Kourtney Kardashian has now confirmed she is indeed co-sleeping with baby Rocky Barker. She seems to think it’s OK — something all the moms reading this right now know is absolutely not!
The Poosh founder took to her Instagram Stories with a very curious post on Tuesday night: a screenshot of an audiobook playing on her phone. The book, written by James J. McKenna, is called Safe Infant Sleep: Expert Answers to Your Cosleeping Questions. Title says it all, right?! Kourt sure thought so. Along with the screencap, she overlaid this message on top:
“been co-sleeping safely since 2009, I still love reading/listening to more safe co-sleeping tips and hearing about benefits”
As you may recall, this is FAR from the first time that Kourtney has opened up about co-sleeping. Heck, back at the very end of May, she intimated she was co-sleeping with her and Travis Barker‘s infant son after she boldly claimed Rocky has “never been” in his crib! Fans wondered about the potential co-sleeping situation at the time — mostly out of concern for the little guy! And she just confirmed it!
Related: Travis Explains How He & Kourtney Started As ‘Workout Buddies’ Before Hooking Up!
Kourt has been open about co-sleeping in the past, too. As she noted in that Stories post, she’s been doing it since 2009 when her other children Mason, Penelope, and Reign Disick were much younger. She proudly stated during a 2022 appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast that Penelope has continued co-sleeping in her momma’s bed as recently as earlier that year — after her ninth birthday!
But here’s the problem: with very young children, like Rocky, it is NOT safe! According to KidsHealth.org, co-sleeping with a newborn or a very small child can “increase the chance of suffocation, strangulation, and SIDS [Sudden Infant Death Syndrome].”
Yikes!!
And furthermore, while the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing with an infant (i.e., sleeping in separate spaces in the same room to bond in the early months), they very strongly counsel AGAINST bed-sharing! Via the Sleep Foundation (HERE), the AAP’s guidelines read in part:
“Experts point to an elevated risk of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in infants who share a sleeping surface with their caregiver. Sudden unexpected infant death refers to the unanticipated death of an infant during their first year of life. Examples of causes of SUID include injury, heart problems, infection, choking, and suffocation. An infant who dies suddenly is described as experiencing SIDS if no specific explanation can be found for their death.”
And it goes on:
“Older research suggested a potential benefit of bed-sharing in that it could increase the duration of breastfeeding. However, the most recent expert recommendations are clear that even if breastfeeding happens in bed, the infant should be returned to a separate location for sleep.”
Damn! So, basically, even though it’s obviously OK to snuggle up to an infant and bond physically like that during breastfeeding and other times, when it comes time to sleep, it’s best to put them back in their crib where you can be sure they’ll be safe!
Sadly, it sounds like Kourt is following her own guidelines. Reactions, y’all?? We’re sure this topic is fraught with all kinds of opinions on both sides of the issue. What are yours?!
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