Thursday, September 4, 2008

Where does he sleep?

Took my little guy to the pediatrician this morning. Good times. As soon as we pulled the car into the doctor's office parking lot, he said "I don't like it!!" He is 95% for height (I think, because he was squirming so much, I am not sure how accurate) and 45% for weight, and doing great developmentally. 

But, every visit since he was born, they always ask "And where does he sleep?" This has always bothered me. Why do they ask this? We all know what the "right" answer is. As a newborn the expected answer is "Of course, he sleeps in his co-sleeper/bassinet/crib!" As an infant, you say "He sleeps in his crib." By age 2, the right answer is "Of course he is not in a crib, he could climb out, he is in his big boy bed." So, of course, that is basically what I replied. If I told them that he slept in our bed until about 8 months ago, and still gets in bed with us in the mornings, then what? Do you then get a lecture in SIDS and child safety? Or do they just document it in your chart, so that if your baby ever dies of SIDS that they can say "Well, we told her that baby should be in a crib, so it must be because they co-slept." Clearly, they are not asking because they want to reward you for bringing your child to bed with you.

I wonder how many people lie about where their baby sleeps to their doctor, friends and family. 

So today I asked the nurse, "Why do you always ask where they sleep?" Basically, she said they are just concerned with safety and they didn't want a parent to roll over on a baby. Do you know how rare this is? And did you know that many times it is due to a parent with drugs/alcohol in their system? Why is it that they choose to ignore all the benefits that come from co-sleeping? Such as:
  • Babies who cosleep are less susceptible to stress disorders
  • Babies get greater immunilogical benefits because they nurse twice as frequently as those babies that sleep alone.
  • Babies imitate mom's breathing patterns helping to protect against SIDS.
  • Studies show that babies that cosleep become more independent, healthier and more successful in school than babies that don't cosleep.
  • Babies sleep and stay asleep better. 
  • Mothers sleep better.
Just google it for tons of studies and experiences.  You think my local pediatrician could google it too.


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