The Family Bed

I awoke at some wee hour of the morning being edged out of our king-sized bed. Emil was snuggled into my side, using my arm as a pillow. Esme was stretched out horizontally, her feet towards me and her head towards Jacob. Cleo, our dog, was stretched out at the foot of the bed, her pink elephant stuffed animal tucked under her paw (I kid you not).

Welcome to the family bed. Tight as it might get, I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, sometimes it would be nice to have just me and Jacob in there again. But I do enjoy our family bed.

To be fair, Esme doesn't always sleep with us, but she's been doing it on our travels and it's been hard to say no to her since we returned home. Especially since she knows Cleo and Emil are in bed with us. It seems kind of mean to force her to sleep alone in her bed.

There are plenty of debates about cosleeping, particularly with an infant Emil's age. Some people believe that it increases the risk of SIDS, while others claim that the data shows just the opposite. According to this site, most cases of SIDS are reported from crib deaths, and deaths of infants in adult beds occur mainly when the child is sleeping alone in an adult bed rather than with the mother.

As for me, I combine my gut with my research. There seems to be no definitive research on the topic, so I refer to my gut, which says that Emil is safest and happiest in his mother's arms at night. He sleeps in his bassinet or crib during the day, and he begins the night in his bassinet. But when I wake up to feed him in the middle of the night, if I try to put him back into his bassinet he grunts his complaint until I relent and pick him up again. Not only does he enjoy it, but I enjoy it, too. I can fall back asleep while he's nursing.

So for now we will stick to the family bed. It's not the best for romantic evenings, but it's not forever.