Parents and Baby Sharing a Room
This is a step short of true cosleeping: Many parents, though they aren't interested in a “family bed” arrangement, do put their baby's crib in the room with them, especially in the first few days after the baby is born.
Fact
In some families, the baby sleeps in the family bed but naps in a crib. Parents who do this often do it for safety reasons. The parent who doesn't want to lie down every time Baby does may be concerned about leaving him alone in the family bed for his nap.
Advantages
There are many good reasons parents want to have their baby close. They like being able to watch him and listen to him as he sleeps or as he plays in his crib. They feel more secure being in the same room with their baby. If he has any sort of problem, such as choking during the night, they are more likely to hear and be able to come to his aid instantaneously. While the baby still takes night-time feedings, the parents are right there in the same room to scoop the baby out of his crib when he wakens. If he's bottle-feeding, one parent can hold the baby while the other goes off to get the bottle, or the parent who's holding the baby can carry him to the kitchen when he or she goes to get the bottle. If the baby is nursing, Mom can retrieve him from his crib and sit down in a chair or on the bed and quickly offer him her breast before he works up to a full-throated wail.
Disadvantages
You may find that there are several disadvantages to having your baby's crib in your bedroom. When your baby wakes up during the night, resettles, and goes back to sleep, the slight sounds he makes are likely to awaken you and your spouse, even though your baby doesn't need attention. When you are getting ready for bed and when you get up in the morning, the sounds you make, from squeaking bedsprings as you settle down to the ringing of your alarm clock in the morning to the sound of the TV you may watch in bed at night to the conversations you have together may all awaken your baby. If your baby wakes up before you do in the morning and he's alone in his own room, he may play happily in his crib for a little while or just lie there contentedly. But if he sees you lying within his view, even though you're still asleep, he's more likely to start to fuss and demand attention. Last, but certainly not least, you and/or your spouse may feel more inhibited about love-making when your baby is in the same room.
