Confessions of an anti-cosleeping mom

I confess: I am anti-cosleeping. Not for you and your family, but for me and my family. Please understand - if your kids sleep in your bed with you, and that works for you, then more power to you.

But it is not for us.

Let me explain why.

First, there are the safety issues. I'm not talking SIDS risk - I am really thinking more here about older babies and children, who are past the high-risk age for SIDS. No, I'm talking more everyday things: What if Daddy one of us rolls over in the middle of the night and squashes the baby? What if the baby gets tangled up in the covers and suffocates?

What if he decides he wants to play in the middle of the night and even though we've put him in between us he manages to squirm his way out and crawl around and fall off of our extra-large king-size bed?

Whew. Do you wonder how I sleep at night? Yeah, me too.

Second, there are the attachment issues. If my baby is sleeping in my bed at 1 year old...18 months old...2 years old...will he still be there at 3 years old? 5 years old? 15 years old?

Okay. Probably not 15. But chances are pretty good that it'll be a few years before I get a good night's sleep again.

Third, there is the comfort issue. Sleeping with a baby in your bed - especially for a nursing mom - means sleeping contorted into random uncomfortable positions - all night long. Well. Maybe that's just me. But remember how much I worry? The contortions are to keep the baby as safe from my husband myself rolling around as possible.

Fourth, and this is the most important one (when you accept that my safety concerns are pretty unlikely to happen) - the best thing for my relationship with my husband is to not have a baby in bed with us. That time before we fall asleep is quality time for us, and having a baby in between us makes it hard for us to connect during this time.

So while my child may be needy and really want that extra Mommy Time, the most important thing for him to be healthy and secure is to know that Mommy and Daddy have a good relationship.

That's why I'm against cosleeping, at least for my family.

But.

Sometimes you just have to do what works, and lately my son has been sleeping with us. It was either that or me sit up all night nursing him. The only way I was going to get to sleep lying down was if I brought him into bed with me. So I did.

We're going to work on getting him into his own room soon. But until then, he's going to sleep with us.

And I am enjoying it. My Baby Guy is snuggly. In the middle of the night, he snuggles up close to me and sleeps, and I love it. In the mornings, he wakes up smiling and jabbering. He leans over to my husband and gives him good-morning hugs. It's sweet and precious and something I'm going to treasure long after he's in his own bed.

That is my confession. I, a mom who is very much against cosleeping - at least for my family - am going to miss sleeping with my Baby Guy.

But I'm looking forward to having my Grown-up Guy all to myself again.