We never planned to co-sleep with our kids. When Caden was born, I did everything in my power to stay awake in the middle of the night nursing him. I propped myself up, using pillows and the boppy and tried to focus on staying awake. The option of co-sleeping was still a no-no to me from all the experts I had read. Plus the dogs were still sleeping in our bed. We were already cramped. (If you have known me a long time, or if you have lived with me, Kristin and Cecilie, you understand that staying awake is not my forte. My college friends love to tell how I would fall asleep, face down, on my textbooks.) When Ellie was born we lived in the new house and I had a rocking chair. I spent MANY hours at night sleeping in that rocking chair, with Ellie propped on the boppy. Vince was he same story, until I realized I was sleeping more in that rocker, which at this point had seen much better days, than I was in my bed. So when he woke up at night, in his crib, we always started in the crib, I just took him back to bed with me to nurse. I didn't roll over on him. I didn't smother him in his sleep. I just woke up a little later, carried my sleeping baby back to his crib and went back to bed. As he got older, he would just get up by himself in the night to nurse (I nursed him for a LONG time). Before he weaned, I was pretty sure he was nursing to cuddle rather than actually get any food. Before Olivia was born we only had kids in our bed when beds were wet, dreams were scary, there were storms (thanks for that Meema!) or someone was sick. And it was fine. With three little kids, that was almost every night we had someone in our bed. Ellie came to bed almost every morning when she woke up. Sometimes, she'd grab the iPad and play for an hour or more, while I got to keep sleeping. I was comfortable with our version of the family bed. Then Olivia was born.
Miss Olivia has never slept in the crib (actually the pack N play because we're still working out the bed situation here). The first night we brought her home it was after midnight. I had to be up by 6:30 the next morning to get the kids off to the HOF parade and I was tired. I layed her down beside me to nurse and that's what we've done every night since. It works for me. People keep asking if she's sleeping through the night. She's not, but it's not a big deal for me. She makes little noises, I take her to the girls room to change her diaper, then we both lie back down to nurse and sleep. Whether it's from cosleeping or not, she's never had a night where she was just wide awake and I had to pace the floor with her. I remember these sleepless nights that everyone talks about with the other kids. Maybe her's are yet to come. But as for now, she's content to snuggle down with me at night and sleep. I plan on putting her in a crib at some point. I'm not one who really WANTS to whole family bed thing, but I've found that it's easiest to do what works, and right now, the family bed seems to be working.
You'll notice that I didn't mention Caden in the bed this morning. He used to be in my bed every morning, but now, if he gets up before me, he plays Wii. I kind of miss holding him. It's a sign he's getting bigger and needs me less, which is good, but still a little sad. If I have to put up with getting kicked and smushed against the edge of the bed, I'll do it, because now I know it's just temporary and I'll miss having a little hand on my cheek in the morning when they're all up playing Wii, or worse...DRIVING!
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| Evan and Ellie. It's as close to a co-sleeping pic as I could get. It's a little creepy to take pictures of people in their bed at night! |
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