam]

Did anyone see it?

[4xMommy]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25238591#25238591

Seemed to talk more about "involuntary" co-sleeping, when kids come in the bed at night, and we should wean the kids from the family bed because nobody sleeps as well.


hogwash

[SmileyMoo]

Ugh, they show one side of the story. Idiotic news media needs to go check out Dr. Sears website

[Terra]

Ugh, they show one side of the story. Idiotic news media needs to go check out Dr. Sears website

ITA! When she said NO ONE gets good sleep when you are sharing a bed, I thought ummmm well did you interview me or a lot of other people who do co sleep and get better sleep doing so?? NOPE!:yuck:

You can tell though just from her perspective that she is very much into the self soothing and even said that its best to wean them early when they can still be "contained" in a crib. :yuck:

Now I agree that co sleeping may not be for everyone and not everyone does get good sleep in the family bed...
But please...gotta love the media and their generalizations!

[SmileyMoo]

I got no sleep when my baby wasn't in the bed with me. I was soooo scared of sids that after the 4th night of not sleeping I listened to my motherly instinct and took my baby to bed with me. She is now a healthy 7 year old and sleeps in her OWN bed with no fuss, all night and none of this "mom I forgot to brush my teeth" crap like that video tries to make it seem ALL kids do. My 5 and 3 year old also sleep in their own beds, all night with no fuss after having slept with us 2-3 years.


Co-sleeping isn't for everyone but I'm so sick of always hearing one side of the story.

[Terra]

I got no sleep when my baby wasn't in the bed with me. I was soooo scared of sids that after the 4th night of not sleeping I listened to my motherly instinct and took my baby to bed with me. She is now a healthy 7 year old and sleeps in her OWN bed with no fuss, all night and none of this "mom I forgot to brush my teeth" crap like that video tries to make it seem ALL kids do. My 5 and 3 year old also sleep in their own beds, all night with no fuss after having slept with us 2-3 years.


Co-sleeping isn't for everyone but I'm so sick of always hearing one side of the story.

Exactly! That was originally what started me on the road to Co Sleeping was the SIDS thing. I wanted him in the same room so I could check on him! And then it just evolved from there and after doing more research I realized how good it was for him too!

I'm looking for to having DS #2 with us too :giggle:

My DH wants to transition when the youngest is about 2 years old. I told him talk to me in 2 years then!:giggle2:

[Nebula]

The media and the "experts" always conveniently ignore the fact that co-sleeping is the worldwide norm and in primitive societies that remain close to nature and are exceedingly physically and emotionally healthy as a result, co-sleeping obviously does not result in unhealthy sleep patterns. The societies that don't practice it as the norm are the ones full of unhealthy sleep patterns and emotional issues!

Co-sleeping isn't for everyone, but dang, can people be ignorant.

[ladylee]

The media and the "experts" always conveniently ignore the fact that co-sleeping is the worldwide norm and in primitive societies that remain close to nature and are exceedingly physically and emotionally healthy as a result, co-sleeping obviously does not result in unhealthy sleep patterns. The societies that don't practice it as the norm are the ones full of unhealthy sleep patterns and emotional issues!

Co-sleeping isn't for everyone, but dang, can people be ignorant.I absolutely love the way you write and express yourself. I couldn't agree more with what you said

[Terra]

The media and the "experts" always conveniently ignore the fact that co-sleeping is the worldwide norm and in primitive societies that remain close to nature and are exceedingly physically and emotionally healthy as a result, co-sleeping obviously does not result in unhealthy sleep patterns. The societies that don't practice it as the norm are the ones full of unhealthy sleep patterns and emotional issues!

Co-sleeping isn't for everyone, but dang, can people be ignorant.

I absolutely love the way you write and express yourself. I couldn't agree more with what you said

I was thinking the same thing!! All your posts are always so eloquent [even if not everyone agrees on the subject] you can sure convey a wonderful message mama!

And that is true!!

Does anyone happen to know in the Western World when/how/why we got away from centuries of family practices and *think* we are doing better or have progressed more? It's very interesting to me how this has all come about. I know it is fairly recent [like a few hundred years] to have moved away from primitive 'attached' [for lack of a better word] parenting.

[Kismet]

i'm sure me waking up and walking to the nursery 5 times a night would have given me some awesome sleep. :lol Besides taht I couldn't sleep worrying about my boys w/out the close. Whateva!

[Dee]

Does anyone happen to know in the Western World when/how/why we got away from centuries of family practices and *think* we are doing better or have progressed more? It's very interesting to me how this has all come about. I know it is fairly recent [like a few hundred years] to have moved away from primitive 'attached' [for lack of a better word] parenting.

Nobody makes any money off of co-sleeping (cribs and nursery furniture, toddler beds that didn't exist 10 years ago), breastfeeding (formula), etc. That's all. The US is run off of profit, not what is best for it's citizens. Period.

[cheygirl]

Nobody makes any money off of co-sleeping (cribs and nursery furniture, toddler beds that didn't exist 10 years ago), breastfeeding (formula), etc. That's all. The US is run off of profit, not what is best for it's citizens. Period.
:werd:

[nini02]

Nobody makes any money off of co-sleeping (cribs and nursery furniture, toddler beds that didn't exist 10 years ago), breastfeeding (formula), etc. That's all. The US is run off of profit, not what is best for it's citizens. Period.

:yeahthat: :greedy:

Cribs, vaxes, formula, circumcision, "the business of being born" etc.... all profit driven industries presented as being for the greater good in order to sell you crap you don't need and are often better off without.

[doberbrat]

I liked the part where the 'expert' said that it definitely should NOT be done w/Infants b/c they could be "Confined" to their cribs :yuck:

[jesr]

I cant sleep without DS2 in bed with me, having him close and being able to hear him breathing puts me at ease. DS1 co-slept too, and goes to sleep no problem in his own bed now, some nights he comes in with us or daddy will go in with him (if he has a nightmare or something)
I wish the media would research all sides to these issues.

[trilla_marion]

i'm sure me waking up and walking to the nursery 5 times a night would have given me some awesome sleep. :lol Besides taht I couldn't sleep worrying about my boys w/out the close. Whateva!

exactly! I had an emergency c-section. My hubby never wanted to co-sleep because he's a deep sleeper..but there was no way in hell I was getting in and out of our high bed every other hour to nurse. I moved her into her own crib around 9 months because she just tosses and turns SO much...No she wasn't sleeping through the night and I did have to get up and down several times a night but at that point we all slept better that way. She's still in bed with us whenever she doesn't feel well or if she's just not sleeping very well. I always feel better when she's sick having her with me. I hope our next one doesn't toss and turn so much so I can co-sleep longer. hehe and btw my 16 month old sleeps just perfectly well in her own crib in her own room now. And I didn't force her, it was a slow process that we took at her pace but we worked at it consistently. She's always been a great sleeper too. ^_^

[MamaToBe84]

lol what a great generalization? NO ONE gets sleep? my dh sleeps right through the baby crying with colic directly next to him, and i couldnt sleep at ALL when the baby was in the pack and play the first night we had him home... baby didnt sleep either. After that, we had very few sleeping problems once he was in bed with us! If im not in the bed with him, he doesnt STTN, hes up like every 2 hours.

[vintagegyrl]

What about when u have kids that constantly kick u by mistake in the middle of the night? Is co-sleeping a good idea then??

[Terra]

Nobody makes any money off of co-sleeping (cribs and nursery furniture, toddler beds that didn't exist 10 years ago), breastfeeding (formula), etc. That's all. The US is run off of profit, not what is best for it's citizens. Period.
Amen to that!!! So sad!!

What about when u have kids that constantly kick u by mistake in the middle of the night? Is co-sleeping a good idea then??

Our son is a restless sleeper and likes a lot of room so we just did the side car crib so he has room of his own but is still with us :)

And I know and I even mentioned in my original post that sometimes co sleeping is not for everyone...so you really have to weigh the pros and cons and look at alternatives if you do want to co sleep [such as the side car crib, bigger bed, big bed with a twin bed added on...etc :) ]

[rainingroses]

The media and the "experts" always conveniently ignore the fact that co-sleeping is the worldwide norm and in primitive societies that remain close to nature and are exceedingly physically and emotionally healthy as a result, co-sleeping obviously does not result in unhealthy sleep patterns. The societies that don't practice it as the norm are the ones full of unhealthy sleep patterns and emotional issues!

Co-sleeping isn't for everyone, but dang, can people be ignorant.

:clapclap:

We have been co-sleeping since day one and I always hear that I'm going to kill my baby (from friends and relatives mostly, but also from perfect strangers). And if she survives (:rolleyes:) she will be emotionally disturbed (read: insecure, clingy, having dependent personality disorder) for life.

Hoghwash, I say.

[turtle2who]

I missed it since I had to leave for work- I'm going to check out the link.

[kotero]

What a biased view!!! I especially 'like' the way that the first expert completely breezed over the fact that children sleeping with parents is common across the world and that there is "nothing inherently bad about it."
Then goes on to how everyone isn't getting enough sleep this way.

They are only really addressing children who wake from their own beds and go into their parents' bed....nothing about a family, sharing a family bed. So it's really not about co-sleeping. It would be nice to see a different perspective shown by mainstream media.

And the second expert says "Nobody sleeps as well"...because they're hot, tossing and turning, etc.

And as far as the "developmental milestone"....I still c/s with my dd#1, especially right now. Forget the "skills" she needs to learn to sleep in her own bed....she needs to feel safe and secure (especially when Daddy is gone). She sleeps better when I'm there. But she sleeps well by herself too. I don't think I'm stunting her development by sharing a family bed with her.

[turtle2who]

he he he

I like how Meredith Viera slips in her comment at the end. "My kids slept with us and they turned out just fine." :giggle:

[turtle2who]

I am a member of the "to each his own" camp. Everyone has to do what is best for their family.

I have co-slept on and off with my son for the past 3 years. He has always had his own bed but slept with me for the first 2 mos of his life. Neither of us were sleeping well so I tried putting him in his own bed in our room and we all slept better. Then we tried side-carring the crib for a while when he was around 10 mos old and that lasted a couple of months until we moved and went back to having him in his crib in the corner of our room. He would join us in bed around 5 am. Then he went to his own room for a while. Then he got sick and slept with us for pretty much the whole winter. Then he went back to his own bed but joined us when he woke in the night. Then he stopped waking in the night and slept in his own bed from dusk to dawn. Then we moved again and he would come to bed with us in the middle of the night- he did that for 6 months. Then I worked on getting him to sleep in his bed again. So we have had periods of 100% co-sleeping and periods (although very short!) of 100% solo sleeping. But most of the time we have had him going to bed in his own room and waking to join us at some point in the night.

I LOVE having him in our bed and my dh does too. The problem is- I don't sleep well with him there. He tosses and turns and kicks me and when I wake up I have trouble getting back to sleep. So I sleep on the same side all night with my body pillow between me and him. And I get uncomfortable and don't sleep well. So- some nights I go sleep in his bed- :giggle: and it is usually the best sleep I have had in a while! But he wakes screaming because I am not in the bed with him. Oh well.

So- I know that what the "expert" says can be true. I get better sleep when he is not in the bed with me. And he gets better sleep when he sleeps in his own bed all night. (Because he isn't waking to come in our bed.) But as always- generalizations do not apply to all cases. And I know plenty of people who co-sleep 100% and LOVE it!

[aoifeaisling]

Does anyone happen to know in the Western World when/how/why we got away from centuries of family practices and *think* we are doing better or have progressed more? It's very interesting to me how this has all come about. I know it is fairly recent [like a few hundred years] to have moved away from primitive 'attached' [for lack of a better word] parenting.

After about four weeks of not sleeping after my son was born, I finally found "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and started tight swaddling my son. We started sleeping well immediately! My husband, who is Moroccan, looked at me and said, "I tried to tell you about this stuff but you didn't want to listen to me!" So true! So much of this stuff is still common sense overseas, but here, unless you hear it from Dr. Soandso with his PhDs, we don't give it a second thought. We are addicted to "experts"!

[Terra]

After about four weeks of not sleeping after my son was born, I finally found "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and started tight swaddling my son. We started sleeping well immediately! My husband, who is Moroccan, looked at me and said, "I tried to tell you about this stuff but you didn't want to listen to me!" So true! So much of this stuff is still common sense overseas, but here, unless you hear it from Dr. Soandso with his PhDs, we don't give it a second thought. We are addicted to "experts"!

Interesting! Thanks for the input mama :) While I was working my B.A. there were quite a few international students and we started talking one day about child rearing [this was pre baby/marriage days for me]. But I remember a couple of the men from Kenya said that where they were from it would be considered almost neglect leaving a child/baby in another room to sleep by him/herself and/or cry themselves to sleep.
So yeah, it is true, this is stuff they've been doing for thousands of years but somehow so many of us have quite listening :(