My Recent Adventure of Co-Sleeping With My Little One

We recently had some wild and crazy weather for December, it was extremely warm for a mid-December day and a feeling of strong storms was in the air. Nothing was unusual about our evening routine with my 21 month old baby. Bath time, pajamas on, read a book, cuddle and rock time and in the crib for the night. As I watched the weather I saw the winds were getting stronger, the rain was moving in and a sense of tornadoes and strong storms was in the air. I went to bed that night, but quickly awoke to a baby who was crying and rain coming down so hard it sounded as though it was going to come through the roof.

My baby sleeps in the front bedroom and that room has one large window covering almost the entire wall. Her sound machine was cranked up on high along with her essential oils diffusing. I went into her room to hear rain and winds beating on the window so hard I truly thought the window was going to shatter in a split second. By this time it was quite late and I could in no way leave my sweet girl in this bedroom all alone as strong storms and possible tornadoes were upon us. I quickly came up with a solution, my husband and I recently bought a much-needed king size bed, plenty of space for a child or two to sleep for the night. Maybe all the co sleepers out there are on to something, special bonding moments while we all have a restful night’s sleep. As I laid down with my daughter snuggled all tight in my arms, I thought this was a sweet bonding moment for us both. A few minutes later the bonding time wore off, my arm was falling asleep from the weight of her head resting on my bicep. An itch on my foot and an ache starting in my back. 

Scared to move an inch as I may startle her while she is trying to get settled and possibly drift off to sleep. Then a sharp pain entered my neck and quickly realized I needed to move and have a bit more space. No worries as I have a king size bed I will easily lay her in the middle of the bed and we can all have our own space to sleep. She quickly pops her head up and turns her body completely sideways placing her feet into my back and pushing me to the edge of the bed. It is a king size bed how can you not have enough space and feel the need to push me off the bed close to falling off into the floor. We are now reaching the hour mark since I got her out of her crib and I see this ‘co-sleeping’ adventure is nearing the end. She sits straight up and begins to play in the bed, lucky for her by this time the extremely hard wind and rain had now turned into sleet and snow, welcome to the south in the winter . That meant only one thing, high tail it back to her crib and seamlessly put her back to sleep in her own personal space as I get some much-needed sleep in my own bed without tiny feet placed in the arch of my back. 

I always tell parents do what you feel works for your family. While it works beautifully for some families, I do not see it in our future. My short venture with bed sharing quickly reminded me why co-sleeping is just not for me. Whether it be co-sleeping, room sharing or baby sleeping comfortably in their own room. I am a creature of habit and need my own personal sleeping space without children.

I love hearing from you, please reach out and let me know your feedback. If you are ready to take the next steps and have sleep heading in the right direction email me kelley@serenitysleepers.com or check out my website www.serenitysleepers.com