my previous clever response to dr. rob was lost in cyberspace, but really -
dr. rob - no, that wasn't REALLY like dr. jack, it was only in english, after
all. the king is NOT dead, long live the king. but we will admit that you do
show promise, dr. rob.

seriously, i have found lots of parents who will consider co-sleeping if the
baby is on the mother's side. having tried the entire gamut of bed rails, twin
beds, etc., we have found that the best and longest used arrangement at our
house is just a seventeen inch wide platform which is held against the wall by
the bed. it is not as long as the bed so that i have some means of escape. i
covered a foam pad for a mattress that raised the level to that of the bed,
and covered another piece of foam so put against the wall to function like
crib pads. this has worked extremely well even for the large previous child
occupant, and for the current five year old resident.

since LLL does not "officially" endorse co-sleeping, but does state in the BAB
that taking the baby to bed is a useful strategy to help overcome bf
difficulties, i tell callers that are LLL referred that this is good to fix
whatever problem they have, and that it is a normal way to live with the baby,
in the hopes that they will try it and then continue. it is always a nice
surprise to find parents that are already co-sleeping and just need a little
approval.

carol b.