co-sleeping // the good, the bad, and the reality.

This post may contain affiliate links

Before I get into this, let me just say that I have zero comment on the hazards and benefits of co-sleeping, so please do your own research. That being said, I can almost guarantee that within your first few years of parenting, you will end up with a child in your bed.

I remember our first time. Mostly because it was our first night at home after leaving the hospital after having Ari. We (safely) co-slept with a co-sleeper thing in our bed. It was out of necessity for us. I was having a hard time nursing and I was flat out terrified of what our first night at home would bring. We did this for the first few weeks before we got into our routine (which, admittedly, wasn’t any better, sleep-wise, for me and Chad).

Since then we’ve found ourselves co-sleeping at random times: when Ari is sick and we want to keep him close to us; when we are visiting relatives and staying in a new place, and, most recently, when Ari wants to sleep in “mommies bed.”

The good thing about co-sleeping is that I can keep a close eye on him when he needs it, and admittedly when we need it, most. The bad, and oftentimes downright ugly, part of co-sleeping, whether you do it regularly or sporadically, is that no one but the baby/toddler seems to get any actual sleep.

And, in reality, my baby won’t always want to sleep in ‘mommies bed.’ He’ll grow up and want to distance himself from me (and from us, in general). So in the meantime, I’ll take a couple of sleepless and restless nights here and there. Especially if that means I get to watch him sleep. Especially if that means for 5 minutes (of 8 total hours), he is wrapped up in my arms. And I’ll treasure those fleeting moments. Because they won’t last forever. ♥

So before you ‘pass judgment’ on a mom (new, old, or otherwise) for posting about sleeping with their kid, just take a deep breath and remember that we’re all just trying to survive.