Free Sample
Co-Sleeping: A Practical and Safety Guide
A step-by-step guide to sleeping safely and soundly as a family—what to expect, how to set it up, and when to ask your pediatrician.
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: Why We Wake, Why We Reach: The Real Science of Co-Sleeping
It is 2:47 a.m. You are awake. Again. Your baby - let's call her Lily, because every parent has a Lily or a Leo or a Finn - is latched on, or curled into the crook of your arm, or has thrown one chubby leg over your hip as if to make absolutely sure you cannot escape. Her breathing is a soft, rhythmic puff against your skin. You are exhausted in a way that feels bone-deep, a tiredness you did not know existed before you had a child. And yet, part of you is also ... calm. Her hand is splayed on your chest, fingers occasionally twitching in her sleep. You can feel her heartbeat if you concentrate. You are both here, in this bed, in the dark, and for all the chaos of the day, this moment has a strange, quiet intimacy to it.
But then the other thought creeps in, the one that wakes you up more fully than any crying jag: Is this okay? Am I ruining her? Will she ever sleep alone? What would the pediatrician say? What would my mother say?
If you are reading this book, you are probably somewhere in that 2:47 a.m. fog. Maybe you planned to co-sleep. Maybe you swore you never would, and then you did it out of sheer survival on night four, when the bassinet seemed like a torture device and your arms were the