Mamas I recommend it!


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Just wanted to post some successful milestones that my son and I have achieved in his first year and in 2017. He's 14 months and I'm still cosleeping and breastfeeding him. This is something that I hadn't done or limitedly did with my daughter who is 5 now. My personal goal was to breastfeed to a minimal of 6 months which tends to be the recommended age for babies. We achieved 8 months of exclusively breastfeeding before introducing him to solids, which has reduced a lot of food allergies and the reflex to spit up or push out food with his tongue. Now well on his way to being a toddler, he still receives the beneficial nutrients from breast milk and is also a champion eater. He literally out eats my 5-year old! As for cosleeping, due to societal and family member pressure, I felt that stuffing my first child into a crib was the answer. She was extremely colicky. With my son I decided to cosleep with him and allow him to nurse as he needed through the night. Surprisingly, both my husband and I get great sleep in comparison to our first experience with child #1. If you're wondering about intimacy, we haven't had any problems getting our 1-1 time in, either. So mamas, if you're on the fence about cosleeping and extended breastfeeding, I would say to you, GO FOR IT :) I recommend it.

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YES YES YES!

I bucked societal pressure too to do the co-sleeping and breastfeeding as long as possible.  My biggest worry was that my husband - who sleeps so deeply that he'll sleep through an alarm clock - would smother the baby in his sleep.  But it wasn't a problem for us.  I think there's some instinctive thing in my husband that prevented that from happening because he would wake up immediately if the baby whimpers.

But then we took it too far (no regrets) because we didn't bother kicking them out of bed as they got older.  I have a 13 year old now who still climbs into our bed in the middle of the night occasionally.  The 15 year old wouldn't get caught sleeping with his parents... it is way too uncool... even in scout camps.

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27 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

I think there's some instinctive thing in my husband that prevented that from happening because he would wake up immediately if the baby whimpers.

Self preservation.  My now-7-year-old was born with an instinct for groin strikes in her sleep.  Even napping with her on the couch these days I wake up at the slightest twitch and make sure I'm not open to a foot, knee or elbow.

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Our kids stayed in a small bassinet/crib next to our bed for about the first year of their lives.  I love the idea of co-sleeping and will often snuggle my kids during naptime.  But I won't do it at night anymore, and I can't bring myself to recommend it; since late last year when I found myself defending a mother who had suffocated her infant by co-sleeping.

But we never had to deal with colic, either; and there's no denying that it is the "natural" thing to do.  I don't judge people who co-sleep; but I hope they're aware of the potential consequences.  Because it does happen, to real people; and having to live with that sort of thing in your past is a special circle of hell.

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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44 minutes ago, Backroads said:

The 15-month still breastfeeds and eventually winds up in our bed every night.

My general breastfeeding goal is 2 years. 

I set a goal of... until they quit.  It ended up being 16 months for the first kid and 18 months for the other.

Same thing for co-sleeping... until they quit.

Edited by anatess2
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4 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

If we did that we'd have a 17 year old in our bed along with the other six kids.

Possibly.  I have a 13 year old that still climbs into bed with us in the middle of the night sometimes.  The 15 year old wouldn't get caught sleeping with his parents (he went mr. independent around 8 years old).  He even wants a lock in his bedroom door.  We, of course, said No.

Edited by anatess2
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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 weeks later...
On 2/16/2017 at 8:12 PM, anatess2 said:

 bucked societal pressure too to do the co-sleeping

Is not normal to have family bed in America? My family only had one bed when I was young we all had to share or sleep on floor around the bed.

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On 2/23/2017 at 11:10 AM, mordorbund said:

So lax. Why does he have a bedroom door?

Fire safety.

FWIW, fire professionals also recommend that bedroom doors be closed at any time someone is sleeping, so toxic smoke has less chance to accumulate in the bedroom before they wake up.  I've had a house with such strong airflow that smoke would be pulled right past the hall detector into the bedrooms without concentrating enough to set the detector off if the doors were left open.  Relocating the detector (and teaching the ex wife that heavy smoke is an indication you're doing something wrong with a casserole) helped some, but closing the doors made a lot more sense.

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On 8/18/2018 at 5:24 PM, JayKi said:

Is not normal to have family bed in America? My family only had one bed when I was young we all had to share or sleep on floor around the bed.

Not only is not the norm to have only one bed, it's not the norm for the kids to not have their own bedroom.

And, to top that off, it's not the norm to just have one family car.  The dad has a car, the mom has a car and my 17-year-old is the only one in our YM who has a driver's license and does not have his own car. 

America is an awesome country.

Edited by anatess2
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9 hours ago, anatess2 said:

Not only is not the norm to have only one bed, it's not the norm for the kids to not have their own bedroom.

And, to top that off, it's not the norm to just have one family car.  The dad has a car, the mom has a car and my 17-year-old is the only one in our YM who has a driver's license and does not have his own car. 

America is an awesome country.

I did no have my own bed ever. My little sisters use to always come to sleep in my bed even when I had own room. Is was fine I think I would have family bed is no bad. America is no awesome because everyone has own bed. 

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On 8/18/2018 at 11:00 PM, Sunday21 said:

Co sleeping is frowned upon. We had a tragedy in my family a few  generations ago. A child was smothered. No one speaks about the incident but everyone knows.

We no so much have baby in family bed in Costa Rica usually they swaddled and placed on curtain like a hammock. Or they put in a box like a draw or cardboard. I had a woven basket when I was baby

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