We have been co-sleeping with my son for the grand total of four years now. Most of it was on purpose and some of it was by accident. I’ll admit that by now I had assumed that he would be loving life in his own bedroom but as it turned out we now have to share a family bed. We made a decision to rent a small one-bedroom flat knowing that it only had one bed.
We have been co-sleeping with my son for the grand total of four years now. Most of it was on purpose and some of it was by accident. I’ll admit that by now I had assumed that he would be loving life in his own bedroom but as it turned out we now have to share a family bed. We made a decision to rent a small one-bedroom flat knowing that it only had one bed. It was the right decision for our family as it has given us the opportunity to save for a deposit for a house. Part of that decision was accepting long-term co-sleeping as there simply is nowhere else for our son to sleep.
I’m not going to lie and say that it doesn’t come with its fair share of “moments” but in general we really do make it work. We go to bed. We wake up. We get on with our day. Co-sleeping, in our world, is as normal as brushing your teeth.
Most nights I find myself with a toe in my eye as standard. Then there is the fact that our four-year-old likes to hog the blankets and sleep with a few toys. It isn’t always the blissful night’s sleep that we crave shall we say. But it’s fine. It’s our thing and believe it or not there are so many things that we love about co-sleeping with our four-year-old.
- I get my baby for a little bit longer. Sleeping next to your child affords you the opportunity of seeing them as a baby every single night. Their perfect breath, their soft skin and their constant cuddles. I genuinely treasure these moments every single night because I know that they are not forever. Someday in the future, I will look back on this time and crave these moments deeply.
- When we stay in someone’s house for the night or go on holidays we never have to worry about sleeping arrangements. Once there is a double bed everything is easy and normal in our book. Sure it might involve lying in the bed with him and sneaking away when he is asleep, but it is not stressful. We can adapt really easily which makes adventures more accessible.
- My wake-up alarm is a happy little boy who rises in the best mood ever. He reminds me to seize the day and you cannot help but be touched by how happy he is to be greeted by a brand new day. He always says good morning and excitedly asks what we are doing today. He starts me off on a positive note and I am so grateful for that.
- I don’t watch TV or scroll through my phone in bed. In the interest of being completely honest, I used to do this until very recently because it never woke him up. It still doesn’t wake him but something clicked for me a few weeks ago and I feel guilty scrolling through social media while my child blissfully sleeps beside me. Maybe I’m scared I’ll wake him or maybe his peaceful sleeping face reminds me that sleep is always a better idea than mindlessly scrolling through social media. So now I sleep.
- My child is super confident and yet he is extremely affectionate. He is always happy to offer a hug, kiss or to hold your hand but he is also extremely independent. I really feel like he has that confidence in our bond and our closeness. He knows that when he needs us we are there and despite sleeping beside us he is full of adventure and likes to do his own thing a lot of the time. I see it as a long-term benefit of attachment parenting.
Written by Tracey Quinn staff writer at FFHQ who also blogs at www.loveofliving.ie.
