I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
On My Own
Saturday afternoon Dearest’s sister came over with her youngest daughter’s old crib/toddler bed. She was finally moving up to a nice twin sized bed of her own and the old bed had to go. Trey was the lucky recipient of the new-to-us bed, though he regarded it as another trampoline to add to the collection. That night he slept peacefully (or not) in his own big boy bed, sharing a room with Evan.
This is huge. Why? Because it’s the first time Trey has slept in his own bed….EVER! For the last 18 months we’ve been a cosleeping family. Most nights it’s just Trey and I as Dearest works at night and Evan has his own bed. Some nights he creeps in and joins us, and some nights Dearest gets home early and comes on to bed. But for the majority of the last 18 months it’s been me and that little boy.
It’s been a mixed blessing. Evan went to his own bed at 4 months when he began sleeping through the night. Dearest insisted that it just wasn’t right for him to continue sleeping next to me, and I had never heard of babies sleeping anywhere else than in cribs. It was a decision I later regretted as I learned more about babies and breastfeeding and sleep. This time I was determined to do it right, or at least do it my way. Backed with knowledge and the attitude of a “been there done that” mom Trey stayed in bed with me.
Sleep was beautiful. There was no late night feedings, no getting up out of bed, no stumbling across the house, no anything. Roll over, lift shirt, fall back asleep. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of waking up to his sweet smile every day, of feeling him breathing next to me, and when his fat little toes would dig into my stomach my heart would melt.
But at the same time there have been downsides. No alone time in bed being one that began wearing on my nerves more and more lately. Since the computer is in the bedroom it also has meant trying to get writing done in stealth mode, not easy at all. And if the diaper doesn’t hold at night, well everyone gets a wet bed.
Weighing the options and the benefits I still have to say cosleeping is the way to go. Once I relaxed and got over the “you’re going to smother the baby” fear that gets shoved in our heads it was wonderful. Well rested nights, breastfeeding was a breeze, and the sweet cuddling time. I’m almost sad that it’s ending. That is, until I get to stretch out in the bed alone. Yep, time to move on.
- 7 BENEFITS OF CO-SLEEPING: MEDICAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL
- SLEEPING SAFELY WITH YOUR BABY
- The Benefits of Co-Sleeping
- What are the advantages of having our baby sleep with us?
- CoSleeping
(Before anyone marches in and revokes my crunchy card let me state that we are still breastfeeding on his call and that both are always more than welcome back if they ever need a mommy night.)
[tags]cosleeping, co-sleeping[/tags]
That is DEFINITELY huge! I’m still trying to get my daughter to sleep in her bed!
Mama Zen’s last blog post..Not Your Mother’s Play Date
I remember when Andrew asked to sleep with Mackenzie in her room … then Presh. It was what they wanted as a part of growing up, and you do get some advantages, but it is hard to grasp – just them getting bigger and making their own choices verbally.
Granted, the two younger ones always wanted to be with big sister, but big sister continued to migrate back to our bed constantly! ha!
christine’s last blog post..My girl is growing breasts up
Mama Zen:
It’s not easy, I promise. We’re having plenty of bed time issues. Hopefully it will smooth out soon.
Christine:
Awww! Though, do they have to grow up so darn fast???
Trey was always crawling into Evan’s bed at night wanting to sleep with him. But Evan was not having it. He doesn’ share his bed. LOL
We had a “family bed” with both of our children, who are now 15 and 12. Like you, I loved waking up and seeing their tiny smiles when I first opened my eyes. Our oldest went to his own bed at about 3, shortly after the youngest was born. The youngest, however, was a completely different story and slept with us on and off until she was almost 10. The funny thing is that we were so excited to finally get the bed back to ourselves, but we then turned around and got a puppy, then a 2nd puppy, and finally a 3rd puppy. So although the human children no longer sleep in the bed with us, the 4 legged ones now do…LOL!
I found you through Entrecard and look forward to future visits here. You have an awesome site with some very wonderful content!
Holly’s last blog post..What a day yesterday was!
my baby is 18 months, still sleeps with us- and I soooo want some alone time in my bed with my husband, plus, my baby wakes me up a lot ot nurse- it’s exhausting… so yeah for you!
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