When Ella was in her first few months of life, she would often find her way into our bed for a nap or for the critical post-6am window, where I would try to keep her sleeping for as long as possible. And by "finding her way" I mean that it was Always me putting her into bed with us. I just loved snuggling close with my little baby (but not too close - for fear of suffocation).
She was so small that Andy didn't even always know that she was in there with us, unless she made some sort of noise. I think she slept better because she loved being held All of the time, and there was that comfort knowing that her life source (aka: mother) was nearby.
My friends, those days are over. Last night, Andy was out of town (the first time in a Long time) and I decided to harken back to the days of Mommy and Ella sleepovers. I learned 2 things from this less than 1 hour experience. First, the concept of "the family bed" (an entire family sleeping together in one big bed) baffles me more than it ever has before. I am not venturing to argue against it as a whole, but all I know is that Alison and Ella Osenga do not share a bed well in this current stage of life. I like to spread out - so does she.
During our little together time, this child rolled on top of me, pulled my hair, hit my face and chest, kicked my stomach, and almost rolled off our (rather high) bed onto the hardwood floor. All in her sleep. I fondly remembered the days when she would snuggle up to me and Stay. I put a pillow on the other side of her merely as a precaution, not as a laughable deterrent.
Second, I think for the first time since this child was a twinkle in my blue-grey eye, I truly understood the brilliance of a crib. And a bumper pad. For all the reasons listed above, it's a good thing that crazy-sleeping baby has a trusty enclosure - and something soft to barrel against. It's also good for me to be able to have a night or two where I can thrash around, and my poor husband doesn't get nearly pushed off the (rather high) bed onto the hardwood floor.
7 comments:
HAHAHAHAA!!! That's awesome. Way to go, Ella! Kick ass and take names even as a little bitty baby!!
I'm on my way home now, and if that baby is in my bed when I get there, I'm sleeping on the couch. And I love you.
We co-slept with our older daughter until she got to be a good crawler (6 months). Then she NEEDED her own space. I think different kids are wired differently, and that even extends to sleep. Our newborn is really laid-back and cuddly and would probably be a great co-sleeper, but she's got awful reflux and has to sleep in her carseat. I actually know a family who is really into the family bed whose 4 year old sleeps with them and their 2 year old never has, she just hated being in there with them from birth!
So....I am home from your house and in case you were worried, everything came out just fine! =) Seriously, thanks for having me tonight...the movie was pretty good and the company was great as always! See you soon....
Watch that bumper pad! Those things turn into springboards for leaping out of the crib ....
Hey It's Amy...
I SOOOO here that - Connor can just abour knock me out now, or give black eyes on "bad dream nights" and erin - goood god that child walks 50 m iles in her sleep up a wall.
I can't even imagine sleeping in bed with babies. We have twins that are two and another baby that's one. My husband would always ask to put at least one baby in bed with us, but I knew that meant he'd sleep through the night while I slept with one eye open to make sure he didn't roll over on the child.
The mere suggestion of it would cause me to have nightmares at night. Almost every night for the first year of our twins' lives, I woke myself up as I frantically searched through the covers for a baby that I had forgotten was in our bed. I'd be throwing the covers off the bed. I even woke my husband up more than once screaming.
The nightmares are finally gone about suffocating babies, but now I wake up thinking I forgot to put a baby in bed--like it's just roaming the house loose while we sleep. I don't suggest having 3 babies at once. :)
Overworked. Overtired. Overstimulated. Overwhelmed! :) Overjoyed.
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