RE: Why I chose to co-sleep with my child
I too co-slept with my kids. Or should I say my last two. After struggling through sleepless nights and walking around like a zombie I finally got smart. My sister inlaw was staying with us to help and she saw that my baby would not sleep unless he was being held. So one night she grabbed the baby took my hand walked into my room laid the baby down and told me to get into bed with him. I thought she had lost her mind. She told me to go to sleep I argued for a bit then gave up. That night was the best sleep I had had since I brought him home. From that night on I co slept. When my last child my daughter came along I didn't think twice about it I brought her into bed with me and many good sleeps. Co sleeping made me change my way of thinking and parenting I am what you would call an attachment parent. Good luck and keep following your instincts.
Yes, I'm an attachment parent and I didn't even know it! I didn't know such a thing existed. I've half written a post to put up here about it.
Your sister inlaw sounds awesome. Glad she introduced you to cosleeping.
Attachment style parenting somehow was ingrained in me, too, even though I didn't know the term for it existed. Then "ecological breastfeeding" - no pacifiers, no "every four hours" schedule, but feeding on demand, whether for comfort, or hunger. In 21stC America, this parenting style is not well supported. I had no family nearby, nor friends who could give me a break from the attached child. I gave up singing in church - not even for an hour would my attached baby let me out of her sight. The church babysitter chastised me: "She's only six months old! She's crying out of anger, to get her way" - fed, diapered, all that. I want to say all three children grew up more secure, confident, loving, and close to me, for all this, but the culture we live in has more influence than one eccentric mother.