Important Tips for Co-Sleeping with Baby

Co-sleeping, or bed sharing is frowned upon in western cultures. This is due to studies on cot death and sudden infant death syndrome, where in some cases, the death rate of those who bed shared were significantly higher.

Its important to not smoke or drink or take any drugs while co-sleeping, including pain killers, sleeping pills, and prescription medication. Even though you may seem aware, these are factors which can distort the way you normally sleep, and how deep a sleep you fall into.

Its also very important to take into consideration what tod duvet you sleep with. And if you sleep with a pillow to ensure its under your sheet so baby is unable to wriggle under it.

Make sure there are no gaps that baby can wriggle into and get stuck.

Only ever co-sleep on firm surfaces, never waterbeds, or beanbags.

Babies should not sleep with siblings or pets. Babies should always sleep with the mother, so she could breastfeed during the night if necessary. There is a danger to pets or family can roll with the baby and hurt

Babies do not have to sleep with plush bedding, pillows or stuffed animals. In fact, the baby should not sleep or even close to the bed or a soft pillow. Be careful not to close the baby’s face with a blanket, except that it is too cold. You can cover the entire body of a baby in a blanket or quilt, but the face should be left uncovered.

You need to ensure there is not enough bed space to accommodate you and your baby comfortable. A comfortable bed is potentially dangerous for your baby. Each of these beds should have a little room to move.

Guidelines for co-sleeping
The usual ideas for safe sleeping apply to babies who share their parents’ beds:

• Put your baby on his back to sleep (never on his tummy or side).
• Make sure his head is uncovered during sleep.
• Keep the sleep environment smoke-free.
• Provide firm and safe bedding.

Here are some simple additional safety precautions for co-sleeping. These will reduce the chance of accidental death through smothering:

• Avoid sleeping together on the couch – this is very dangerous, as your baby can get trapped between you and the cushions and can suffocate.
• Make sure your bed is firm. Don’t use anything soft underneath (for example, a lamb’s wool underlay).
• Use lightweight blankets, not heavy quilts or doonas.
• Keep sheets and blankets low down on the bed so they can’t cover your baby’s head.
• Put the bed in the middle of the room and check that the mattress fits firmly in the bed frame. This will stop your baby getting trapped between the bed and the wall or the mattress and the bed frame.
• Keep your baby away from any pillows.
• Put your baby beside one parent, but not between parents, so there’s less chance she’ll slip under the bedding.
• Put your baby where she can’t fall out of bed, but not against pillows or a wall. Babies can suffocate under pillows and have died after becoming trapped between the bed and the wall. A safer alternative is placing the mattress on the floor.