hi Micha!

How exactly does that work?? ... because my husband and i have weird sleep habits - we both toss and turn a lot, and we also use a lot of blankets and pillows - we chose to go with a mini co-sleeper "sidecar" to our bed. that way i can just reach over and there she is although if her reflux has her grumpy, i sleep with her in the crook of my arm in our bed and tuck the blankets away from her.

When do you plan to put your children in their own beds? ... whenever she shows signs of wanting to be. we have a crib, the convertible to toddler bed kind, that my mom-in-law bought for us. when Willow gets too big for the co-sleeper (25 lbs. i think) or when she can climb out of it, we'll sidecar the crib up against the bed with the front off of it, toddler-bed style. OR, by then we'll have a king-size bed and we'll have it on the floor and she can just sleep with us it's up to Willow really, when she no longer wants to sleep in the same room with us, she'll make that preference known. she's a pretty independent baby so i can't see her wanting to be in our bed past age 3.

What made you decide to have a family bed? ... i just couldn't imagine putting her in a crib in a room all by herself!! i started out nursing, and i loved just being able to nurse her back to sleep and neither of us really woke up all the way. even with bottle-feeding, we stay half-asleep and go back to sleep easily. she's never had to cry at night even once, i mean if she startles awake for some reason i pat her gently and we both drift back to sleep. i love, love, love being so close to my baby, and it's the best sleep i've ever had in my life

I'm just curious....all talk I've ever heard of 'family beds' was made to sound perverse and wrong...and I know that can't be the case....I'm intrigued though ... i'm guessing the "perverse" angle comes in from people assuming sex is going on with the baby in the bed? i just let her sleep in her swing in the other room when we have *ahem* private time then move her to her co-sleeper.

America is one of the few countries where babies don't sleep with their mothers, so we're the odd ones out in the world. and historically, the "family bed" has been a survival necessity, a way of bonding, and also a healthy way for babies to learn sleep patterns from the adults.