Sleeping with the baby

"Annals of Parenthood; Sleeping with the Baby, Which Side of the Bed Are You On?
The Author and His Wife Defied the Experts."
by John Seabrook

This is a great article found at this link;

http://www.supportgroupformothers.com/thoughts1.htm

Here's a preview, but it is definately worth reading the whole article!!

I am a co-sleeper. That is, my wife and I sleep with our ten-month-old son, and we've been sleeping with him since he was born. This puts us on the wrong side of the federal government's recent edict about co-sleeping, which is that parents should never sleep with children younger than age two. "Don't sleep with your baby or put your baby down to sleep in an adult bed," stated Ann Brown, chairwoman of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, announcing the results of an eight-year study sponsored by her agency, published in October in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. As a co-sleeper, I wondered, on reading her remarks in the newspaper, after another night in the sack with the boy, what does sleep have to do with consuming product? Sleep is one of the secret channels by which parents communicate with their kids-under the radar, one hopes, of commercial influence and government control. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is the federal agency built at the intersection of those interests. .....

And here he talks about a meeting he had with Dr Ferber, who is often quoted as the inventor of controlled crying;

"But it says here in your book..." I read him two sentences I had read to my wife during one of our 2 A.M. showdowns: "Although taking your child into bed with you for a night or two may be reasonable if he is ill or very upset about something, for the most part this is not a good idea." And, "Sleeping alone is an important part of his learning to be able to separate from you without anxiety and to see himself as an independent individual."

"I wish I hadn't written those sentences," Ferber replied. "That came out of some of the existing literature. It is a blanket statement that is just not right. There's plenty of examples of co-sleeping where it works out just fine. My feeling now is that children can sleep with or without their parents. What's really important is that the parents work out what they want to do."

Helping your baby to sleep - A fantastic new book!

This book is a MUST read for all parents!!!!!!! (I mean it!!)

Helping Your Baby to Sleep -
Why gentle techniques work best
by Anni Gethin & Beth Macgregor

In this groundbreaking book, authors Anni Gethin and Beth Macgregor argue against the practice of ‘controlled crying’, in which parents are encouraged to ‘train’ their children to sleep by ignoring their crying and distress.
Instead they present important research into babies’ emotional and brain development, and offer gentle techniques for parents to use, which take into account a baby’s natural sleep habits.

‘This excellent book, and the resources it directs parents to, offers ways of working with babies’ sleep patterns and of creating the conditions for better sleep without endangering a baby’s mental health or
damaging its experience of being loved and safe.’
From the foreword by Steve Biddulph, author of Raising Boys

Beth Macgregor is a psychologist who trains health and welfare workers in infant mental health, and an active
member of the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health. Anni Gethin is a health social scientist with
special interests in early childhood development, and a lecturer in public health and social science.

Here's some more information here;
http://www.femail.com.au/helping-your-baby-to-sleep.htm

And an interview on ABC radio;
www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2007/1874757.htm