[YZF]

Babies need to eat/nurse frequently. We've evolved to be highly dependent on our parents until a fairly old age. The solution that worked for us was for the baby to sleep in our bed next to mom. Then this whole wake/nurse cycles basically happens without fully waking up. I realize some people are concerned about rolling on the baby but this is extremely rare/improbable for normal/healthy people. It's a somewhat controversial topic but do your own research... As a dad that had to go to work I also took some breaks and slept in another room (mom would also sleep during the day when the baby was sleeping). YMMV. Good luck and enjoy!

[r00fus]

As for the rollover issue, many folks co-sleep with their babies. We did it with all 3 of ours. Apparently babies really really like your breath - the CO2 helps them develop their lung motion.

The key is to not be inebriated or taking sleeping meds while doing so.

There are also co-sleeper attachments that make cribs accessible to mommy without having the baby sleep on the bed and thus not ever in danger of rollover.

[gdubs]

Dr McKenna at Notre Dame does research in this area [1].

Apparently the biggest risks (from what I recall) is the typical 'western' bed contains a lot of obstructions and places to get trapped: headboards, blankets and sheets, etc. Japan has one of the lower SIDS rates, and co-sleeping is very common there -- but beds are low to the ground, and I guess heavy bedding is uncommon.

http://cosleeping.nd.edu

[r00fus]

Are SIDS and co-sleeping linked? It appears that SIDS is actually reduced by properly co-sleeping (non-smoking, non-drug-impaired parent) [1]

[1] http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/sleep-probl...