Unfortunately, it's not just Ferber who implies that there's something
wrong with co-sleeping. When such authoritative books come out, these
positions further enforce the societal norm. I had way less support for
keeping my daughter in bed with me than I did for breastfeeding. As it
happens, I gave in to the pressure and neither of us slept well through
the night until she was 2; I finally said screw what anyone else says,
I'm her mother and I say she's sleeping with me!

My pediatrician, whom I left after this story, told me how he got his
daughter to sleep through the night by letting her 'cry it out' for a
few nights. The first night she cried for 4 hours but only 1/2 hour the
next. The real problem was having to give his ER Doc wife valium so SHE
could make it through those nights. He's a big 'developmental
pediatrician' in the area (and an even bigger chauvinist IMHO).

Babies need human contact - not just when awake. Just as we work with
moms who have difficulty breastfeeding, we can work with moms who have
difficulty having their babies sleep with them. I'm not sure the
principles are much different.

Joan Edelstein

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