‘Why I Let My Baby Sleep in My Bedroom’

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While this may seem strange to some parents, I’ve never thought twice about it. It appeals to both my lazy and anal sides: It takes me two steps to get to my son when he wakes up to nurse in the night (and two more steps to put him back in his crib after), and I can also easily check to make sure my baby is still breathing without having to schlep upstairs to his room. Having him in close proximity also seems to keep him pretty calm, and allows me to reach him before he hits DEFCON 5 when he’s upset.

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Of course, there’s a downside. Every little baby sigh and snort wakes me up (although, bizarrely, my husband is unaffected), so I’m definitely not sleeping as well as I would if he wasn’t in my room. And then there’s the fact that my husband and I have zero privacy. But, really, that’s kind of what being a parent is—and both of us were well aware of that going into having kids.

Plus, I’ve heard enough horror stories of babies suffocating in their sleep. So IMHO, losing the Zzz’s to have him near me is totally worth it.