How to Co-Sleep With Your Newborn Baby (As Safely as Possible)

Experts agree: sleeping close to your baby during the first year of their life helps keep your newborn safe and comforted as they attune themselves to the many sensorial and physical curiosities they’ll encounter as they grow. But how does co-sleeping (and the question: How do I co-sleep safely?) fit into that?

(Stick with us — because we’re about to break down how to co-sleep safely!)

During the first months of your baby’s life, they’re not the only ones adjusting to new experiences.

As a new mom or dad, you’re getting used to your little one sleeping beside you. Getting familiar with the soothing flutter of their eyes. And the way they gently coo when they fall asleep.

You’re also getting used to the feeling of having a little baby within arm’s reach all through the night: which offers just as much comfort as it does challenges for new parents.

So let’s talk about how to co-sleep through safe co-sleeping: One of the best ways to soak up more hours of rest each night. While also giving your baby all the psychological and physical support they need to grow big and strong.

Co-Sleeping Positions: The Safe and the Less Safe

There are many ways to co-sleep, each as unique as the family that practices them. 

However, not all co-sleeping techniques put the same emphasis on safety. 

Though bed-sharing and co-sleeping are often seen as interchangeable, big safety differences separate them. 

Well-designed bedside co-sleepers and other similar safe sleep tools make it easy for you to get a full night of stress-free rest. How? They follow recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (or AAP) by helping you easily keep your baby close during the first months of their life.

But depending on the company who lovingly crafts them, they also come back by some of the strictest safety certifications (including highly-regarded ones like ASTM International or TÜV Rheinland). 

Unlike with a practice like bed-sharing, these safe sleep tool give your baby a firm, built-for-them space to sleep. One that keeps them close to your made-for-adults mattress, without you having to worry about them getting wrapped in the too-soft bedding that doesn’t properly support them yet. 

Why Does the Difference Between C0-Sleeping and Bed-Sharing Matter?

When bed-sharing with a newborn, all it takes is one wrong wiggle for baby to end up tangled in too-soft bedding or covered by pillows or blankets that they can’t quite crawl out from yet. 

Luckily, safe sleep tools like baby co-sleepers fit flush against your own bed (keeping you right beside your baby all through the night!) and give your newborn baby a secure space to sleep comfortably. 

Bedside co-sleepers will give you with all the benefits that co-sleeping has to offer—like better bonding between you and baby, supported development for baby’s body and mind, and a better rest for all — without the concerns about safety.  

Which is what we like to call a perfect co-sleep scenario. 

Keep Your Newborn Baby Comfortable While Co-Sleeping 

Not all co-sleepers are created equal. 

Think of it like this: when adults walk into a mattress store, they have a list of preferences that could be a mile long. 

Not too soft, not too firm, built for back pain, hypoallergenic, all foam, no latex, pillow-top… 

It often takes a few hours in the store and a few dozen tested-out mattresses to find the meant-to-be one that works for you. 

Just because your newborn hasn’t quite mastered the syllables they need to clue you into what they find comfiest doesn’t mean they don’t have an opinion. 

That’s why it’s important to find a bedside co-sleeper specifically designed and customized with your baby in mind. 

The babybay co-sleeper is designed in a half-moon shape to mimic the protective feeling of being cradled in a hug and constructed from all-natural materials that are friendly both to the earth and to baby’s body. 

(Yep, most co-sleepers and cribs are made with toxic chemicals, glues, and finishes that can put baby’s healthy development at risk.)

babybay co-sleepers are also easily customizable with three size options and accessories like hypoallergenic mattresses, mattress covers, canopies, and 100% cotton jersey sheets that take all of the guesswork out of maximizing baby’s coziness and comfort. 

Keep Yourself Comfortable While Co-Sleeping 

We’re parents too, so we get it: as soon as baby comes, their comfort becomes priority #1. 

But it can be difficult to keep your baby comfortable if you’re not feeling well or well-rested yourself.

That’s why making time for some self-care during the early months of baby’s life is an important part of learning how to co-sleep with your newborn. 

Being well-rested allows you to put more attention and energy into making sure that baby has everything they need to sleep through the night soundly. 

It’s also easier to enjoy and appreciate all the special moments you share with baby—like those oh-so-sweet moments when you’re lying next to baby’s bedside co-sleeper and watching them fall slowly into dreamland—when you aren’t desperately devoting all your energy to simply keeping your eyes open. 

Thankfully, baby co-sleeper crib like the babybay can help you get better, longer, and more restful sleep than traditional cribs or other (and less safe) co-sleeping methods.

With baby so close by, nighttime nursing becomes a breeze (rather than a must-do that sucks up many valuable minutes of sleep time). 

By sleeping so close to baby, you’ll also be able to be more aware of (and responsive toward!) any concerns that baby has through the night. 

That means less time spent in high-energy adrenaline mode trying to discover how to help, and more time spent identifying and caring for baby’s needs the fast and peaceful way. 

Because here’s the truth: your baby is growing bigger every day 

Sooner than you would believe, they’ll be ready to move out of their bedside co-sleeper into a crib or room all their own. 

Instead of spending these early moments in baby’s life worrying about how to co-sleep with your newborn baby, let the babybay co-sleeper help set your mind at ease so you can spend less time stressing and more time appreciating every moment—waking and sleeping!—with your newborn.