My babies and I benefited greatly from our nightly bonding sessions and co-sleeping arrangements, and I'm glad I did it for as long as I did.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
With the breast-feeding, I really love the bonding. Real life is more important to me.
The summer after I got divorced, my children asked to sleep in my bed again. It would be the first time we'd shared a bed since they were infants.
But at the same time that the experience is pulling you apart, it's also bonding you. You have this joint venture! You both made this baby. And that's the thing I still can't get over.
What I loved about breast-feeding was that bond of one-on-one time. The serotonin that's released calms you down and connects you to the baby.
The fact is safe co-sleeping is not difficult. The notion of babies being smothered is simply not true. And the benefits of sleeping together are profound.
I had both my children at home. It came naturally to me.
The needs of babies and toddlers were constant and drained the life out my sense of self and my family's relationship with each other.
When I was pregnant, a few of my friends told me that their babies slept in bed with them. I remember thinking how crazy that was. Then I started reading up on it and decided it was something I actually wanted to try.
When you've got children, it's easy to do that thing of keeping a tally of who woke up earliest and whose turn it is to put them to bed. But I think the important thing is to appreciate and love each other and to show that appreciation.
All this fuss about sleeping together. For physical pleasure I'd sooner go to my dentist any day.
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