bedside co sleeper Archives - Page 2 of 2

How to Co Sleep with an Infant and Actually Wake Up Well-Rested

Posted on January 18, 2022January 31, 2023 by Sarah Birdwell

Whether you’re welcoming your first little one into the world or have plenty of practice co sleeping with newborns, getting a full night of rest is probably at the top of your priority list. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to take the guesswork out of how to co sleep with an infant in the perfect sleep set-up — one that will deliver you total peace of mind while delivering your little one a full night of Z’s.

Let’s start with the most basic: while some co-sleeping methods (like bed-sharing) are likely to leave you tossing and turning with worry for baby’s safety, a safe bedside co-sleeper helps you sleep soundly — while baby catches plenty of Z’s of their own!

Let’s break down all the reasons why bedside co-sleepers are the no-brainer way that parents support their own rest, while leaving their little one resting peacefully all night long. Here are 4 ways that bedside co-sleepers help you and baby get the quality sleep you crave:

1. Bedside co-sleepers make nighttime nursing easy-as-can-be

You can expect your baby to double their weight in the first five months of their life—and all that growing takes a lot of energy!

Combine that need for a nutrient boost with a tiny tummy that can only take in a little milk at a time and you have the perfect formula for frequent feedings through the night.

For parents who choose a detached crib or baby bassinet, those frequent feedings will mean constantly pushing back the covers, getting out of bed, leaning down into a crib, and then trying to find a position that will let baby feed…without you feeling uncomfortable.

And though your body and mind will both be ready to get some rest once baby is fed and you’re back in bed, getting comfy in your pillows and blankets again is going to take some time.

With bedside co-sleepers, baby is always within reach.

That means you’ll be easily able to give baby what they need without taking long walks across the room (because trust us—those extra steps add up fast!) and without moving from the comfortable space of your bed to find a space to set up and breastfeed baby elsewhere.

Which is good news! Because the less disrupted your sleep feels, the easier it will be to fall right back into dreamland.

2. Bedside co-sleepers help you quickly care for every concern while co-sleeping with infant (without sacrificing comfort!)

Hunger isn’t the only reason your baby might cry during the night.

They might not love the temperature of the room, or could be trying to let you know that a soiled diaper is causing them discomfort. They might even just be calling out for a little extra love.

Being within arm’s reach of your baby helps you quickly — and easily! — take stock of what baby needs. In fact, you won’t even need to leave the comfort of the covers when caring for baby’s cries. Which won’t just help you get more shut-eye during the night. It will also help your body’s regulate.

In fact, researchers have found that your baby’s body deeply senses your closeness. When you co-sleep with infant, your little one’s body temperature naturally (and healthily) raises slightly, while they also use energy more efficiently and breathe more regularly.

3. Bedside co-sleepers make it easier to co-sleep with twins and multiples

For families with twins or multiple newborns, the question isn’t how to co sleep with an infant and wake up well-rested. The question is how to co sleep with infants and get any rest at all.

And while some parents quickly decide to give each baby a crib or baby bassinet of their own, this adds time and distance during every feeding or crisis call.

But a bedside co sleeper for twins can support both babies in safe comfort —without you needing to get up or push off your covers to care for their needs.

When your babies are in a bedside co sleeper for twins, their bodies and minds feel the impact.

Experts believe that when twins sleep together, they’re reminded of the nurturing feeling of sharing a womb. This gives their healthy growth a boost while helping synchronize their feeding and wake-up patterns during the night.

That synchronization is key. Because the more in sync your babies become, the fewer times you’ll be called to care for them—leading to far more sleep for you!

4. Bedside co-sleepers set your mind at peace

When baby isn’t close by, it’s easy to be filled with thoughts of what might be going wrong.

But bedside co-sleepers make it easy to check that baby is sleeping safe and sound.

That means you’ll spend less time wondering and worrying about how baby is doing—and more time getting the sleep you need.

babybay bedside co-sleepers are committed to making peace of mind a priority.

That’s why every babybay bedside sleeper is made of locally-sourced and eco-friendly beechwood that is naturally antibacterial and antistatic. babybay bedside co-sleepers are also free of the toxic wood glues, cheap fillers, plastics, or other harmful chemicals that fill most other cribs, baby bassinets, and bedside co-sleepers.

Because for most parents, figuring out how to co-sleep with infant and wake up well-rested can be a challenge.

But babybay believes that better rest is possible—and is committed to delivering nights full of sweet, sound, and long rest to families like yours.

[Choose your babybay]

How to Co-Sleep with Twins (Safely and Without Any Stress)

Posted on January 11, 2022January 31, 2023 by Sarah Birdwell

Between frequent feedings, diaper changes, and nurturing baby through every fuss — getting a full night of sound rest can be a challenge for any family with a newborn. But for families with twins or multiple newborns (which is what we assume you are, if you’re on this page wanting to figure out the secrets behind how to co-sleep with twins!), getting enough shuteye during the night to care for your babies and tackle all the to-dos of the day can sometimes feel less like a challenge…and more like an impossible-to-achieve dream.

But luckily, twins don’t have to mean the end of your co-sleeping dreams. Because there are ways to co-sleep with twins soundly, safely, and comfortably, while taking away all the stress and second-guessing about how to make your night routine go smoothly.

In fact, co-sleeping makes it easier (not harder) for families with twins to get restful nights of sleep. You just need the right safe sleep tools and how-to help in your back pocket.

Why Co-Sleeping with Twins Makes Your Nighttime Routine Easier

When your baby is first born, they need a lot of milk to grow big and strong.

But they also have a very tiny tummy, which means the adult-loved method of getting three meals a day just won’t cut it.

Though every baby is a little different, you can expect your little ones to feed every 1-3 hours during their first days and 2-4 hours during their first months.

When it comes to twins, you can expect to multiply that feeding schedule times two.

And while other newborn twins sleeping arrangements will require you to get out of bed every time a nighttime feeding call comes and reach over crib bars to give your babies what they need (a walk and reach-down that isn’t too bad the first time around, but can feel much longer and more comfortable the more times it has to be done), co-sleeping lets you care for your little ones without even getting out of bed.

With the right bedside sleeper for twins securely attached to your bedside, you’ll be able to nurse and nurture both of your babies without needing to get up, make frequent trips across the room, or uncomfortably reach down into a more traditional crib or bassinet.

And you can do it all without worrying about whether your set-up is safe, because you’ll know they have a made-just-for-them sleep space that is expertly-engineered to provide for their comfort while delivering all the benefits — for both you and them — that co-sleeping brings.

Good news, right? Here’s the even better news: according to the University of Notre Dame’s Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory, sleeping close to your babies offers necessary physiological regulation and support.

That means sleeping close doesn’t just make things easier for you, but offers your babies the sensorial stimuli they need for healthy emotional development and better resilience in body and mind (among many other co-sleeping benefits!).

What is Co-Bedding and Why Is It Often Considered the Best Sleeping Position for Twins?

Though co-bedding and bed sharing are sometimes used interchangeably, when it comes to twins or multiples, they mean something very different.

In the context of twins, co-bedding refers to the practice of letting multiple babies of very similar ages share a sleeping space such as a bedside co sleeper, a twin crib, or a twin baby bassinet.

Experts are increasingly celebrating co-bedding as a way to mimic the nurturing feeling that twins experience when they’re together in the womb, which provides them with comfort and settles their emotional and physical systems.

In a clinical study carried out by Dr. Helen Ball (Director of the Durham Infancy & Sleep Center), babies who slept together through the night were able to enjoy greater sleep pattern synchronicity.

That means that twins who sleep together are more likely to sleep at the same time — and wake up at the same time too!

So instead of waking up to care for one baby, going back to sleep, and then being called awake again to care for your other baby who needs attention, you’ll be able to meet both of your babies’ needs at once (and spend all that saved time getting some much-needed shut-eye!).

Co-Sleeping with Twins: What are the Best Newborn Twins Sleeping Arrangements?

Though some parents wonder whether encouraging their babies to sleep in the same space will lead to restless sleeping patterns between the two or awkward positioning that can get in the way of their sound sleep, all the research suggests that twins sleep better (not more restlessly!) when they’re together.

And when it comes to helping twins or multiples co sleep soundly, there’s no best practice when it comes to positioning.

Though most twins sleep side-by-side for the first month, you should feel free to let your twins shift to head-to-head, feet-to-feet, or side-by-side diagonal without concern.

No matter what twin co sleeping position you choose, research has proven that all twin co-sleeping positions are equally safe, comfortable for your babies, and supportive of long and restful sleep.

How to Co-Sleep with Twins (The Easy Way!)

With a bedside co-sleeper, co-sleeping with twins becomes even easier.

Like all babybay bedside co-sleepers, the babybay Maxi Tall is designed to give your babies a made-just-for-them sleeping space to feel supported and nurtured all through the night.

With one “such good news!” catch — it’s specifically built to support twins.

And unlike most bedside co-sleepers and cribs out on the market, your babybay is made with 100% eco-friendly, durable, and sustainably-sourced beechwood (and free of all the toxic chemicals, glues, and polishes that you’ll find in most cribs and bedside sleepers).

With the babybay Maxi Tall securely attached to your bed, your baby will stay snug while you gently watch over them from just an arm’s reach away. This bedside co-sleeper is also specially designed to provide your babies the extra wiggle room they need to sleep soundly together — without fighting for space or feeling cramped.

And any time you decide that a twin crib or bassinet for twins will fit your family’s needs better, you can easily convert your babybay Maxi Tall into a standalone baby bassinet. (So that you have plenty of ways to support your babies’ growth and sound sleep as you co-sleep with twins!)

Why Asking “Is Co-Sleeping Bad?” Misses the Real Point

Posted on December 28, 2021February 28, 2023 by Sarah Birdwell

There’s a lot of conversation about co-sleeping out there, but here’s the truth: co-sleeping has long been the preferred (and safe, as long as you choose the right method!) way for families around the world to assure that their babies are getting nurturing rest. That’s why asking “Is co-sleeping bad?” is too simple. But we’re about to set the co-sleeping record straight on all that…

We’re about to break down:

The back-to-the-basics details about what co-sleeping is and how it became the most common method of sleep around the world
The benefits that co-sleeping families enjoy, as well as the way families get more rest just by sleeping close to their little one
How co-sleeping has looked throughout history, and why that matters for sleep deprived parents trying to get more rest now
Where things really stand in this whole “Is c0-sleeping bad?” question, and what co-sleeping families wish more people talked about

The Best Place to Start Is at the Beginning: What is Co-Sleeping?

Co-sleeping is often the catch-all term used to describe the nurturing experience of sleeping with your baby within arm’s reach.

Though the word “co-sleeping” often brings up images of parent and baby sleeping together in the same bed and sharing the same sleep space, the truth is that there are many ways to co-sleep, and each nighttime routine will look a little different for every family.

In recent years, tools like bedside co-sleepers have made it safe, easy, and stress-free to soak in all the benefits of co-sleeping by giving babies a made-just-for-them place to rest their head and get quality sleep through the night.

These methods aren’t only proven-safe through experience, they’re also backed by some of the strictest safety certification standards on the market, with organizations like ASTM International, TÜV Rheinland, and Confidence in Textiles giving bedside co-sleepers like babybay a full stamp of approval.

And though sleeping in separate bedrooms has become the norm in the Western world (which is the leading thing that causes some parents to wonder whether alternatives like co-sleeping are really the best way to go), that doesn’t mean it’s not the preferred bonding-promoting and safety-assuring method of rest across much of the globe.

In fact, studies (like one famously conducted by anthropologist John Whiting) have found that almost 70% of children living around the world sleep in the company of others. (Take a moment to really let those numbers sink in— 70%!)

Benefits of Co-Sleeping: A Quick But Thorough Overview

Through the act of co-sleeping, you and your baby are able to bond and become close-as-can-be during both your waking and sleeping hours. (Hard to believe, but our sleeping hours account for a third of our day — which is why it’s so important to make them count!)

Your baby also benefits from a boosted immune system and better-supported development for their body and mind, which not only benefits their waking hours but leads to more restful time spent in dreamland as well.

Co-sleeping also makes nighttime nursing a breeze by keeping your baby easily within arm’s reach, so that you don’t have to take walks back and forth across the room or repeatedly over crib bars to give your child what they need.

At the end of the day, it shouldn’t really be surprising that there are numerous benefits of co-sleeping. Human biology naturally encourages child and parent to seek contact during the night.

And while you might think that it’s simply love for your child that has you craving a quick hug, kiss, or loving touch during all hours of the day and night (love is definitely part of it, we promise!), that mutual craving for contact is also just built into our physiology.

While that need for nighttime contact through the night isn’t much-talked about in the United States, it’s something that many other cultures around the world understand well.

In Japan, for instance, the most common sleeping position is referred to as kawa no ji (represented by the character for river: 川). The two longer lines in that character represent the parents, while the shorter one represents the child sleeping between — showcasing the close proximity and sleep-together care that goes into nighttime sleep setups.

But in America and other Western cultures, history has set a trend of separating parents and babies during the night.

That’s not because separating parents and babies is better — we’ve just gotten so used to sleeping separately that it’s hard to imagine that another way of sleeping could be more beneficial.

Co-Sleeping Throughout History: Why the Question “What Is Co-Sleeping” Only Started Needing to Be Asked Recently

The Western world’s interest in sleeping separately can partly be traced back to the 19th century, when it became fashionable to show your wealth by building houses with extra bedrooms and filling those extra bedrooms with plush mattresses and beautiful cribs.

Though collecting mattresses is no longer the in-trend fashion statement it used to be, most families in the Western world continue to encourage their children to sleep in separate rooms.

And while there’s nothing wrong with preferring for your child to sleep in a space separate from yours, over time this became seen as the standard way to sleep in the Western world — which quickly made all other sleeping methods seem like unideal alternatives (even if they did, in fact, actually come with a whole host of rest-giving and mind-balancing benefits).

So Let’s Sum It All Up: Is Co-Sleeping Bad?

When co-sleeping is practiced safely, it delivers a bounty of benefits while helping you feel closer to your child (emotionally and physically!) all night long.

But just like you have to make decisions with safety in mind when preparing a nursery or separate room for your child to sleep in, you need to make safety a priority when deciding the co-sleeping method that works for your family.

But if you aren’t sure where to start, start here: bedside infant co-sleepers make safe co-sleeping easy as can be by gifting baby with a safe, secure, and supported space to sleep by your side.

Your baby gets to drift off into sweet dreams with you within arm’s reach, while you get to enjoy the worry-free rest that comes from knowing you can quickly and easily respond to any nighttime feeding call that comes throughout the night.

And while there may be other ways of co-sleeping out there, there’s only one safe co-sleeping method we can recommend.

With the right bedside sleeper by your side, you’ll never have to wonder Is co-sleeping bad? again. You’ll be able to confidently drift toward dreamland, knowing your baby is safe, happy, and soaking in all the benefits that co-sleeping has to offer.

How to Co Sleep With Your Newborn Baby

Posted on December 21, 2021December 21, 2021 by Sarah Birdwell

Experts agree: sleeping close to your baby during the first year of their life helps keep your newborn safe and comforted as they attune themselves to the many sensorial and physical curiosities they’ll encounter as they grow.

But baby isn’t the only one adjusting to new experiences during this exciting time.

Whether you’re welcoming your first baby or are the proud parent to several growing children at home, every day you’re learning more about your little one and discovering the ins and outs of how to co sleep with newborn baby (or babies!) sharing your space.

Co Sleeping Positions (The Safe and the Not-So-Safe)

There are many ways to cosleep, each as unique as the family that practices them.

However, not all co sleeping techniques put the same emphasis on safety.

Though bed sharing and co-sleeping are often seen as interchangeable, big safety differences separate them.

While well-designed bedside co-sleepers make it easy for you to get a full night of stress-free rest by giving baby a firm, built-for-them space to sleep, your made-for-adults mattress and bedding don’t provide the same support.

When bed sharing with a newborn, all it takes is one wrong wiggle for baby to end up tangled in too-soft bedding or covered by pillows or blankets that they can’t quite crawl out from yet.

Luckily, baby co-sleepers like the babybay fit flush against your own bed (keeping you right beside your baby all through the night!) and give your newborn baby a secure space to sleep comfortably.

Bedside co-sleepers will give you with all the benefits that co-sleeping has to offer—like better bonding between you and baby, supported development for baby’s body and mind, and a better rest for all—without a single safety concern.

That’s what we like to call a perfect co-sleep scenario.

Keep Your Newborn Baby Comfortable While Co-Sleeping

Not all co-sleepers are created equal.

Think of it like this: when adults walk into a mattress store, they have a list of preferences that could be a mile long.

Not too soft, not too firm, built for back pain, hypoallergenic, all foam, no latex, pillow-top…

It often takes a few hours in the store and a few dozen tested-out mattresses to find the meant-to-be one that works for you.

Just because your newborn hasn’t quite mastered the syllables they need to clue you into what they find comfiest doesn’t mean they don’t have an opinion.

That’s why it’s important to find a bedside cosleeper specifically designed and customized with your baby in mind.

The babybay co-sleeper is designed in a half-moon shape to mimic the protective feeling of being cradled in a hug and constructed from all-natural materials that are friendly both to the earth and to baby’s body.

(Yep, most cosleepers and cribs are made with toxic chemicals, glues, and finishes that can put baby’s healthy development at risk.)

babybay cosleepers are also easily customizable with three size options and accessories like hypoallergenic mattresses, mattress covers, canopies, and 100% cotton jersey sheets that take all of the guesswork out of maximizing baby’s coziness and comfort.

Keep Yourself Comfortable While Co-Sleeping

We’re parents too, so we get it—as soon as baby comes, their comfort becomes priority #1.

But it can be difficult to keep baby comfortable if you’re not feeling well or well-rested yourself.

That’s why making time for some self-care during the early months of baby’s life is an important part of learning how to cosleep with your newborn.

Being well-rested allows you to put more attention and energy into making sure that baby has everything they need to sleep through the night soundly.

It’s also easier to enjoy and appreciate all the special moments you share with baby—like those oh-so-sweet moments when you’re lying next to baby’s bedside cosleeper and watching them fall slowly into dreamland—when you aren’t desperately devoting all your energy to simply keeping your eyes open.

Thankfully, baby co sleeper crib like the babybay can help you get better, longer, and more restful sleep than traditional cribs or other (and less safe) cosleeping methods.

With baby so close by, nighttime nursing becomes a breeze (rather than a must-do that sucks up many valuable minutes of sleep time).

By sleeping so close to baby, you’ll also be able to be more aware of (and responsive toward!) any concerns that baby has through the night.

That means less time spent in high-energy adrenaline mode trying to discover how to help, and more time spent identifying and caring for baby’s needs the fast and peaceful way.

Because here’s the truth: your baby is growing bigger every day

Sooner than you would believe, they’ll be ready to move out of their bedside co-sleeper into a crib or room all their own.

Well, we thought of that too! Your babybay bedside sleeper has a conversion kit that transforms your co-sleeper into a standalone bassinet.

Instead of spending these early moments in baby’s life worrying about how to cosleep with your newborn baby, let the babybay co sleeper help set your mind at ease so you can spend less time stressing and more time appreciating every moment—waking and sleeping!—with your newborn.

A Co-Sleeping Timeline: Early Milestones to Watch

Posted on December 3, 2021December 21, 2021 by Sarah Birdwell

When baby first comes home, the ideal place for them to sleep soundly is by your side in a bedside co-sleeper specially designed to keep them safe, secure, and enveloped in a hug of love all through the night.

But over the next few months, your baby will grow from a newborn into a crawling, playing, keep-you-on-your-toes toddler. And when that time comes, you may begin thinking about the best age to transition from co-sleeping with your family’s own special timeline in mind.

Every baby is unique, and so is every family. That means that every cosleeping journey will look a little different.

But no matter your family’s special cosleeping timeline, it can be helpful to check in at different milestones during baby’s first few months to stay aware of both baby’s development and your family’s needs. Checking in during these early months can help you make decisions about the best age to transition from co-sleeping down the road (even if that time still feels far, far off for you!).

No matter when you decide to stop co-sleeping, the good news is that co sleeping with your baby during their early life has left them well-prepared to take on sleeping (and the world, while they’re at it!) all on their own.

Co-sleeping helps your baby develop sensory awareness, meaning that they’ll easily be able to tell the difference between comfort or crisis and rest—or call for your help—accordingly.

Your baby has also had plenty of time to nurture a deep and meaningful relationship with you, which means they will feel surrounded and supported by your love even if you’re sleeping farther than an arm’s length away.

This means when the time to transition from cosleeping comes, you and baby will be more than ready to tackle all the nights of snoozes and sweet dreams ahead.

When to Stop Co-Sleeping: The 5 Month Milestone

Baby’s first few months set the stage for a lifetime of healthy growth.

That’s why co-sleeping during this part of baby’s life is such an important tool in their grow-big-and-strong toolkit.

By catching their first few months of z’s in a designed-just-for-them bedside co-sleeper that fits flush against your bed (meaning you’re always close by!), baby will benefit from a boosted immune system and better supported emotional and physical development.

That’s why it’s important to take full advantage of all the co-sleeping benefits your bedside cosleeper can offer in these early months of baby’s life.

Though Europe tests and endorses bedside co-sleepers through baby’s first year, the United States has yet to expand their testing and endorsement procedures past five months of age.

However, experts agree that sleeping close to your baby is still best practice through the first year of their life.

That means around five months might be the right time to start taking stock of how baby has grown and decide whether it might be time to start transitioning your baby into a crib or convert your cosleeper into a bedside bassinet or whether they’re still comfy-as-can-be where they are.

When to Stop Cosleeping: The 9 Month Milestone

When it comes time to fully decide when to stop co sleeping, developmental stages and family needs are more important indicators than age.

That’s because all babies are unique, and their growth stages are going to be just as unique as they are.

Likewise, no two families are the same. What works well for one family might cause nights of restless tossing and turning for another.

It’s a good idea to check in with baby at the 9 month milestone to make sure that co-sleeping is still the best sleeping solution for them (and you!).

If baby has started feeling confident enough in their mobility to move from the safe space of their bedside co-sleeper into the maze of blankets and pillows that you keep on your own bed, it might be time to think about keeping baby more secure with a standalone baby bassinet or crib.

Those blankets and pillows you love to curl up in and keep close can quickly become a safety hazard to baby. Though baby might be learning to be a confident crawler at this age, they still haven’t quite figured out the art of being an escape artist.

(Ready to learn more about how to cosleep safely? We’ve got you covered!)

And when it comes to plush bedding that can easily wrap around them or cover their head, those escape artist skills are much-needed to assure fully safe sleeping throughout the night.

But remember: at the end of the day, only you know the cosleeping timeline that works best for your family.

The day when it’s time to stop co-sleeping with baby will come.

But when it does, be excited to walk with baby toward their next milestone!

Because baby has been cosleeping all life long, their body and mind are ready to take full advantage of all the developmental benefits and conquer every new adventure that comes their way during nights ahead.

And just because baby is ready to transition their bedside co sleeper into a bedside bassinet or sleep in a crib all their own doesn’t mean they have to go far.

If you choose to stop co sleeping around one of these early milestones, you can still help support baby’s next stage of sleep by positioning their baby bassinet or bedside crib right against your bed, or moving it no more than a step or two away from your own mattress.

That way, baby will still be able to feel your loving presence offering comfort from close by, even as they adjust to the feeling of sleeping in this new space that is fully their own.

As baby becomes more comfortable in their bedside bassinet or crib (and as space in your bedroom allows), you can slowly move baby’s sleeping space farther and farther from your own bed. This will help baby gradually develop confidence and awareness that you’re nearby to help, even when you’ve stopped co-sleeping and are farther than an arm’s length or two away.

And on the day you decide it’s finally time to move baby into a room that’s fully their own, they’ll feel well-prepped for this next important step.

What Age is Co Sleeping Safe for Your Baby?: How to Sleep with Full Peace of Mind

Posted on November 13, 2021January 31, 2023 by Sarah Birdwell

As soon as parents begin to consider co-sleeping as the sleep practice that will best support their family’s peaceful and restful sleep, there’s one question that always seems to come up: what age is co-sleeping safe for my little one?

To answer this question fully (and give your family all the tools you need to get full nights of stress-free sleep), there are a few important things to cover, ones like:

- How co-sleeping is different from room sharing or bed sharing (and why that difference matters)
- What co-sleepers are, and how parents use them to help their baby get more sleep (while getting more sleep themselves)
- How your baby’s sleep set-up might change at the 5 or 6 month mark (and why this change is an exciting sign of healthy growth!)
- What co-sleeping might look like past the 1-year mark (and how to safely sleep as your little one grows older)

We’re going to break it all down so that you can skip straight past the struggle of “trying to figure it all out” and get to the part where you’re getting more restful nights of sleep — while helping your little one soak in all the co-sleeping benefits each night.

What Is Co-Sleeping and Why Does “What It Is” Matter So Much?

As soon as baby is born, most parents invite their newborn into their bedroom to sleep nearby for a form of co-sleeping called “room sharing.” Experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that room sharing is the safest method of caring for your newborn during the first 6 months of their life (and ideally the first year).

Unlike with some other forms of co-sleeping that involve inviting your baby into your bed to share a mattress, room sharing describes the practice of sleeping close to your baby while still giving them a sleep space all their own (one expertly-engineered to support their comfort and safety). A mother and baby practicing safe co-sleeping | babybay Bedside Bassinets

Choosing to sleep near your baby — while still giving them a space to rest that’s designed for them — lets you experience all the bonding and better rest-giving benefits of traditional forms of co-sleeping, while reducing the risk of SIDS by as much as 50%.

How Bedside Co-Sleepers Get Involved in the Safe Sleep Conversation

Bedside co-sleepers are expertly-designed to offer you and baby a safe co-sleeping solution to maximize rest time, emotional bonding, and healthy development during the oh-so-important first months of their life.

They do this by giving your little one a firm, stable surface away from the plush and not-baby-friendly softness of your own mattress and blankets — while keeping them within arm’s reach of you all through the night.

There are several reasons why room sharing and separate surface co-sleeping take top prize when it comes to co-sleeping with your newborn during their first few months, ones that remain fully focused on safety and comfort:

Reason #1: It makes it easier to adjust to your baby’s sleep patterns (which makes sleep easier for you both)

When your baby is first born, they aren’t quite oriented to the differences between day and night. This is a truth that easily wreaks havoc on their (and your!) sleep schedule.

Until your baby develops their circadian rhythm — the 24-hour clock within all of us that regulates our patterns of sleepiness and alertness — your baby will have a hard time sleeping for more than a few hours at a time.

Being able to care for their every need (whether that means putting a comforting hand on them during a crisis call or helping them with nighttime feeding them when the times comes) without even leaving your bed can make it easier for you to give care without interrupting your own sleep.

Which means you can get more rest each night, while feeling less grogginess when you wake up in the morning.

Reason #2: It makes nighttime nursing easier.

When babies are first born, they have very tiny tummies. Combine that tiny tummy with all the energy they’re expending growing big and strong and you have the perfect recipe for needing to frequently feed.

Though every baby is different, your baby might call out for feeding every 2-4 hours. And while this might feel like a lot to keep up with during the day, it can feel even more challenging at night.

Choosing separate surface co-sleeping during your baby’s first days, weeks, and months (by choosing to use a bedside co-sleeper) can help you catch some much-needed extra shut-eye while quickly responding to baby’s every nursing need.

You’ll be able to provide them with milk that will help them grow big and strong without even getting out of bed. Which ends up being a win-win for them and you — because you’ll be keeping them happy and healthy while getting extra hours of sleep yourself.

Reason #3: Separate surface co-sleeping uniquely supports mommas post c-section.

Getting sleep after a c-section can be a challenge for some moms.

Just because c-sections are one of the most common ways to deliver a baby today (with c-sections accounting for 1 in 3 births in the US), that doesn’t mean they aren’t major surgery.

Moms need to rest after a c-section. And luckily, safe co-sleeping is one of the best ways for them to support their baby with nighttime feeding while still caring for their body by limiting how much movement they need to do.

Instead of reaching over crib bars or having to roll over and walk to another room in the house, bedside co-sleepers and other safe co-sleeping tools help mothers care for their little one right where they are — while supporting the needs of their still-healing body.

This makes them a no-brainer for many families who are getting back into the swing of things post c-section, and a no-brainer for many moms who find that the crib they purchased (with high bars they have to reach over multiple times a night) just isn’t a comfy enough solution as they heal.

How to Safely Co-Sleep with a 6-Month Old

Throughout Europe, models of bedside co-sleepers are endorsed for and regularly enjoyed by parents and baby up through one year of age. That means parents can support their little one with worry-free co-sleeping throughout all the early stages of their baby’s life.

(In fact, some pretty cool people like Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, and German pro soccer player Sebastian Jung have been known to sleep with a babybay by their bedside during these important first months.)

Though the US only tests co-sleepers up through 5 months, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends continuing to room share with your baby through at least the 6-month mark.

For parents who want to continue to reap the emotional-bonding and healthy-growth benefits of co-sleeping past that 5-6 month mark, this might be a good time to convert your safe co-sleeper into a bedside bassinet that stays right by your bedside.

A bedside bassinet will take all the guesswork out of how to safely co-sleep with a 6-month old, while still giving them new room to grow their independence in a sleep space all their own.

How to Safely Co-Sleep with a 9-Month Old

By 9 months, your baby will be becoming increasingly independent. No longer content to simply lay on their back all through the night, they’ll likely feel the urge to move and crawl around during any break from sleep.

As your baby continues to explore their own mobility, your co-sleeping environment may need to be adapted to support their needs.

Though by now your baby is full of the adventurous spirit and can-do attitude they need to turn your mattress into a fun-filled playground, it’s better to save that kind of exploring for when you’re awake and watching.

The truth is, your baby might still be too young to be fully supported by the softness of your comfy-as-can-be mattress, blankets, and pillows. The wrong roll, twist, or turn during the night can leave baby struck with no clue how to get themselves out.

To keep baby safe, make sure that you move them to a space of their own by converting your safe co-sleeper into a bedside bassinet or standalone crib as soon as baby starts being filled with that must-move, must-dance, must-explore spirit.

The “How To” and Benefits of Co-Sleeping with a 1-Year-Old

As Dr. James J. McKenna — founder and director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame — discovered, co-sleeping supports babies by helping them breathe more regularly, maintain a consistent body temperature, use energy more efficiently to grow strong, and experience less stress.

Though these remain some key benefits of co-sleeping with a 1-year old, it’s also important to remember that every child is unique. The safety of different sleep set-ups will largely depend on your child’s developmental stages and how they line up with your needs as parents.

Between one to two years of age, your child will grow from a tiny bundle of joy into a free-moving and free-exploring adventurer who doesn’t just know how to get themselves into some fun-filled situations…but how to get out of them safely as well.

By this time, your child should be able to naturally be able to move out of, roll over, and free themselves from any kind of restraining blanket, pillow, or comfy comforter that comes their way. Which might give you reason to adjust your sleep set-up to suit.

Though certain sleep tools like the babybay co-sleeper bassinet are expertly-designed to safely support your baby through their first several months of life (and take all the second-guessing out of answering the question: What age is co-sleeping safe?), you’ll have to use your own judgement when deciding when your baby is ready to leave their co-sleeper and crib behind to try out a different sleep set-up.

Because just like in everything when it comes to parenting, the only one who truly can decide what works best for your family is you.

What Is Co-Sleeping and How Do I Know if It’s Right for My Baby?

Posted on November 3, 2021December 30, 2022 by Sarah Birdwell

So what is co-sleeping?

Whether you’re a preparing parent-to-be looking into all of the sleep set-up options out there, or have simply heard about co-sleeping on the playground and are wondering what’s up — let us introduce you to one of the oldest and most parent-loved sleep practices out there.

We’re about to break down the what, why, and how of co-sleeping, while giving you all the inside insights you need to decide whether co-sleeping is right for you and your family.

Let’s Start with the Basics: What is Co-Sleeping?

Co-sleeping is often used as a catch-all term to describe the experience of sleeping with your baby close by.

Co-sleeping may look a little different for every family. Parents may lay their child in a safe bedside sleeper that attaches to the side of their own bed, or they might share a bedroom with their child but encourage baby to sleep in a separate crib (this kind of sleep practice is more often — and more accurately — referred to as “room sharing”). They might even sleep with their baby nestled up against them all through the night.

Though there are many ways to co-sleep, some are far safer than others. (Bedside sleepers, we’re looking at you and giving you a gold star!)

With a safe sleep tool like a bedside co-sleeper by your bedside, you’re able to sleep with your baby no more than an arm’s reach away. This makes nighttime nursing a breeze, while giving you up-close-and-personal insight into when (and how!) your baby needs a little extra support during the night.

When Did Co-Sleeping Become a Thing?

Though parents in many modern Western countries have popularized separate bedrooms and detached cribs, for thousands of years parents have been going to sleep with their newborn baby curled up close to their side.

In fact, parents from many different cultures have long understood that co-sleeping promotes healthy emotional and physical development while bonding you and your baby, easing the stress of nighttime nursing, and gifting everyone in the house a more restful night of rest.

(A full night of rest—now that’s something at the top of every new parent’s wish list!)

But as soon as mattresses and cribs became the new in-trend home fashion statement of the 19th century, parents in the Western world increasingly kicked children out of their own beds and moved them into mattresses and rooms of their own. In America, Canada, and Europe, some parents continue to boot children out of their own bedroom and encourage them to sleep through the night alone.

However, anthropologist John Whiting surveyed 186 cultures and found that solitary sleeping might be a Western trend, but it’s far from a universal norm. He discovered that almost 70% of children living and growing around the world sleep in the company of others.

That proves that co-sleeping isn’t just a trend — it’s the most popular and longest-loved sleeping practice in history.

Co-Sleeping Benefits: What Parents Like Best

When it comes to co-sleeping benefits, there are some that support your body, some that support your mind, and some that are fully focused on helping your baby develop healthily.

Research has shown that parents remain physiologically connected their baby long after they’ve given birth. Co-sleeping builds off this connection by setting parent and child in the close proximity they need to become responsive to breathing patterns and uniquely attuned to wakefulness.

Experts have also discovered that this kind of night-time close contact leads to a host of other benefits for baby, by helping them:

Stabilize their body temperature
Breathe more regularly (partly by matching their breathing patterns to their parents)
Use energy efficiently
Grow more quickly
Feel more calm and experience fewer moments of heightened stress

It also helps mothers (especially those who are getting used to getting sleep after c-section) by making it easy to nighttime nurse without getting out of bed, or offer comfort without continuously needing to reach over crib bars.

But How Does Co-Sleeping Deliver All These Benefits?

To grow healthily in body and mind, your baby needs to be able to receive—and respond to—a ton of sensory feedback. When babies are shut alone in their room at night, they lose the opportunity to grow their sensory awareness during their sleeping hours.

But when babies are able to sleep close to others, they learn to bond and build meaningful connections while learning, growing, and developing an ability to separate and identify different sensory input.

This helps them breathe more regularly, while experiencing less stress overall by learning what it feels like to be safe, secure, and protected.

(And that’s good news—because when babies are less stressed, they put more energy into healthy growth and reap the rewards of a healthier immune system!)

Before We Go: What Is the Difference Between Co-Sleeping and Bed Sharing?

Many parents who start to explore co-sleeping will find another term pop up in their suggested searches: bed sharing.

Bed sharing is just as it sounds — it’s the practice of inviting your newborn not just into your bedroom, but onto your mattress as well.

Though bed sharing may boast some of the same benefits as other forms of co-sleeping — including increased bonding between parents and child and a less stressful night’s sleep for all — it can also be far less safe.

The feather-topped, super-soft, oh-so-pillowy mattresses that most of the Western world prefers can’t properly support your baby throughout the night. Your baby needs firmness and stability under their body while they sleep to ensure their body’s healthy growth.

Though baby will love having you nearby as they rest, they won’t love your sleeping surface. Nor will they love all the extra blankets, pillows, and other comfort materials that adults love to surround themselves with as they sleep.

As comfy as it might be for adults to tuck into a long night surrounded by a cloud of goose down, those comfort items can easily get wrapped around your baby throughout the night and lead to unsafe situations. That’s why parents should choose safe sleep for babies when setting up their environment.

By choosing a bedside sleeper that fits flush against their bed, parents can control the specifics of their baby’s environment. (The first step? Pick a bedside co sleeper that’s right for baby and right for your room!)

Baby can sleep securely nestled within an arm’s reach of their parents, but feel comforted and protected on a mattress that is firm enough to support them and ensure safe sleeping. They can receive, learn, and grow from all the sensory input they receive throughout the night — while their parents sleep soundly knowing that they are safe in a bedside sleeper built just for them.

[LEARN MORE ABOUT BABYBAY BEDSIDE SLEEPERS]

Infant Sleeping Guidelines

Posted on February 10, 2021August 24, 2021 by sam

It brings a sigh of relief to Mom and Dad when this peaceful moment occurs. Naturally, all parents want to have their infant fall into a deep sound sleep, because a baby that gets the required sleep is less likely to be a pool of crying eyes afterwards.

Creating the right sleep environment for infants and using recommended sleep guidelines from health professionals can make all the difference to both the parents and the infant’s well being. When parents follow proper sleep guidelines for infants, it can lessen the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

To help young parents, we’ve collected these helpful tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics to check to see if you’re helping your infant’s sleeping practices. We hope so!

Sleeping guidelines for infants

Babies should sleep on firm, flat sleep surfaces. We recommend the original babybay bedside co-sleeper to start out with when you arrive home with your infant. You can then convert this sleeper into a bassinet as your baby grows.

Babies under 12 months old should be carefully placed on their back to sleep for naps. The AAP notes that your baby can be left in a side or front position, if your baby is already able to roll from the back-lying position to the side or stomach.

The AAP strongly discourages bed-sharing habits for infants under a year old with parents. But we definitely recommend letting your baby sleep in the same room, and alongside your bed in a baby bed.

Try not to let your babies sleep with any kind of soft pillows, plush toy animals, comforters, blankets or extra bedding parts until at least a year and a half old. Just a baby in a onesie often works best.

Keep the baby’s crib or bassinet within reaching distance of the parent bed. This helps to comfort the baby or breastfeed without having to stand up and walk over to a crib.

These are just a few of the highlighted guidelines recommended by the AAP for the safety of your child. It’s important that your baby sleeps on the back for a more restful sleep. And that’s why we think that our babybay is the right baby bed sleeper to have the whole family sleep better!