There's so much misinformation (and so many prevailing myths) about co-sleeping that leave parents feeling afraid of the sleeping practice, when they really don't have to be. Honestly, if you co-sleep responsibly and prepare your bed the correct, safe way, ,co-sleeping is safe.

Don't use a super soft mattress (or waterbed, if you're stuck in the '70s), don't use blankets or stuffed animals, don't drink or take narcotics, don't smoke, and make sure your bed is pushed up against a wall so your baby doesn't roll off the bed and fall. If you have that covered and you've done your research and you're responsibly and safely co-sleeping, there's nothing to be afraid of. In fact, co-sleeping will actually do wonders in curbing your new parent fears (especially the one that leaves you staring at your kid's chest at all hours of the night, on the off-chance they stop breathing).

This goes for all parenting choices (unless they're abusive, of course), but you're under no obligation to use your time and precious energy to explain to someone else why you're choosing to co-sleep. If you want to get into the details of your parenting practices (especially if you think it will be beneficial and the person asking you questions genuinely wants to learn) have at it. However, if someone is "grilling you," for lack of a better word, you don't owe them an explanation. You know what is best for you and your baby and your family, and that's that.

I'm pretty open about co-sleeping and why I choose to use that sleep method. My son struggled to regulate his own body temperature after he was born, so my team of doctors and nurses suggested co-sleeping skin-to-skin, so that my body could assist his and stabilize his temperature. My son and I shared a bed the first night of his life, and we have been doing so ever since.

However, if I didn't want to share that story, I wouldn't. I don't need to justify my choice to co-sleep with some "this was a necessity" story, as most parents decide to co-sleep or bed share sans a medical necessity.

Without fail, whenever I decide to tell someone I co-slept with my kid, that someone shares this one horrific horror story about a baby dying because a parent decided to co-sleep.

Do these stories exist? Of course, however, I don't need to force myself to listen to them simply because I am using the same tactics. It's not like we tell parents who have their kid sleep in a crib in another room, that they need to listen to every horrible, devastating and heartbreaking story of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) because some babies are found unresponsive. Nope. That's not a thing, so I don't need to listen to stories of babies dying. Seriously, that's nothing short of emotional terrorism, in my opinion.

For a while, I'll admit, I was worried about sharing a bed with my baby and my partner. A part of me thought there simply was no room (there was, trust me) and that unless we had a freakin' California King, we were never going to fit (not true, we would have fit just fine). So, my partner and I took turns sleeping on the couch for far too long, all because we were afraid when we didn't need to be.

Of course, you should do what makes you feel the most comfortable and if that means a sleep rotation where someone takes the bed and the baby, and someone takes a mattress on the floor or a couch, so be it. However, if you do have enough room you really can fit in one bed, together. After a while, my partner and I got over our irrational fears and the three of us all piled into our bed and those mornings and nights are some of my absolute favorites. I mean, I was able to start my days and wend my days directly next to my family.

There are actually a few ways you can co-sleep with your kid, and they don't necessarily have to involve bed sharing. Yes, you can bring your baby in bed with you, but you can also have them sleep next to you in a sidecar arrangement, have them in different beds but in the same room and/or just let them into their bed when they need to be, but not necessarily all the time. You can find the best co-sleeping situation for you and your baby and, in the end, there's no "one way" to co-sleep.

Eventually, your kid will make the transition. Trust me: you won't have a high schooler sleeping in your bed. When it's time to help your kid sleep in their own bed is going to be up to you and your kid and a variety of other situations that will help your kid feel comfortable, empowered and able to sleep in their own bed, in their own room.

What you do during the day, whether or not your kid is healthy, if they're going through any big life changes and what their eating habits all will all contribute to how easy (or not so easy) that transition will be. However, there's no "deadline," so don't let someone tell you otherwise. If your toddler is still sleeping in your bed with you, you haven't "failed" at that whole sleeping thing.

I'm a big fan of co-sleeping, but that doesn't mean I absolutely love it. Sometimes, it's the worst. My kid kicks and hits and thrashes his little body around; he pees the bed (sometimes) and hogs the bed (always) and I miss having my personal space. I can be a fan of co-sleeping and still criticize it because, well, it's not always the greatest.

Still, even though there are some pretty crappy parts of co-sleeping, there are some wonderful parts, too. Sharing a bed with my kid definitely made breastfeeding easier, definitely helped with my postpartum anxiety (I was able to physically feel and easily see that my son was still breathing) and actually attributed to numerous, wonderful nights of uninterrupted sleep.

Like anything else in parenting, you can have juxtaposing feelings about the same situation. I love and hate co-sleeping, and that doesn't mean I'm "doing it wrong," or that it's the wrong decision for my baby or my family. It just means motherhood is complicated, and so are the situations that come along with it.