My son was two and I was pregnant with my second child. We had ended up co-sleeping with our son (family bed), and expected to (and did) co-sleep with our second and third child as thy came into the world. While I was pregnant with my second child, I sold the crib that had only been used for portions of two nights to a very confused looking pregnant woman. I wanted it out of storage. My son had never seen used, except to store unfolded laundry and cloth diapers.

We went to a friend’s home for a play date. She had a little boy who was the same age as my son. She also had an infant daughter. When we arrived, my son wanted to see the new baby and my friend told him that she was just waking up from a nap and that he could follow her to see the baby.

About 10 seconds later my two year old ran back to me in tears while pointing his finger at my friend and asked, “Mommy, why does THAT mommy keep her baby in a cage?” He was seriously terrified. I had to explain that some mommies felt that a crib (not a cage) was a good place to have their babies sleep.

I was embarrassed, but realized that what my son said was only his impression of what he saw, and was exactly why I chose to have him sleep in my bed. While I support other mom’s making choices of their own and believe that there is more than one right way to parent a child, I agreed with my son on this matter.

I have never been able to get past putting a baby down in a crib for the night, shutting the door for 8 hours and enjoying a full night’s rest for myself. That’s just not how parenting works for me. Further, if someone was to hire a nanny and they put a baby in a crib and shut the door for 8 hours during the day, they would likely be charged with a crime. But—-The baby doesn’t know night from day, so I have to ask why is it ok during the night and criminal during the day?

As long as the parents aren’t drinking or using drugs, I believe that next to mom and dad is the best place for the baby. It helps the nursing mother sleep better, the baby sleep better, and no, you will not roll onto your baby if you are sober. You don’t roll onto the floor at night, right? If you know where the floor is during the night, you will definitely know where your baby is.

Anyhow, that was one of many things my children have surprised me with, when saying something unexpected.

This content was originally posted by me on Quora in reply to a question.  To see other answers to this question, click HERE.