Like many parenting topics, sleeping with your baby is very controversial. The term co-sleeping means sharing a bed or room with your baby and is sometimes described as having a family bed. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests infants sleep in the same room, in a separate crib, bassinet, or play yard, but recommend you do not share a bed with an infant under the age of 1 year old.

Experiences early in life affect how the brain's stress responses develop.  The hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands are the HPA axis.  The HPA axis controls reactions to stress.  How does this work?  The hypothalamus sends signals to your pituitary gland that tells it to send a signal to your adrenal gland to produce a stress hormone - cortisol. 

 

Too much cortisol for too long is bad for anybody's brain and body.  What does cortisol have to do with co-sleeping? A recent study (Beijers, R. et al., 2013) looked at the relationship between co-sleeping, breastfeeding, and cortisol regulation in 193 infants.  The researchers gathered information on breastfeeding and co-sleeping* during the first 6 months of life using diaries. At 12 months of age, infants were separated from their parents (the Strange Situation Procedure) for a few minutes, which was a stressor.  Cortisol can be measured in saliva.   Salivary cortisol was measured before and at 25 minutes, 40 minutes, and 60 minutes after the stressor.  After controlling for other factors - the researchers found that more weeks of co-sleeping predicted lower infant cortisol reactivity to the stressor.  More weeks of breastfeeding predicted quicker cortisol recovery.  The researchers concluded that co-sleeping and breastfeeding were good for stress hormone (cortisol) regulation in 12 month olds.

 

*Co-sleeping was defined both as sleeping in the parent's bed or sleeping in the parents' room.  As mentioned - the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend that babies sleep in the same bed as their parents.  Sleeping in the same room though may help your baby's stress response system in the first year.

Gene's Research Tip!

A study from the New York University School of Medicine looked at women and the habit of watching TV while eating during the third trimester and then again when the babies were 3 months old.

 

They found that 70% watched TV while eating during pregnancy and that 30% of infants were fed in front of the TV.  Those mommies under 25 years were more likely to feed the babes in front of the boob tube, and bottle fed babies were also more likely to experience media.  So, is this bad?

Well, numerous studies show that when our attention isn't on eating, we have a tendency to eat more.  One theory of this is that we aren't paying close attention to the signals the body is giving, so we just keep "shoveling it in!"

 

And the concern can be, that we get in the habit of "shoveling it in" to our babies, as well, especially, if we are thinking of something else, like that TV show, or that new text message...rather than really watching TSK (that special kid)!  Read More

Written by Katrina Ostmeyer-Kountzman, PhD, BCBA

It happens almost every day.  I walk in the door with my 2 year old son after a long day at work, and he turns around and says, "Mommy, pay with me."  This is usually followed by a large arm gesture, and a "come on" to get me to come to the toy he has wanted to play with all day.  When this happens, many thoughts go through my head.  I think about how cute and special he is, but I also think about everything I need to do.  There's unfinished housework, paperwork I brought home, dinner that needs to be cooked, and sleep that I desperately want. 

 

Usually, one look at that sweet little face helps me forget about some of those things.  Other times, it's knowing how important it is for my son (an only child) to be able to play with me.  Read More