When you become a mom, everyone has those statements that they lay on you. You know the ones that you nod politely at, smile and in your head are calling bullshit.
A. It’ll go so smoothly after six weeks.
B. Soon you won’t remember all these sleepless nights.
C. To stop them from crying, just (insert any 800 unasked for points of advice here)
and my personal favourite…
D. ‘Enjoy it now because they won’t be fifteen and ….(insert annoying toddler habit that people who don’t have toddlers anymore have forgotten are totally annoying).
Well. I have a confession to make. I’m buying into ‘D’ now that Will is getting older. And I’ll tell you the one I’m buying into… the co-sleeping! I know, I know! I’ve complained about Will’s refusal to leave my bed and me refusing to fight that battle for the last four years, ever since I sprung the kid from the crib.
This past week, we were on vacation in Grand Bend. We slept side by side, in single beds. The first night he crawled in with me but it was ridiculous. I discouraged him the rest of the week and we stayed solo. On the weekend, we went cottage camping. Our room had a double with a single bunk on top. He was so excited to sleep up there but on the first night, he said ‘maybe I’ll sleep on the bottom tonight and the top tomorrow.’ I quickly agreed.
As I lay there later, listening to him peacefully breathing grinding his teeth all night, it hit me. I missed having him beside me. I found myself thinking, ‘I only have a couple more years of him wanting to do this.’ Ugh. I’m a co-sleeper!
These are years of fitful sleep (add a point E – ‘you’ll never get a full night’s sleep again). I wake when he comes into my room, when his feet undoubtedly end up in my face and the odd time when he falls out of bed. But I love waking up to that peaceful face on his pillow next to me – or having him wake me up with that goofy grin on weekends when he inevitably wakes up an hour earlier.
I have years ahead of me to sleep alone, or hopefully with someone who doesn’t wake up talking about Pokemon.
So yes. I have revised my stance on being a co-sleeper. But what I am not changing my opinion on..ever…even if my sister sticks these things on my car every time I tear them off…are stick figures.
Yes. I’ll continue to judge.
personally, if a child is well adjusted and not rude, they can sleep upside down from the ceiling for all i care 🙂 i’m not sure where society thought that loving and showing love for a child became spoiling. “don’t pick up a crying baby, you’ll spoil it!” “don’t b-feed when they want, you’ll spoil it” “don’t sleep with your baby, you’ll spoil it”.
love your kid! end of story 🙂
love it! I co-sleep with jack the odd occasion (like, whenever he feels like crawling into my bed) and I love it. His squishy face in the morning is the best and so are his morning cuddles. I feel very lucky that I get to wake up to that. And I absolutely couldn’t care less what anyone thinks, because they obviously have not woken up to a morning cuddle full of “i love you mommy” or a foot in their back. 😉