Co-sleeping is a natural sleeping arrangement for parents and children that is practiced all over the world, and has been for thousands of years. However, in today’s modern society, there is a stigma around it, and many people consider it to be unsafe. This is simply not the case, as long as you practice safe co-sleeping.
Benefits to co-sleeping include, but aren’t limited to:
- Studies find that children who sleep in the same room as their parents have significantly lower risk of SIDS
- Breast-sleeping (breastfeeding while co-sleeping in the same bed) allows mothers and babies to get more sleep
- Helps parents become attuned to their baby, as they can hear them as soon as they’re getting restless
- Babies learn to regulate their breathing better by being close to their parents
- Gives parents and children a way to bond, even if they are gone from home a lot, or have busy schedules
The AAP recommends that children sleep in the same room as their parents for at least the first year, but they don’t recommend bed-sharing. Bed-sharing is unsafe if: you have a small baby and do not normally bed-share (so your body is not attuned to them being right there with you); parents smoke; parents drink; parents take any medications that can impart their senses, or knock them out; small babies sleep with larger children. Practically all co-sleeping horror stories arise from those unsafe situations, and not seasoned, safe co-sleepers.
With so many advantages to co-sleeping, how then do you go about it safely?
There are several different ways to do it, and it really depends on your family. Some options are: huge family bed; bassinet beside bed; baby in the middle of the bed; sidecar crib.
baby box 
our og sidecar setup
Originally, Todd and I thought we would go for the bassinet in the room thing, but Gwendolyn was not a fan. After that, we switched to the baby in the middle scenario.
To co-sleep safely with baby in the middle of the bed, be sure that there’s a parent (or rail or something) on each side, so that baby can’t roll off. Putting your bed on the floor is even better, because, even if they do take a tumble, there’s not far to go. Our bed is still on the floor, for this reason. Since dad is less connected to baby, it’s best if, at first, he is extra careful to sleep far from the baby. As everyone gets used to sleeping together, that becomes less of a concern. Keep pillows and blankets away. This is the most uncomfortable bit, but better safe than sorry. Baby is also not supposed to be swaddled—though we did, since we bent in a ring around her with no blankets and our room was quite cold—so that they can move. I also like to keep a light on (closet or nightlight) so that I can see where baby is as soon as I open my eyes. It just gives me that little extra bit of security. Once Gwendolyn was rolling, I was nervous, as she would end up sleeping on her face a lot, so I placed her right up against my body while we slept. This worked really well for us, as I was already used to sleeping with her, and wouldn’t move all night, and she could easily breastfeed, all while staying on her back.
how we slept when she was a newborn 
how we slept when she started rolling
We are back to the baby in the middle setup, but since she’s 2.5 now, sometimes she’s on the edge, or on the side by the crib.
If you’re like me, and want to be absolutely sure you have the safest setup, or maybe you’re bed just isn’t quite big enough for baby to join, then a sidecar crib is a tremendous option! To be safe, you just want to make sure the crib is flush with your bed’s mattress (we built a riser platform, before moving our bed to the floor), and that the mattress has no gaps between it and your mattress or the wall. We added foam underneath the crib’s fitted sheet to make sure it took up all the space that we needed it to, leaving no gaps. I still felt compelled to sleeping the crack between the crib and our bed for the first 6 months of Gwendolyn’s life, because I wanted to ensure she still didn’t ever up there. Like with bed-sharing, mom shouldn’t have a pillow right by baby, or blankets. I personally slept with a throw no higher than my hips, and then transitioned to using the duvet again, but making the bed such that the duvet couldn’t quite reach the crib. This setup made me feel very comfortable and safe, and I got good sleep, once we added our sidecar. Now, it’s mostly there just to keep whoever is sleeping on that side from falling out of our queen-sized bed; but we’ll also being using it when baby #2 arrives!
Co-sleeping has been such a blessing for us, in allowing lazier night-feeds, bonding for the whole family, and helping us get more sleep. If you’re considering it, I hope this has helped you find a way that you feel comfortable with. You and your baby deserve to have the very best night’s sleep you can get!
