Co-sleeping

Many parents choose to have their baby sleep in the bed with them. This is usually not a risk for babies, so long as you observe safety precautions. These include:

• Making sure that bedding is tight enough to prevent baby from suffocating.
• Watching out for loose spaces where the baby could fall and/or become trapped.
• Some parental factors make it more likely to roll over onto the baby. These include: parental alcohol or drug use; obesity; and extremely deep sleeping.

Be sure to discuss sleeping arrangements with your partner. When parents disagree on co-sleeping, stress can result. Talk about when you plan to stop co-sleeping. If you would like it to end during infancy, stopping by 6 months is usually easiest.