Mamagotcha's journal

I would like to encourage you to consider cosleeping... I did so and felt it was a fantastic way to stay very responsive to my children. The baby does not have to fully wake to screaming before getting help, and mom doesn't have to fully wake to just nurse a bit or give a reassuring touch. There's lots of info over here if you have questions: http://www.cosleeping.org/

I wound up doing a "sidecar" with Linc when he was tiny, because we were in a bed that was pretty high off the ground (compared to the much lower beds/futons I had with the first three). That's a crib with one side removed, snuggled right up next to Mom & Dad's bed (we used bungee cords). It gave me extra space to stash diapers/dry blankets, toys, etc., but kept my little guy within arm's reach.

There are also a number of studies appearing that show that being awoken from sleep instead of naturally coming awake as a child and teen are having bad effects... let's see if I can find the one I was looking at this morning. Here it is: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-homeschool-students-high-school.html (I totally believe it. All my teens had periods where they would naturally sleep for 12-16 hours at a time for weeks on end.) Here's another discussion about sleep deprivation effects in younger children: http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/health/add/dr-alan-greene-on-sleep-deprivation-and-addadhd/ (and there's plenty more if you poke around).

I'm only in the first third of the book, and he hasn't mentioned sleep hygiene in infants. Here's a link to something similar on his website, though: http://drgabormate.com/why-i-no-longer-believe-babies-should-cry-themselves-to-sleep/

Kiss that baby for me! I've cast on Bootie One!