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Have a question for Dr. Bill or Martha?
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Dr. Bill and Martha Answer:
Is it safe for a 3-year-old and a newborn baby to share a parent's bed together? Answer: Your daughter and your new baby to be are lucky to have you as a sleep-sharing mother. Of course, your older daughter will want to join in the family bed when the new baby arrives since it will be a flashback to the wonderful three years she spent nestled close to her favorite persons in the whole wide world, mom and dad. Yet, it seldom works well to have more than one child in your bed at one time. Your 3-year-old got the best of nighttime parenting and it is time to give that to your new baby. Our experience of having more than one infant in the bed is too restless for most sleepers. To give your 3-year-old the feeling that she is still welcome into the family bedroom, try putting a Futon or "special bed" (a toddler mattress) at the foot of your bed and tell her that if she needs to she can come into your bedroom at night and sleep on her "special bed." It may require a little bit of marketing such as her chosen sleeping bag on top of her special bed. Yet, it's important to set nighttime rules so that she realizes that mommy and daddy need their sleep and she shouldn't interrupt their sleep at night. Say, "Tip toe as quiet as a mouse and slip quietly into your special bed. Don't wake up mommy and daddy or else we'll be a cranky mommy and daddy the next day." |
