Mama in the City

A blog about raising my family in downtown Vancouver

The other day we packed up the rental car and went over to Victoria for a family visit, while my husband stayed at home to work. We went to my parents and it was a full house with my mother in law and niece visiting too. This meant our usual division of bedrooms was a bit different this time around.

Ben has been a great sleeper for the last 9 months and I didn't think too much about our sleeping quarters this time around, after all it was just two nights. I knew that it might be a bit tight but I thought that quiet tip toeing into the shared bedroom would do the trick.

Hosted by imgur.com
Back in the day when co-sleeping was our routine.

Night 1: Ben went to bed at his usual time and I followed up the stairs a few hours later. I patted myself on the back when I got into bed and turned on the bedside table lamp to read a novel for another 30 minutes...while he slept in his crib next to me! I was seriously impressed and didn't see any potential nighttime problems ahead. A few hours into our mutual REM sleep a little voice called out, "Mama! Bed! Mama! Bed!", followed by a wail and tears and an escalating cry from little Ben.

The boy ended up in bed with me and he settled right back to sleep, as soon as he lay across me. He moved around and tried to sleep on top of my head, he pulled my hair, and pummeled me with his restless limbs. The sleep was not good by any means and co-sleeping was difficult. It was so much easier to co-sleep with a baby versus a 30 pound toddler.

Night 2: Man, there was a certain dread about the sleeping situation and I even thought about sleeping on the couch in the living room. However, I am always hopeful in life and so I had high hopes for a great nights sleep. It didn't help that I didn't get to bed until after 1 AM, and it didn't help that my boy woke up as I opened the bedroom door. "Mama! Bed! Mama Bed! Waaaaa!!". Another night of co-sleeping, along with the pummeling in the kidneys, hair pulling and a sweaty toddler laying across me. To make things even better, Ben had horrible night time breath. Oh my!

There was a very early morning wake up, and I'm ever so thankful that my visiting mother in law is a naturally early riser too. She took Ben and I trotted back to bed to get a few hours of solid sleep. This little venture back into co-sleeping made me think about people who still co-sleep with their growing children. How do you do it? How do you not get them to not lay on your head and poke you? Ben also found sleeping with me very distracting and did not get a good night sleep for the two nights we were away.

Tonight: Ben is back in his crib, in his own bedroom. He fell asleep at the drop of a hat and I will be doing the same shortly. Do you co-sleep with your children? How do you work it?

Related Posts with Thumbnails