Deciding on the best place for a baby to sleep

By Published On: March 14th, 2012

Written by: Christopher March 13 2012 I had a horrible […]

Written by: Christopher

I had a horrible sleep the other night. Everett was having a hard time getting to sleep, and he wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of this fact. I can’t complain too much because I’ve been known to be the kind of snorer who can rattle the windows, and so this may have just been my son’s form of revenge. I’ve been able to stay in the same room as Emily and Everett, because up until now, my sleep has never been disturbed. Everett usually just lets out a few noises of discontent, and Emily has adopted a light enough sleeping pattern where she can awake to any noise that sounds like Everett. Plus Everett usually only wakes up twice a night anyway, and so the interruptions are minimal.

Last night Everett could not settle, and wanted to sing a song about it that the neighbours could enjoy. I’m hoping this doesn’t become Everett’s new hobby, because I like my sleep and my clients probably prefer pay copy that was not written by a sleep deprived zombie. Of course, I could sleep in another a room, but I’ve become a big fan of my current bed and I got married so I didn’t have to solely rely on my own body heat to keep warm.

The fact is that Everett sleeping in the same room hadn’t caused any problem until that night. We currently have him sleeping in a bassinet that is positioned on Emily’s side of the bed. It allows Emily easy access in the middle of the dark night, and it also allows her to hear him right away. I think it has worked really well, and for us, it is probably the ideal scenario. I also know there is a lot of debate on where a newborn child should sleep, but in the end I think it comes down to what works best for that baby and family.

I know a few parents that put their baby in a crib and have them sleep in another room the moment they bring the baby home. These parents tell me it works great, and personally feel it was the best situation for them. Usually there is an argument that the baby may become too “clingy” if they are always near the parents. (Though I haven’t heard of any cases of a 20-year-old still needing to have a bed beside mom and dad.) In our case, Everett does have his own room and even has a crib set up, but I personally am way more comfortable knowing he is right beside us. For us, Everett is sleeping near us for our own peace of mind, and it’s easier for Emily to just wake up with Everett nearby rather than have to stumble throughout the house to get to him.

The other popular sleeping arrangement is having the baby sleeping right in the bed with you. The argument for this arrangement is that it allows the baby to bond with you and form a closer relationship. Plus a newborn needs to feel safe and secure, and it will feel that with the parents right beside him. The main argument against it is that it causes the baby to become overly reliant on being near the parents in order to fall asleep, and it will be hard to convince to baby to eventually sleep in his own bed. I don’t like the baby sleeping in the same bed, but it isn’t based off this argument. I’m a bit of a mover and roller when it comes to sleeping, and there have been many times that the cat has scattered to the end of the bed because I almost squashed him. Everett doesn’t have the reflexes of a cat yet, and so the results may be a little worse for him. So, I like him in the room with us, but I also like him away from the human steamroller.

I’ve had different friends use each of these methods. Every one of them feels their method works fantastic, and for them, I am sure it does. I currently like our sleeping arrangement and I feel it works best for us. I’d love to hear what sleeping strategies you use, and why it works for you.