Co-Sleeping & Sleeping Habits

Precautions
If you have choosen to sleep with your baby, please take these precautions:
--Pillows, blankets, and soft mattresses can suffocate a child. If you plan to sleep with your baby, sleep on a firm mattress and minimize the use of pillows and blankets.
--Consider the use of approved bed rails to keep the baby from falling off the bed.
--Make sure that the baby has his/her arms and legs free so he/she can wriggle around and alert you if necessary.
--Obese parents need to be very cautious (or, better yet, use a "side car" bassinet which attaches to the adult bed but allows the baby to sleep in his/her own space).
--Put the baby to sleep on his/her back, or on his/her side.

Your childs sleeping habits are one thing to consider, but how much sleep does YOUR baby really need?� Here is a chart to help you keep control.
�

Age	Nighttime sleep	Daytime sleep	Total sleep
1 month	8 1/2	7(3)	15 1/2
3 months	10	5(3)	15
6 months	11	3 1/4(2)	14 1/4
9 months	11	3(2)	14
12 months	11 1/4	2 1/2 (2)	13 3/4
18 months	11 1/4	2 1/4(1)	13 1/2
2 years	11	2(1)	13
3 years	10 1/2	1 1/2 (1)	12

parentheses = number of naps


Sleeping Habits
If a child has poor sleep habits or refuses to go to bed before 11 at night, her/his parents will think that he/she just doesn't need a lot of sleep. That's probably not true � in fact, it's likely that such a child is actually sleep-deprived. To see whether your child falls into that camp, ask yourself these questions:

Does your child fall asleep almost every time he/she's in a car?
Do you have to wake your child almost every morning? Does your child seem cranky, irritable, or overtired during the day?
On some nights, does your child seem to crash much earlier than his usual bedtime?


If you answered "yes" to any of these, your child may be getting less sleep than he needs. To change this pattern, you'll need to help him develop good sleep habits and set an appropriate bedtime.

An appropriate bedtime depends entirely on age.

Newborn to Three Months
Three to Six Months
Six to Nine Months
Nine to Twelve Months
Twelve to Eighteen Months

Now, because I MADE this page, i'm putting my OWN opinion down here. Personally I think co-sleeping is a bad idea, if you can't afford a crib or bassinet, then let him/her sleep in a dresser drawer at first, but there is no reason not to be able to at least get a playpen, it can be used as a bed. Co-sleeping is dangerous for young children, and is emotionally unhealthy for older children.

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