#co sleeping

[queenbumble]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Doodle by yours truly. Introspective fluff of my babies Keighley and Gale. Designated Mom and Dad friends/leaders of their party. Can be read as a standalone.

[childrensrightsrehumanrights]

The comments under this video are just heartbreaking. Don't sleep holding a baby or in the same bed as a baby, and enforce this boundary with others.

[witxhykaite]

I’m gonna keep complaining about it because holy fuck my spine hurts. So many different little places and ways. Steamroll me please.

[alpaca-clouds]

How Families Slept

You know what? Just when I wrote about the medieval living situations I remembered one comment I got on a fanfic a while ago. It was one of my Castlevania and it featured the golden trio having their infant daughter sleep with them in the same bed, when the child was not able to sleep in her crib.

The comment person got really angry about that. How do I dare writing about parents co-sleeping with their infant? Have I never heard about sudden infant death syndrome?

To which I say: "... You are aware that we have evolved to co-sleep with out infants, right?"

You guys know the saying: "Sleeping like a baby?" Have you guys ever wondered what was up with that, given that babies' are well known for... not sleeping very peaceful and keeping their parents awake?

Yeah, the saying originally went: "Sleeping like a baby at mother's bossom." Because it turns out... babies can sleep very peacefully, if they are sleeping in the arms of their parents. Not always. And toothing will most certainly still rob the parents' sleep.

This is the reason why to this day most infants around the world still sleep in the same bed as their parents. Most infants historically slept in the same bed as their parents, given that cribs were expensive - and that nobody had additional rooms for kids to sleep in either. So, yeah, they just slept in the same bed as the parents.

Does co-sleeping heighten the risk of SIDS? Yeah. But only very, very slightly. Meanwhile co-sleeping has also a lot of positive effects on the health of the infant.

To be honest, that comment got me really annoyed, because it just shows just US-centrism. Because while yeah, nurseries are common enough in Western Europe, too, this obsession with keeping the kids out of their parent's bed and forbidding (and shaming people for) co-sleeping is very much an US thing.

As I said: Yes, it co-sleeping slightly increases the chance of sudden infant death. But... It is still about as likely as getting hit by lightning. At least with an otherwise healthy child.

We are still animals. As such we have not evolved to have kids in a whole ass seperate room from the parents.

Not so fun fact, though: The origin of cribs is, basically, that during medieval times often enough during famines parents would smolder their infants to death and then say: "Oh, it was an accident." Which is why the church passed a decree that kids should sleep in a crib. So that parents could no longer claim "an accident".

[mommy-to-athena]

Any tips on how to transition from co sleeping to big girl bed? Don't need judgment on co sleeping this long. I am just done and need her in her own bed for my sanity!

[inner-sunshine]

"One day I'll miss them not wanting to sleep in my bed anymore."

[oldxhag95]

Why is co-sleeping so great but terrible?...

For the last few weeks my 4 month old has been sleeping with me in bed, she will not sleep in her bassinet anymore. It honestly sucks because I can't sleep when she is next to me. So tonight I tried putting her in her crib in her room and I just couldn't do it. It made me sad for a few reasons. 1: I felt bad leaving her alone in a dark room. 2: I feel like 4 months is too early to transition to a crib. 3: I just felt horrible about doing it. 😔😔 Does this sleeping thing get any easier?

[mumisanerd]

Guess where I was sleeping ❤️ I can't believe how lucky I am to have these two beautiful sons. To be their mom and to have them close every night is so amazing. To be able to make them feel loved and cuddle them. J is a little jalous that they choose me at night, and sometimes I wish they would go to him - sometimes I would like some space. But meeting their needs are the most important thing ❤️