Linda writes:
>A good way to defuse the "sleep with baby" issue is to ask whether your
>clients sleep with a cat or dog.  If they would notice and not roll over onto
>the cat (dog, tennis ball,  golf ball etc) then it's highly unlikely they'll
>roll onto the baby either.

As a new mother I was highly sceptical about the safety of sleeping in the same bed as my baby until my LLL
Leader told me of her experience:-
When Sue was 7 months pregnant, her family was adopted by a pregnant cat who took up residence in the bedroom
closet. A couple of weeks after the kittens were born, Sue and Charlie were awoken at 4am by mama cat jumping
on the bed, a tiny kitten in her mouth. Mama cat plopped her baby between them, went to get the other
kittens, and then went off on her own, presumably to hunt for breakfast. Sue, hugely pregnant, dared not move
for fear of hurting the tiny balls of fur. She and Charlie lay rigid until mama cat returned about an hour
later. This performance was repeated, night after night until gradually they were able to relax enough to
fall back to sleep.  When their own baby girl arrived they had no hesitation in bringing her into bed with
them - she was much bigger than a kitten!

When mothers express fear of rolling over onto their babies, I like to share this true story. I also ask them
when was the last time that they fell out of bed! Just as we are able to define the parameters of the bed
while we are asleep, so can we sense the presence of our babies.


Norma Ritter, IBCLC, LLLL                      "If not now, when? If not us, who?"
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Date: 11/03/95
Time: 07:08:00