Co-Sleeping

(Veress Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus - public domain)

(Excerpts from Getting Started with Breastfeeding: For Catholic Mothers

“Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed.” (Luke 11:7)

Many mothers find co-sleeping a great way to breastfeed and tend to a baby or young child during the night or a nap. People from long ago and today continue this practice. Co-sleeping and nap nursing are also both valuable parts of the practice of ecological breastfeeding.

An idea for living out your faith: 

Offer to watch a friend’s baby while he sleeps so she can take a shower, go for a short walk, or just take a minute for herself.

(Baby Sleep Information Source website)

Although the AAP discourages bedsharing (one particular form of co-sleeping), some experts such as Dr. James McKenna, who is the world’s authority on mother baby co-sleeping and its relation to breastfeeding and SIDS, believe bedsharing can be done safely and that it has benefits for mom and baby. Dr. James McKenna’s sleep studies show nursing moms curling themselves in a protective manner around their babies as they sleep. Also, their sleep cycles often synchronize so closely that the mom wakes moments before her baby starts to stir or just as her baby is stirring - no crying required.

By nursing a few times at night, which bedsharing babies tend to do, your milk supply is stimulated. Many babies actually take in a large portion of their daily calories during these nighttime feedings, and they often suckle/comfort nurse for long periods of time during the night while mom and baby sleep away. Breast stimulation at night contributes more to lactational amenorrhea than the same number of nursings during the day. Some moms do not start cycling and ovulating again until their babies do not need to nurse anymore at night.

If you are a new mom or a mom of more than one child, you know how exhausting nighttime parenting can be at times. One nice aspect of breastfeeding while bedsharing is that it minimizes the number of times you need to get out of bed or even to wake up completely. Ask a mom who bedshares how many times her baby wakes up to nurse and she may tell you she has no idea! How lovely it is for both mom and baby that all baby needs to do is stir a little bit and the mom half wakes up, latches the baby on and they both go back to sleep!

Here are a few resources I highly recommend:

Safe Co-sleeping Guidelines (Dr. James McKenna’s website)

Co-sleeping articles (Ask Dr. Sears)

One mom’s experience with co-sleeping (CNML blog)

Written by Gina Peterson