Family bed hazards
I am an accidental co-sleeper. I don't have a family bed out of some deep philosophical argument for attachment parenting or any type of crunchy granola lifestyle choice.
Last year when Myles and I came up to Pittsburgh for a few weeks at the beginning of the summer (that ended up stretching to a year), some of the places we stayed did not have room for our Pack-n-Play or a crib, so Myles slept in the same bed as I did. Now that we are in our own house, his crib remains unassembled. I'd like to get it set up soon, but it is a 2-person job.
So Myles remains in my bed with me. Again, this was completely by chance so I really don't have a firm understanding of the family bed concept. I haven't read that much abuot it, so I don't know if in the attachment parenting books or websites there are any warnings about this, but my bed has been taken over with snuggle toys. A quick inventory shows that we also share this bed with at least three teddy bears, a dog (sometimes 2), a monkey, a frog, a tiger, and a turkey vulture (Kate is out of town so Crispian has joined the slumber party and brought with him his current bedtime toy). There can also occassionaly be a train and a monster truck or two, but I usually try to fish them uot before I go to sleep because they are quite painful when you roll over on them.
Last year when Myles and I came up to Pittsburgh for a few weeks at the beginning of the summer (that ended up stretching to a year), some of the places we stayed did not have room for our Pack-n-Play or a crib, so Myles slept in the same bed as I did. Now that we are in our own house, his crib remains unassembled. I'd like to get it set up soon, but it is a 2-person job.
So Myles remains in my bed with me. Again, this was completely by chance so I really don't have a firm understanding of the family bed concept. I haven't read that much abuot it, so I don't know if in the attachment parenting books or websites there are any warnings about this, but my bed has been taken over with snuggle toys. A quick inventory shows that we also share this bed with at least three teddy bears, a dog (sometimes 2), a monkey, a frog, a tiger, and a turkey vulture (Kate is out of town so Crispian has joined the slumber party and brought with him his current bedtime toy). There can also occassionaly be a train and a monster truck or two, but I usually try to fish them uot before I go to sleep because they are quite painful when you roll over on them.
Comments
Some of the stuff in the book struck me as too ambitious -- the family mission statement part seems kind of pie-in-the-sky to me, but then again, I was trying to picture my family attempting it when I was kid and then it just got way too funny -- but overall I think it's definitely worth a read for parents. Food for thought, anyway.