Breathing Experiment

So last night when I couldn't sleep I was trying to do ANYTHING to fall asleep. I started paying attention to DD's breathing. We co-sleep and she happened to be face-to-face with me. I love it. I love being that close to her and her not wanting milk! So, I was trying some deep breathing to try to relax. It didn't work, but I learned some cool stuff.

You know, "they" say babies who co-sleep follow the same breathing patterns as their moms. Well, it's true for toddlers too! When I took a deep breath, so did DD. Her breathing became very rhythmic and deep. Thinking that she may just be relaxing, since she does have a tendency to fall asleep better (she was asleep at the time, but in general) if I'm relaxed, I sped up my breathing, almost panting. Guess what? She did too. She altered her breathing as I intentionally changed mine.

How cool is that?

I love co-sleeping. And, lots of people say it's safe (if it's done right). Dr. James McKenna and Dr. Sears are, I believe, leading experts in the field. Dr. McKenna has actually done research on co-sleeping in a real sleep lab. Not sure why the ENTIRE world doesn't know that. They should.  And Dr. Sears is such an awesome pediatrician (seriously, when DD was a baby, I wanted to move just so we could use him as a pediatrician!).

Co-sleeping can be unsafe. But, overall, it's been done for years. And, I'm pretty sure more deaths occur in cribs than in parent's beds (especially when you've taken safety into account).

I never intended to co-sleep, it was just easier. That's how we got to where we are. I have read Dr. McKenna's and Dr. Sears' information. I made an informed, educated (half-desperate for sleep, but still 100% educated) decision about co-sleeping. You should too. And, if you do co-sleep, you'll learn really great things about your child. It's amazing watch them sleep!