#nursery #breastfeeding #nursing
Nursery or Nursing?
When Kareena Kapoor Khan was pregnant, she flaunted her bump like it was nobody's business. She was proud of her motherhood and the whole country stopped to take notice of this badass mom-to-be. Heck she even walked the ramp in her last trimester breaking stereotypes around pregnancy. More power to her! But one thing that bothered me during her journey to motherhood was the much publicized nursery that she was setting up for her baby. It was a beautiful room with pastel furniture and warm cozy vibes. A great decor if you ask me. But a big no.
For a person with such an amazing fan following, what she does sets an example for an entire generation of new mothers. Kareena Kapoor made eating fashionable. With influential celebrities embracing western culture of making their babies sleep in separate rooms, we are bound to follow in their footsteps. Even youtuber moms have videos showing how to prep a nursery and feature must-buy products during pregnancy even though they are ardent advocates of breastfeeding. But here is the catch. Even though the word nursery derives from the latin word "nutritia" meaning food or nourishment, it is anything but supportive of the baby's best nourishment- breastfeeding.
A newborn baby should co-sleep with the mother. Night time separation puts undue stress on the baby. After spending 9 months in the comfort of the womb, the baby needs his mother around to make sense of his new life.

Co-sleeping allows baby and mother to barely wake up for nighttime feeds. Once the baby is a little bigger and the mother has mastered breastfeeding, they can groggily reach out to each other and have their night-feeding sessions.;
On the other hand, babies sleeping in separate rooms usually get fully awake and cry at feeding times. The mother has to get up and go to the nursery and feed the baby. The baby will no doubt sleep off while breastfeeding but the minute the mother puts him down on the cold mattress, the baby will jolt awake and cry for his mommy to come back.

The mother's sleep is disturbed multiple times in the night. Soon after days of sleep deprivation, the father might pitch in for nighttime feeds and eventually breastfeeding phases out and formula gets introduced. True to this prediction, exclusive breastfeeding in western countries does not go beyond 3 to 4 months.
Co-sleeping also protects against the dreaded cot death or SIDS. A co-sleeping baby has better temperature control and breathing due to the mother's warmth.
Many mothers have raised the concern of suffocation and smothering the infant if they sleep together. But as long as the mother is not under the influence of any sedative drugs or alcohol,; and the baby is over 2.75 kgs, there is no danger to the baby.;;