co-sleeping

[Victor Steinbok]

Here's another word I've never heard--legal and helicopter-parenting
jargon, I suppose.

http://goo.gl/y4XV6
> The Utah Court of Appeals has refused to dismiss charges in the
> controversial case of a South Jordan couple accused of killing their
> baby by sleeping with him -- their second child to die in their bed.
> The appeals judges sided with a lower court in a pair of opinions
> released Friday, saying that even though a state medical examiner
> listed the official cause of death as "undetermined," there was enough
> evidence that "co-sleeping" caused the baby to suffocate to put the
> parents on trial for child abuse homicide and reckless endangerment.
> ...
> At 3½ months, he was too young to roll over on his own, evidence that
> "supports a reasonable inference that Merrill actually caused the
> infant to stop breathing by co-sleeping," according to Friday’s opinion.
> The parents were said to be heavy sleepers, and a pediatrician warned
> them against co-sleeping a day before the child’s death.

This is not without precedent. The OED has both co-sleeping n. and
co-sleep v. from 1966.

Wordnik has several citations, including some with co-sleep and some
with co-sleeper. OED does not have co-sleeper either in the sense of a
special co-sleeping crib or in the sense of parent and child who are
co-sleeping.

http://goo.gl/4UqvJ
Co-sleeping's deadly risk
> Last year will be remembered for a number of things, but what should
> stick in people's minds is the number of deaths resulting from
> co-sleeping. The very mention of the word causes people to take sides
> and offer opinions.
> There are those who believe that co-sleeping is a wonderful experience
> between mother and child, allowing for bonding. By definition,
> co-sleeping involves the child sharing a sleep surface with the parent
> or parents, instead of being placed in his or her own bed. There are a
> number of reasons for this, from convenience to a desire to form that
> special bond to necessity to even laziness.
> There are those who say that there is nothing wrong with co-sleeping
> and that it's an old practice. Co-sleeping, they say, has been
> practiced by many mothers over the years with no ill effects, and,
> therefore, there is not a problem with it.

http://goo.gl/vndDT
> Co-sleeping can be really really great for helping a tired mom get
> some extra hours of sleep and for helping a young baby sleep longer
> stretches as he feels his mother right there next to him.
> ...
> Yes, there are several rules you MUST follow to co-sleep safely (look
> here for details) but if you follow them this can be the answer you
> sound like you desperately need.
> ...
> Robin - we do co-sleep (following all the guidelines, etc, etc ...
> ...
> I used an Arm's Reach co-sleeper ( side car) with my second baby.
> ...
> I used an Arm's Reach co-sleeper ( side car) with my second baby.
> ...
> Co-sleeping didn't help, because she didn't sleep for more than an 45
> minutes to an hour no matter where we were.
> ...
> I was co-sleeping with my daughter (she was born in Jan) for about six
> weeks and was totally exhausted.
> ...
> Everything woke him up, and (to my utter dismay) we couldn't co-sleep
> because I woke up every time HE woke up ...
> ...
> I tried him in co-sleeper, bassinet, whatever, in our room and T would
> have none of it.
> ...
> You sound too sensitive (I was) to co-sleep. Put him in his own room.

http://goo.gl/tcEVg
> (When your child can out-cry-you-out, and the co-sleeping is one long
> dance of head-kicking, hair-yanking pain, what do you do? Seriously.
> WHAT DO YOU DO?)/
> /

http://goo.gl/meiYJ
> The Consumer Product Safety Commission warned last week against
> co-sleeping--infants sleeping next to parent. Its study found parents
> can roll over and suffocate babies. Critics call the data misleading.
> It's all part of the war over for what's best for Baby.
> Sleep Easy: Co-sleeping means more rest, less crying for the baby (and
> the parents). It also aids breast-feeding and mother-child bonding.
> Baby on Board: The CPSC says Baby's safest on her back, in a crib, on
> a hard mattress, with no blankets, pillows or stuffed toys
> Different Strokes: Ethnic cultures where co-sleeping has always been
> the norm resent CPSC's proclamation
> Real Risks: Co-sleeping deaths do happen (especially when parents are
> overweight or go to bed drunk). Is it better to be safe than cozy?
> Mother, Nature: We're biologically wired to co-sleep. Baby cries when
> alone because he's supposed to be with Mom.

Wiki, UD, WordSpy and some parenting glossaries also have entries. But
not mainline dictionaries (other than the OED).

VS-)

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