Co-Sleeping

Last week  I came down with whatever has been going around, so I gave myself a sick day to lay around  and heal and finished reading Beyond the Sling by Mayim Bialik.

This book has been really amazing for me in more ways than one.  It has been interesting to realize that I agree with much of what is said in the book.  Though we've never practiced Elimination Communication (nor had the thought ever occurred to us), we do practice many of the parenting examples from the book.

Just today I came across This Article at Science Daily stating how modern parenting practices are hindering our children's development, and I wouldn't doubt it.

While we certainly weren't avid followers of the Attachment Parenting practice, I can say that those ideas that we did adhere to while raising Little Guy have certainly proven to be beneficial in his growth.

Before becoming parents we were flabbergasted at the idea that my husband's brother let their child sleep with them in their bed so often.  Once I became a mother, my primal instincts were so strong that I'd wake up a few seconds before Little Guy in the middle of the night and await his cry so that I could run to him in his crib.  It wasn't long before the exhaustion of running back and forth across the house began to take its toll, and we started having Little Guy sleep in our bed nearly every night.  Which soon turned into definitely every night.

Well, that is certainly a way to raise a clingy child isn't it?  One who will never be able to leave our sides.  One who will most certainly be one of those children who grab hold of their parent with a death grip and scream and cry when it's time to go off to school.

Actually no.  Not the case for us.  While it's true that I homeschooled Little Guy for preschool, he asked to go to Kindergarten at a traditional school.  The first day, there were no tears, only excitement.  And he's handled a sudden transition into a new school very well.  No tears there either.

Little Guy does fall asleep in his own bed (Hubby and I do need our own time), but most nights ends up in our bed sometime through the night.  I'm not going to lie, once or twice the thought crossed our mind that maybe he's too old to be coming into our bed, or that we should find a way to get him to stay in his own bed.  Easier said than done.

I read one book that said we should shut and lock our door!  That thought was so horrifying!  Can you imagine your sweet little 3 or 4 year old waking in the middle of the night, running to your room, finding your door locked, knocking and banging on it, crying, and realizing that the two people he trusts most in this world, that he relies on for safety and comfort and everything are not going to let him in?  It hurt my heart just thinking about it, and I knew we'd never do that.  And really, what am I doing at 3 in the morning anyway but sleeping?  I can think of no reason why he shouldn't come on in.

As he's gotten older, the nighttime visits have become much less frequent, although they do still happen.  I see this as a sign that he's growing more comfortable with himself and his ability to feel confident in being in his own space.

He's really very confident in himself, so much so that he taught himself to swim last summer.  Much as I'd like to say I helped, whenever I tried I was only met with, "I can do it myself!"

Though it may not be for everyone, we believe that co-sleeping has really worked for us and for our Little Guy.

Does your family practice co-sleeping?