Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Co-Sleeping...Weird or Snuggly?

A friend recently posed the question - to co-sleep or not to co-sleep?  I am not sure how I feel about this.  Long ago I would have said, "Creepy.  Michael Jackson co-slept with some kids and it got him sued!"  Then when my daughter was a baby I would have jumped at the chance to spend every night next to her warm, snuggly babiness (the hubbie said no way).  Now that I've survived 9 years of parenthood I've got mixed feelings.

My kids have,of course, crawled into bed with me on nightmare nights or when they're sick or when they wake up at dawn and can't sleep but 99% of the time the sleep in their own beds in their own rooms.  Not just because the hubbie said no way but also because on those rare occasions that they manage to insinuate themselves into my cal-king I get stabbed in the eye with a roving elbow, or wake up to a surprisingly strong kick to the gut at 4 am.  The best is when I wake up freezing because I have no blanket and am perched perilously on the very edge of the bed.

Why oh why would I want to sleep like this every night??  And some nights maybe I'd like a little snuggling that doesn't involve a 6 year old with a runny nose and sabertooth toenails, you know?  We are a the kind of family that kisses and hugs and giggles and sings but if I don't have some time away from you - even if I happen to be sleeping during it - I might shake you.....or ship you to Guam.  Do they co-sleep there?  You might like it!

So I guess I am sure how I feel about co-sleeping - for me......I don't like it.  How I feel about it in general is still up for grabs - does it make kids clingy and needy?  Does it make them weird later in life?  When's a good time to kick them out?  Do you feel guilty for evicting them from your bed?  And how in the world do you have baby #2 if you're having a slumber party in your bodouaire every night???

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