Why I don’t co-sleep.

There are the co-sleeping parents and the non-co-sleepers; and then there is everyone else in between.  I think I grudgingly fall into the abyss of in between co-sleeping.  Most nights I end up “co-sleeping” against my will.  My daughter sneaks into my bedroom in the middle of the night and wriggles in between my husband and I.  When we wake up in the morning she is there.  There is also the case of my son who sometimes wakes in the night because he is teething and will not go back to sleep unless he can snuggle up on my chest.  I know there are many parents who are extremely happy co-sleeping with their little ones, but I am not one of them.  I want my bed all to myself at night, my husband is lucky he even gets a spot next to me.  I want to snuggle up under the blankets in a ball and I don’t want to be disturbed until morning.  This is a pipe dream when you are a parent though because your kids are always waking you up in the middle of the night for something or they make a little noise that sets off your mama alarm. 

I love my kids with all of my heart, they are everything to me, and I love to snuggle with them.  However, I hate sleeping with them.  When they invade my bed I always end up with a foot kicking me in the face all night or my daughter trying to recreate her exit from the womb by sleeping between my legs.  My son is almost 1 and still has a head that is bigger than his body so I always get head butted all night by him.  I love it when I wake up in the morning with a fat lip unsure of where I got it.  Oh and the best is when you wake up with wet blankets because your kid peed on you in the middle of the night.

Knowing all of this I still allow them into my bed or sometimes I’m just too tired to kick them out.  I know that one day I will have my bed back, free from sneaky little invaders.  Everyone in my house will sleep in their own bed peacefully including me.  I tell myself this every night.  For now I deal with the wet sheets, busted lips and dirty feet in my face because I love these little toots and ok I’ll admit it sometimes I do sleep a little bit better knowing that my kids are safe right beside me but that usually all ends when I open my eyes in the morning and a two year old is screaming, “WAKE UP!” in my face.  Sleep will never be the same again; I must accept this and move on.