I don't know if its just a coincidence but it seems a lot of AP/alternative parenting type things have been attacked of late almost every week and sometimes more than one topic a week and most of these things I'm very familiar with and have research extensively and the stuff there reporting in the news is just compleatly untrue or misleading and it makes me MAD!!!!
Co- Sleeping, Homebirth, home schooling, vaccinations even breastfeeding have all taken a hit, and then we have the story by ACA just this week saying that Lucas Papaw ointment is a miracle cream which I couldn't believe it seeing as its main ingredient is petroleum, yes that's right folks Its only like 4% fermented paw paw and because its registered with the TGA they don't have to list the base ingredients. You can read more about it here and here.
Pappa B and I were roapable when we just happened to catch the Co-Sleeping story on The Project this week, we were waiting for biggest loser to start and had no idea this was going to be on! It was just a ludicrous report saying " the coroners are urging mothers not to co sleep" they even compared it to not properly restraining you child in the proper child restraint which I just cant even seen how the 2 even compare. They had the gorgeous Pinky McKay on and even though her little bit was positive the overall report was compleatly negative and full of scare tactics rather than proper facts and information.
We need to be educating families on safe co sleeping/bed sharing the same way we do for cot sleeping instead of telling them its dangerous, your baby will suffocate ect ect. It saddens me greatly that there are mothers out there listening to the mchn's that are saying this and watching the news reports and feeling guilty for co sleeping or going against their instincts and stopping co sleeping altogether.
Of course Co sleeping can be dangerous; just as unsafe use of cots, prams, carseats, highchairs is dangerous. If you not following the safety guidelines all these things are dangerous so why do they feel the need to slam one of the most beautiful natural parts of parenting. I just drives me bonkers that there not educating parenting how to co sleep/bedshare safely. Here's a great post from Dr. Momma 7 Benefits of Co Sleeping and the ABA's article on Breastfeeding, Co Sleeping and sudden unexpected death in infancy has a great load of facts and stats along with safety guidelines.
The basic guidelines I adhere to are:
* You should not co sleep if you are a smoker or under the influence of alcohol or drugs
*You should not co sleep if you are extreamly fatigued
*Make sure the sleeping surface is nice and firm, you should not co sleep on soft surfaces like a couch as it poses a suffocation risk
*Make sure any bedding and pillows are away from baby they pose a suffocation risk
* Make sure you mattress is tightly fitting to the bed frame and bed head so there are no gaps baby could possibly get stuck in
*In a sidecar situation make sure the cot is tightly connected to the main bed by either okky straps or something similar or in our case we have the cot pressed right up against the wall then the main bed pushed up against the cot our bed is heavy and there's no way it will move away.
We have co slept with all of our 4 kids at one point or another, especially from birth till about 4 weeks. We love it and there are just so many benefits for mother and baby and when combined with breastfeeding those night feeds are soooo easy.
Benefits include:
* More sleep for baby and mum
*Great for forming a good breastfeeding relationship
*Studies show co sleeping helps regulated babies breathing, temperature and heart rhythms
*Lower risk of SIDS when safe co sleeping guidelines are followed, countries where co sleeping is the norm have a very low SIDS rate in comparison to countries where the cultural norm is to have babies in cots and in a separate room from their parent/s.
*It also has benefits for the child's long term emotional health.
When I wake up in the morning to my little princess's face I feel so blessed and its something I want other people to have the joy of experiencing too. It makes me sad to think some parents will never wake up to that, its such a special time for me and my daughter, we just gave into each others eyes and let the love flow.
Omg, I hear ya! We have just put the cot up next to our bed ready for new bub in July but Katie age 4 has taken to sleeping in it. So many friends and family have made rude comments about it saying it is unnatural to even have a baby there let alone a four year old. I love having her there and will not make her leave. When she is ready to go back to her bed I will support her but secretly I will be a little sad too!
ReplyDeleteUn-natural! how do they get that, when if we went back to the beginning of course we would of been sleeping with our little ones. Try not to let it get to you, I know that can be hard. Sometimes I refrain from telling people things about our life now unless Im asked because its not worth the drama.
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