Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Co-Sleeping (or lack thereof)

I know many people who co-sleep with their infants/toddlers and love it.  That's great!  It's not for me (at least not right now).

What brings on this post?  Well, my husband has been gone this week, so when my almost 2-year-old started crying in the middle of the night, I brought him back to bed with me.  We both went back to sleep.  Then I woke up to check on him.   Then I woke up with feet in my face.  Neither one of us slept very well.  Both of us sleep much better when the toddler is in his bed and I am in mine.

Typically when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I simply soothe him (tuck him in, reassure him).  Sometimes I'll curl up on the couch with him and fall asleep.  On those occasions, he will sleep for about 15 minutes on me, then push away until he is not on me (sometimes he'll even go all the way to the floor), then go back to sleep.  That is my cue to tuck him back in bed.

Maybe it is our temperaments, maybe it is because we haven't been co-sleeping all along.  Whatever the reason, it doesn't work.  And that is fine!  Despite the fact that I love cuddling with my toddler, it's nice to have a little bit of space.  Am I against co-sleeping?  Absolutely not!  You go and do whatever works best for you and your family.