CANCELED! Diaper Free Baby Gathering
Due to inclement weather today’s Diaper Free Baby Meeting at Milagros is canceled!
The next meeting is February 21
We are sorry for any inconvenience!
Category: Parenting
Cloth Diaper Circle
The next Portland Cloth Diaper Circle is Saturday, February 17, from noon to 2pm at Milagros, 5433 NE 30th Avenue, Portland. The monthly cloth diaper circle is a great place to get all of your questions about cloth diapering answered. The setting is casual and there is no need to RSVP, just show up!
Babywearing Event 1/14/07
The Portland chapter of Nine In Nine Out will have it’s next babywearing gathering on Sunday, January 14th, 10 am – Noon in The Family Room at Milagros, 5429 NE 30th Avenue, Portland, OR 97211.
NINO meetings are a casual forum for getting your questions on babywearing answered by other mamas and/or to share your own babywearing stories.
Beginning in February, NINO will meet at Milagros on the third Sunday of every month.
Three in the bed and the little one said…
We are a “Family Bed” family. Mila shared our bed until she decided to leave it. Initially she was in a bed next to our bed and then she migrated to her own bed in the same room.
With a new baby in the house, we once again have a little one sharing our bed each night. Why do we opt for a “Family Bed”? There are a number of reasons:
1) Baby sleeps better. Mila and, now Gael, were both “heat seeking angels.” They both slept better at night being near Mama and feeling her warmth.
2) Enhanced Bonding. Co-sleeping is a natural extension of our day-time routine of baby-wearing. One of the benefits of baby-wearing is the strengthen bond of love and safety between parents and their babies. Co-sleeping also provides these bonding benefits.
3) Minimized Impact of Night Time Feeding. Being able to easily nurse on-demand reduces the impact of night time baby needs on the whole family. No lights go on, no one is getting up and walking into another room, there is no protracted crying before Mama is able to respond to a hungry infant.
Is a Family Bed an unusual arrangement? Not really. The Family Bed is actually a very traditional arrangement that is still practiced all over the world. In addition a lot of families may be practicing co-sleeping without even recognizing it: having a baby start in a separate crib or another room and”migrate” into the parent’s bed by the end of the night seems to be a very, very common occurance.
Is it safe? Sometimes when folks find out about our sleep arrangement this is their first question. For us the answer has clearly been “yes.”
What about research on the subject of co-sleeping? There are some studies that indicate that co-sleeping may actually be safer than using a crib and there is one that says it is less safe. Overall we don’t feel there is reliable, objective research on this issue.
Truly the best response to safety concerns isn’t yes or no. It is better to a address a different question: how can you sleep safely with your infant?
Here are some “rules for a safe family bed” summarized from Mothering Magazine. Similar information may also be found from Dr. Sears:
- Don’t co-sleep if you smoke, have been drinking, are an unusually heavy sleeper, or use any kind of drugs that inhibit arousal from sleep.
- Make sure the surface your baby sleeps on is firm. Avoid waterbeds, lambskins, and other soft bedding for your baby.
- Stuffed animals and toys should be kept out of the baby’s sleep environment and don’t give pillows to babies or young toddlers
- Cosleeping babies are kept warmer than solitary sleeping babies, so they need lighter blankets and pajamas. Make sure that blankets are kept away from babies’ faces.
- Don’t allow toddlers to sleep next to infants
- Eliminate all gaps between the mattress and headboards, siderails, the wall, etc. or at least make sure there are no gaps that your baby’s head may fit into.
- Do not leave a baby unattended in an adult bed.
Co-sleeping has been done safely for millenia. There is no reason why it can’t be done safely in the 21st Century as well. As with any parenting choice, the key is ensuring that the proper precautions are learned and adhered to.
