Attachment Parenting and Bedding Close to Baby

Before I start, I would like to reference you to my first post that explains Attachment Parenting as well as the fact that I certainly do not judge others who don't parent this way. Please keep this in mind while reading. Take what you can use use to help your attachment with your little one to grow daily. Thanks for reading!
Now we are getting to the good and controversial stuff - the cosleeping and bed sharing aspect of Attachment Parenting as desribed by Dr. Sears in The Baby Book.
Let me explain the difference between the two before we get too far into the discussion:

• Cosleeping - Baby sleeps in his own space, in the same room as his parents. This could be a crib, bassinet, or cosleeper.
• Bed sharing - Baby sleeps in bed with parents.

For most people, nights with a newborn/infant can be trying. There is usually much crying (both from parents and baby), late nights, early mornings, and frequent wakings. Newborns must eat often so night waking is just something we have to make the best of.
One way to make the best of the night waking situation, as well as foster a loving attachment is bed sharing (and cosleeping if you don't want baby in your bed with you). If you are having trouble with your baby at night and neither of you are getting any sleep - try bed sharing. You might be pleasantly surprised!
Our society has a category for bed sharing parents and it's not a good one. I don't think I have had one single person tell me that I was doing right by my baby when I tell them that he sleeps in my bed. I have heard many things, mostly revolving around the fact that he is never going to leave my bed. I doubt it. Dr. Sears says:
"Why hurry a baby into independence? A child's needs that are filled early will eventually go away; a child's needs that are not filled leave an empty space that can come back later as anxieties. It is not your job to make your child nighttime independent, but rather to create a secure nighttime environment and feeling of rightness that allows your child's independence to develop naturally." (Sears, 337)
It doesn't take that much investigation to figure out why bed sharing contributes to attachment parenting in a huge way. Mother and baby are close all night long. There is no unnatural separation. Baby feels secure and comforted and mom gets some much needed rest because she knows baby is safe.
How Bed Sharing Works For Us
We have bed shared from the day we got home from the hospital. I didn't know much about parenting, but I did know that there was no way my baby was going to sleep in his own bed. He had just come out of the womb and I didn't feel that it was kind to force him into night time loneliness.
We had this awesome little basket that we put him in so that we wouldn't roll on him, but he was still right next to us.
When he grew out of the basket, he slept right next to me. His little head would rest on my outstretched arm so that I knew where he was at all times and there was no way his face would get buried in the mattress.
Now he just sleeps really close to me. He cuddles right up next to me and drifts off peacefully - every night.
I have to be honest, I don't know how non bed sharing parents do it. When Baby J was a newborn, I was up every 3-4 hours. All I had to do was take him out of his little basket, feed him, and put him back. That was enough for me to be completely out of it for at least 3 months. I can't imagine having to actually get out of bed, go to the nursery, remove the baby from the crib, feed, rock baby back to sleep, quietly creep back to bed, and then do it all over again if baby wakes up. That seems so exhausting!
I am so happy we bed share. It has brought us so much closeness and much more peace. It isn't for everyone, but it sure is for us!
I would like to take a minute to discuss bed sharing safety. There are a few quick tips I have as far as safely sleeping with your baby:

• Never, ever, ever, ever do this while under the influence of alcohol or sedating drugs.
• Keep all pillows and fluffy blankets away from baby.
• The best scenario is if baby can sleep between mom and a bed rail. Not between mom and dad.
• Don't swaddle baby if he is not in a basket like the one pictured above. Baby will not be able to move to tell you that you are too close.
• Use a breathing monitor such as a Snuza for extra precaution. I have one of these and love it! It monitors the up and down movement of the chest and alarms if the movement stops. 
• If you are at all nervous about bed sharing, get a cosleeper like this one.

Here is a helpful link from Dr. Sears' website regarding recent cosleeping concerns and cosleeping safety: Link
And finally a quote from The Baby Book that I really love about nighttime parenting:
The important issue in nighttime parenting is not where your baby sleeps, but how responsive you are to baby's nighttime needs and how open you are to finding the best sleeping arrangement for your family. (Sears, 333)
Do/did you cosleep or bed share? I would love to hear your experiences as well as any other tips!