Sleeping Arrangements

I have been very timid about sharing this, but I have decided I don't care what others think.

Our family co-sleeps! That is right- Grayson sleeps in the same bed as Mike and I. It hasn't always been this way. When he was little he slept in a bassinet and his crib. But, around 3 or 4 months, we decided to wean Grayson from swaddling. Suddenly, he didn't like sleeping in his crib for the entire night. He would normally sleep in it until around 1 am, but after that he just didn't want anything to do with it. I personally do not believe in "Cry It Out" (after all, the Lord doesn't just leave us on this Earth and tell us to "cry-it-out" with no source of comfort, why would we do that to his precious little ones) and I needed sleep. Then, around 4 months Grayson began nursing every hour or so again. I REALLY needed sleep. So, we started co-sleeping. He would still do the first stretch of the night in his crib. The first time he woke up after we went to bed though, he would come to bed with us.
When we went to Texas however, he shared a bed with us the entire night. That put an end to him wanting to sleep in his crib. Add to that the fact that he would just crawl around his crib, or pull himself up to a standing position and walk around....
So we began fully co-sleeping. I LOVE a few things about co-sleeping. Grayson can nurse on demand through out the night, without me having to fully wake up. He gets the security that Mom and Dad are close by. I don't feel like I am putting him in a cage.
However, there were a few things I did not like- minimal space. We have a queen size bed, but Mike and I are not small people. On top of that, Grayson only likes to be snuggled up to one person. The other better be far away. Then, both Mike and Grayson are human furnaces...creating WAY TOO MUCH HEAT!
We had started trying to get Grayson back into his crib because it was no longer working for us. That went okay...until Grayson got sick. Then he was back in bed with us. I decided we needed to fix this. Something had to change. So- here is our new sleeping arrangement

I had never heard of Side-carring a crib until a gal on babycenter did it. Then I learned it is actually very popular. The crib is wedged up in the corner and the legs of the crib are (industrial strength) zip-tied to our bed. There is a LARGE blanket rolled and stuffed between the beds to make sure there is no crack for Grayson to fall in.
It has been wonderful! I am able to snuggle Grayson to sleep and then slide him over. I can scoot over to the edge to nurse him if he needs it....although, since we started this, he has slept much better at night and is only nursing 1-2 times at most.
We moved our bed into his room because we do hope to move away from this arrangement around the time he is a year old. We figure it will be easier to make the adjustments if he is not also learning to be in a new room. Plus, now we have an office/closet in the other room. Mike is able to get up for work at 4:30 am and go get ready without worrying if he will wake Grayson and I.

Co-sleeping is a great arrangement for us. I am not sure if I will do it with future babies- however, I will probably side-car the crib again, especially if I have another c-section.

I have heard a few myths about co-sleeping. That you will never get your child out of your bed. Not true. Most co-sleepers I know gently move their child out of their bed around 18 months. Others as soon as their child night weans. Yes, I have friends that have kept their children in their bed through toddler-hood, or in their room in their own toddler bed. But co-sleeping is not a sentence to have your child in your bed forever.
Another myth is that you will smother your child. I honestly really worried about this one. Mike moves so much and we are not small people....but that parent-instinct is there, and you don't smother your child. There are few instinces of it happening- but it is honestly EXTREMELY rare. There are precautions to take so if you do plan on co-sleeping- I would suggest looking into them. Newborns are better off in a co-sleeper or side-carred crib. Once your child is older (like Grayson), the risk of you rolling on them without them letting you know, etc is much less. And of course- you need to know what kind of sleeper YOU are. If you are a heavy sleeper, and would not wake up if your child cries out, you bump into them, etc...then co-sleeping may not be for you.
The best thing is, co-sleeping is shown to reduce the risk of SIDS! When done properly that is. The mother, even when sleeping, is closer to her child, and aware of his breathing. She is more likely to wake if her child has breathing issues.

I am so grateful that Mike- the person I thought would never be ok with this arrangement- also enjoys co-sleeping. It is the best thing for our family at this time.