Co Sleeping

Some friends and I were having this discussion the other day. One of them co sleeps and doesn't like to share that bit of detail with people because of the reactions that she has gotten. Which got me thinking about our decision to co sleep.

When Layla was little, she slept in an actual "co-sleeper" which is basically a pack and play that is attached to the bed. She stayed in there until she was old enough to attempt little baby suicide by throwing herself out of it, at which point she was moved to her crib in her room.

With Evie most likely being our last, having now 2 kids who demand of you and make getting enough rest critical, and not wanting to get up at night to nurse, we have had Evie in bed with us from the start. And let me tell you, I have never been happier.

Because Evie doesn't take a bottle, she gets limited food throughout the day. I go down to nurse her once, she gets spooned 3-4 ounces of breastmilk, and she now has some soup at Elba's. But she still nurses nonstop all night. And having her in bed where I can just pull a boob out and have her latch on and nurse/sleep is so conveinent. I sleep, she eats, and we recharge on some much needed snuggle time after having been away from her all day.

But the co sleeping has gone beyond just a conveinence thing for us. There is nothing in this world better than snuggling with your children. Layla likes to be snuggled at times, but she's older and those moments are few and far between. And while I get to love on her, it is simply not the same as sleeping nose to head with my little piece of heaven and listening to her breath all night. I simply love laying down with her and feeling her reach out. She's like a little heat magnet, too. She'll scoot up as close as she can get to you and wiggle herself in.

Layla is none the worse for having co slept. She can put herself to sleep, and if she didn't piss the bed every night, she would be having little sleep issues (aside from the hard time falling asleep cause she scared of EVERYTHING). Why are we embarrassed to tell people that we keep our kids close and hold on tight? Why is it only celebrated when someone can put their kid in a room by themselves and shut the door, and they can sleep through the night like that? Whatever, just know that I'm not fucking my kid up by having her sleep with us right now.

I'm clinging to these moments for as long as I can. In no time at all she will be too busy to share in moments like this.