Where does your baby sleep?

Before Coco was born, we knew we wanted to try co-sleeping, but I was absolutely enamored with the gorgeous Stokke Sleepi. The Sleepi is the most attractive crib in the world and it grows from a bassinet to junior bed with your baby until they're 3 or 4 years old. It also costs an arm and a leg, so I'm glad we decided on co-sleeping! Still, even though we didn't want a crib, I did think that we might want somewhere for Coco to be so she would be safer than in bed where we might roll over on her. 

I looked into something called the Baby Bay. It's a little bed that slides up against your bed and, just like it sounds, makes a little 'bay' on the side of the bed for the baby. It wasn't as beautiful as the Sleepi, but it sounded so perfect. Well, it wasn't! At Klinik Im Park where Coco was born, they had Baby Bays for all of the newborns. After two nights of not sleeping a wink, I finally pulled Coco into bed with me at 5 am one morning, snuggled her close and we both slept soundly until 9 am. That sealed the deal! She has slept in bed with us ever since. (FYI: For safety's sake, I sleep in the middle as research shows that mothers are tuned into their infants and won't roll on them, but that dads might. Yikes! ;)

That's our family bed. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I love co-sleeping even more than I expected to. Surprisingly, at night, Coco and I have a completely different relationship than we do during the day. Sleepy Coco is sweet and gentle and cuddly whereas awake Coco is bright and giggling and squealing. I feel like I would miss out on the sleepy side of her personality if she were to sleep somewhere else and I would really hate that. People caution us that we'll never get her out of our bed, but I'm not worried about that. My favorite part of my day is the quiet time right before I go to sleep. J is already asleep and I nurse Coco in the quiet, dark room where my little family and I are all cozy and safe in bed together. It's  heavenly. I know that most parent's goal is to get their infant sleeping through the night, but I figure she needs to eat as a breastfed baby and so in that way co-sleeping is practical, too. When Coco needs to nurse, I'm right there and it doesn't disrupt J's sleep because I feel her rooting around to find the milk before she ever has to cry. That means less stress for everyone. 

Most of all, it's the sweetness that I love and could never give up. Coco likes to be close, so in her sleep she reaches out with her darling little hand to touch me and make sure I'm still there. Then, with her hand resting lovingly on my shoulder or arm, she lets out a happy little sigh and sleeps like that until she wakes. 

I simply wouldn't have it any other way.