Co-sleeping
Also called co sleeping, cosleeping, co-sleep, co-slept, co-sleeper
Co-sleeping is a baby sleeping close to a parent at night. For some people that means sharing the same bed, and for others it means the baby sleeps in the parents' room on a separate surface.
How it's said
Where I live in the US, co-sleeping means in the same room; bed-sharing means to actually be in bed with you.
To me, in England, it means same bed.
We currently co-sleep, and my partner sleeps separately in the spare room.
Who says it
Not to be confused with
- Bed-sharing always means the baby and parent sleep on the same surface. Co-sleeping can mean that too, but some people use it for a baby in the parents' room on a separate surface.
- Room-sharing means the baby sleeps in the parents' room on their own surface, such as a crib or bassinet. Some parents call this co-sleeping, while others keep co-sleeping for the same bed.
Where it came from
The word joins co-, together, with sleeping, and people use it loosely. One common definition is babies and young children sleeping close to one or both parents rather than in a separate room. The UK's Lullaby Trust uses it for a parent or carer sleeping with a baby on a bed, sofa or chair.
In 2016 the American Academy of Pediatrics said the term is commonly used but confusing, and left it out of its report on infant sleep. It asked writers to say whether they meant sleeping close by, which doesn't have to mean sharing a bed, or bed-sharing itself, and used room-sharing and bed-sharing in its place.
News reports kept the older word alongside the new ones. Coverage of that 2016 guidance described parents and babies sharing a bed as sometimes called co-sleeping.