> I calmly explained why it is important to curl AROUND the baby, not have
your back
> TO the baby.....

This is why I would LOVE to see more pictures of co-sleeping - where are the
books that show the variations, arm positions, different ages of children,
etc. to help guide us to find sleep positions that work?

The biggest barrier to co-sleeping that I hear from my friends, etc is that
they are/would be physically uncomfortable sleeping with baby.  That has
been my biggest challenge as well.  I have read enough, and my instincts
tell me that co-sleeping is the way to go, but physically I have found it
VERY uncomfortable at times - sore shoulders, neck, back - from having to
sleep in a position different than what I would normally.  My solutions was
regular massages to work out the kinks.  I even ended up with carpal tunner
in one arm, aggravated by the co-sleeping.  Over the years I slowly gathered
tips and advice on how to adjust baby, pillow, etc to sleep better.  But I
can say I truly looked forward to when she was night weaned.

Perhaps it is the legacy of having been raised alone in a crib ourselves,
but both dh and I cannot sleep curled up around each other - we only really
relax and fall asleep once we've rolled over and have our backs turned to
each other.  And I was the same way with baby, I never really fell asleep
until I could unlatch baby and roll with my back to her (unless I was really
exhausted).

Since co-sleeping is the human norm, I think many of us actually are
behaviourally dysfunctional (due to our detached parenting as children) and
now find it very difficult (physically and psychologically) to co-sleep.

Dr. McKenna has observed and reported that breastfeeding moms naturally curl
up around babies, but perhaps for some this behavior does NOT come
naturally.

Maybe we need to bring in some orangutans to model norm primate sleeping
behaviour for us????

Janice Reynolds

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