Sleeping Easy: Getting Rest Without Guilt
My oldest son is now 5 years old and I can say, without a doubt, that he never had the desire to sleep with my husband and I. Not for lack of trying though, mainly on the part of my husband who thinks that the idea of sleeping bundled together like peas in a pod is so cute and idealistic. But what he forgets is that the child rolls around, kicks you with his feet and generally makes it impossible for everyone to get a good nights rest.
I thought that maybe we had lucked out by having a child that actually loved to sleep and sleep in his own crib, no less. And when our second son came along 7 months ago, I thought, that "well, maybe he will be different." But he sleeps just as well as our first, 12 hours straight a night, along with two naps during the day. Do I think we just happen to hit the jackpot and have the most angelic children ever created? No, I sincerely believe that because both of them were put in their own cribs at an early age and were taught that the crib is where they sleep and not in mommy and daddy's bed that they are both independent, happy and sleep well basically every night. And for those mothers that insist on keeping their children closely held to them every single night, I say, let your children grow and flourish by giving them the chance to carve out their own space. And in the meantime, maybe you will get a good night's rest. I know I will.
Published by Lisa Dryden
Currently, I am a stay-at-home mother to my two children, but I am trying my hand at freelance writing. I have two degrees, in Psychology and Education, and want to be able to write on these topics, along w... View profile
- Guilt Will Eat You AliveGuilt is not an easy thing to carry around. It can literally destroy your life if you are not careful. Do not let guilt destroy you. It will if you let it.
- Guilt, Its Effects, and How to Overcome Regretful Feelings What is a feeling that occurs everyday, by adults, teenagers, and even children? Guilt is a feeling that is experienced when a person feels regret over something they thought, something they said, or an action the...
- Camping Sleeping Bag Review: Wenger Rectangular Sleeping Bag with Hollofil IIBuying the right sleeping bag for your camping trip is important."Roughing it" does not mean getting a bad night's sleep. This Wenger Rectangular Sleeping Bag is just the item to pamper yourself by night so you can co...
- How to Help Your ADD/ADHD Child with Rest and ExerciseWhen children don't get enough rest or exercise, their reaction is the same - irritability and loss of concentration. So be sure to give your child enough quiet time and enough activity.
Pet Rest, Inc. Pet Rest, Inc. is a family owned and operated pet cremation and cemetery business. They offer different services to fit each person's needs.
- Is Getting Good Night's Sleep an Impossible Dream?
- Getting Inked
- Getting Bumped: The Secret to Free Tickets & Perks from Major Airlines
- Getting Fit - A 10 Year Journey
- Few People Are Getting Enough Calcium; Food Labels Are Difficult to Understand
- Getting into the Video Game Designing Industry
- How Getting Organized Can Get You Through Even the Toughest Task!
- Co-sleeping
- Parenting
3 Comments
Post a CommentYou were lucky to have good sleepers :) Many people come to co-sleeping because their babies do NOT sleep well in cribs. I think the kind of situation you describe is relatively rare, and I know a lot of other moms of babies. If you aren't comfortable co-sleeping, great, that's your choice, but please don't imply that it is weird or wrong or expresses some pathological need for control...it is the biological norm and has been for millions of years, and still is around most of the world.
Hey savvy stewardess! Wow, that is a lot to deal with. I know there are extremes where you don't really have a choice as far as whether the kids are in the bed with you or not; I can't imagine. And I bet you do miss your hubby; hope things calm down a bit and thanks for the comments.
Lisa lisa lisa. Picture this-a king-sized bed with a very big Dad, a nine (!) year old son, a six year old daughter, a smooshed mom..and a cat. That was us last night. How did this nightmare begin? Well, our son was born 3 1/2 months preemie and has many developmental issues. We had him with us forever, initially for reassurance that he would survive! His sister never wanted in with us though. Finally we got our son out and he is pretty much in his own bed the past few years (unless we are all watching tv together) One night Dad thought it would be sweet to have our little girl bunk with us...well guess what? She is the guest that wouldn't leave. She always was a bad sleeper. Puked every night that we put her in her crib and I had to sing and rock her to sleep twice a night. Now she is in with us, until she is "16" she says. It is like a bad sitcom. Love my kids dearly, miss my husband like mad. Hey, what a great idea for an article.