Mommy Needs Sleep!!
Sleeping arrangements in any household can be a tricky
thing. Some people are pro co-sleeping and others avoid it like the plague.
Co-sleeping is a very personal decision. I have read so many books and articles
about both the pros and cons and it appears that the best outcome is what ever
works best for your family.
In our home, after our fourth child was born, we had to upgrade
to a king size bed because we have two co-sleepers now. Our five-year-old goes
to sleep perfectly well in his bed after bedtime stories but every night like
clockwork, he arrives in our bed to snuggle. Our two-year-old is the same, she
goes to sleep in her crib after stories and some hand holding and belly pats. Then,
before midnight each night, she cries for daddy to come get her because she knows
he won’t put up the fight to try to get her back to sleep and just brings her
into our bed instead. (To be fair, the time he did try, she vomited from crying
and working herself up so much).
Alternatively, we could walk them back to bed, snuggle with
them in their bed, sneaking out at our earliest opportunity, let them cry-it-out,
hold the door closed while they kick and scream or try any other method that
people reassure us will have them sleeping in their own bed in a week (and we
have tried some of them without success). But, the reality of it for us is, we
need sleep. We allow them to come to our bed so that we can get sleep, so they
can get good sleep and so they don’t wake the other children with their cries
and screams. Getting out of bed repeatedly to take them back to bed plus the effort
of having to calm them down, all so we can repeat it in an hour, is not appealing
to me and will not gain me any extra zzz’s through the night.
Some nights are still very rough with co-sleepers. They
often fight while half asleep as to who gets to sleep beside mommy while daddy snoozes
on the other ¾ of the king size bed. I’m often left sleeping with my bottom
hanging out of bed and my head on the end table and when I try to move them
over, it is nearly impossible (I move one and before I can move the second, the
first has already filled the space I made, all while they sleep). The youngest
tosses a lot and often ends up sleeping sideways and let’s not even talk about
the blanket situation.
Our two older children had their time of co-sleeping as
well, thankfully not at the same time but at 14 and 11, they sleep soundly in
their own beds through the night. In the end, I’m confident that we will not be
having our little ones sleeping in our beds forever. Right now, I’ll just
appreciate all the cuddles I can get from them (even if it is in the middle of
the night) because they grow up so fast and someday, they will not be so
accepting of mommy cuddles.
Note: If you do choose to co-sleep with babies or small children, be sure to do it safely: put babies on their back, make sure heads are uncovered, ensure bed is firm, use lightweight blankets, avoid putting babies near edges or walls where they may fall off or get trapped if rolling, and keep sleep environment smoke-free
