Health

Dad’s Sweet Post Defending His Wife's Parenting Choices is Going Viral

April 2nd 2017

While some sleep-deprived parents may bicker about their baby’s sleeping arrangements, husband and wife David and Alora Brinkley are totally in sync — and the dad wants the whole world to know it.

After overhearing a friend of his wife’s question his support of co-sleeping, the dad turned to Facebook where he wrote a post sharing just how much he respects his wife’s parenting skills.

Mom and baby sleepingSima Dimitric/Flickr - flickr.com

“I just want to say that I am proud of the decisions my wife makes as a mom and I support every single one of them,” Brinkley wrote.

“Please respect your wives as mothers.”

His post has more than 500,000 reactions and over 300,000 shares, with many parents commenting that they share a bed with their child, too.

Co-sleeping is highly controversial subject within the parenting community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises against sharing the bed with baby as it can lead to accidental suffocation or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The CDC recommends parents put their babies to sleep on their backs in their own beds every single time.

Baby in cribInga Munsinger Cotton/Flickr - flickr.com

However, many parents note that co-sleeping or bed-sharing is unavoidable. Some caregivers find that getting up to assist a crying baby throughout the night prevents sleep, while other parents say sharing a bed helps them bond with their child more. Some parents report falling asleep while breastfeeding as the reason for letting baby sleep in their beds, with others doing so because of the cost of a crib. A 2010 survey found that 14 percent of parents regularly slept with their infant.

Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics revised its guidelines on infant sleeping to acknowledge this reality. While the group still says separate beds are best, it recommends that parents who share their beds with baby should have a firm mattress and to ensure the area surrounding their child is free of pillows and blankets to reduce the risk of suffocation. The American Academy of Pediatrics also notes that sharing a bed with a baby is far safer than sleeping together on a couch or chair.

Baby and dad sleepingPixabay - pexels.com

Along with the health concerns, some say a sleeping baby stuck between two partners could hamper intimacy, or make for a cramped bed. For Brinkley, a little less room to spread out is a small sacrifice to make in return for caring for his children.

“Do I have to squeeze into a small corner of the bed sometimes? Yeah," he wrote. “But my God how beautiful does she look holding my children?”

Check out the dad's touching Facebook post in full below.

David Brinkley David Brinkley - facebook.com

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