Confession

Paul and I have been very adamant about our girls sleeping in their cribs since they were small. Bedtime is an easy routine and our girls have slept through the night forever.

Last night Sam woke up and when I went to check on her she had her arms outstretched and she just wrapped her arms and legs around me and nuzzled her little face into my neck. Ah, my sweet girl. I brought her to our bed and she slept with us. And I loved it. Oh man, I loved snuggling her all night.

Paul says he didn't get a bit of sleep. But I did! I thoroughly enjoyed having my babe in bed with me. Now I want to cosleep with my girls when I go home without Paul to see my folks this weekend. Surely I couldn't do *too much* harm for just one weekend, right??

 

Ha! Stephanie, those are famous last words! In my experience, it could go either way. If you do something different at grandma's house, you might be able to convince your kids that it's something special just for grandma's. And it will be great! But... your kids might love sleeping with you so much that they beg to sleep in your bed for a month once you get home. Good luck - and let us know what you end up doing and how it goes.

 

Honestly I did it once and I slept awful LOL. We were in vacation though, and the room was cold, I just woke up with an arm in the face. figured out that dh had put DS in our bed. Then ended up with no room to sleep because DS took the whole bed. It sucked LOL.

 

One time one of my two was sick and Joe brought him into bed with us. The two of them slept like logs but I couldn't sleep! :lol: I use any excuse I can to bring the baby to bed, though. I've always been adamant about everyone sleeping in their own beds, but naptime is another story all together!

 

Of course it won't do any harm--and it will do you and them a world of good.

 

For various reasons, I've had a kid or two in bed with me. Mostly, it's nap time. When we went to Disney, I had Anthony in my bed and Nicholas was with dh. Annabella was on the trundle. Another time the boys were sick and having lots of difficulty sleeping, so I pulled out the couch into the sleeper and we all slept there, so I could keep an we on them. Annabella I've slept upstairs in her room in the extra bed with her when she's been sick as well.

That said, they may have asked afterwards to sleep in my bed, etc. But I just tell them no and they are ok with it. It's not an everyday occurrence, just special occasions. I'd say go for it, but make sure you let them know that it only happens at grandmas, etc.

Good luck and let us know whatever you decide-and how it goes!

 

WE do special occasion sleep overs with the oldest.

 

I agree with Idril on the effect it may have on your routine. But I have loved co sleeping with my kids and think it's a great thing to do. All of them have transitioned to their own beds about 15-18 months, mostly because that's when DH can't take it anymore. He doesn't sleep well if someone's touching him, and by that point the kids are bigger and seem to move around more when they sleep. Still I love snuggling into one of my kids for the occasional nap or if someone wakes up from a nightmare, and do occasionally have one crawl in bed with us (maybe 2-3 times/year). I seem to get the best sleep then.

 

My kids are such movers when they sleep that there is no way co-sleeping would work for us.

 

mine are old enough to crawl in bed if they have a nightmare - and sleeping with THEM is a nightmare - Ian feels the need to sleep sideways, so one of us winds up with feet in the ribs, elbows in the face etc...

now if it is one on one (without Tony or I) it isn't so bad...

 

I love sleeping with my boys - I never hesitate to bring into our bed when they are awake and upset at night. We have slept together in our bed, hotel beds, at my parents' house, at my inlaws' house, etc. - and I always love it and it never really affects their future sleep. Go for it! There is nothing like cuddling their warm little bodies! :wub:

 

This is me, too! I love it when one or both crawl into my bed in the night, so snuggly. Believe me it will be no time at all before they won't want to snuggle in your bed anymore, so enjoy it while you can!

 

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who loves it!

Cosleeping just wouldn't ever work for us on a regular basis. Paul doesn't sleep well in general, so we have to minimize disruptions for him. Plus our bed is only a queen. I stay up until 12 most nights. Then one or both of us comes to bed super late at least one weekend night every week or so.

But I did love last night. And I think I'm going to bunk the girls with me this weekend. Poor mom- that means she has another room to toddler proof!

 

I have one that sleeps with us every night, lol!! We take her back to her room and 2 minutes later she is back...I dont even hear her come in or feel her climb up between us.

I've never been a real stickler about them not sleeping with us...they want to cuddle now and soon enough they wont want that and so I say enjoy it while you can.
However, if Paul cant get good sleep you do have to consider him too...jeez cry baby! LOL!

 

I used to love the kid snuggles too, occasionally. I can't handle it every night either, but there's something so sweet about how relaxed they get cuddled up to you in the middle of the night.

 

We have tried it a few times when our kids were up at night for whatever reason and at various ages, and it just did not work for any of us - NONE of us slept. I am a very, very light sleeper anyway, so sleeping with a wiggly toddler doesn't work for me.

I did end up taking quite a few naps on the couch with one or both of the boys when they were younger and didn't nap well. That I enjoyed because it was extra sleep and extra cuddles.

 

We've always had the girls sleeping in their own beds. Only recently have they started wanting to sleep in bed with us. One night Azalea said she had a nightmare and wanted to get in with us, so I said OK. Then Willow woke up and was "scared" alone in her room so she came into the bed too. It was awful, all 4 of us were squished and got very little sleep. LOL I was a little nervous about even letting them come into the bed one time, just because I know that bad habits can get started and I don't want them in my bed every single night. Not that it bothers me (there is plenty of room when my husband is gone at work during the week and it's just us 3 girls in the house) but I just don't want them to become reliant on that and feel that they cannot sleep if they aren't in bed with me. I think I was right, because several times the past week they have gotten up saying they are scared or some such thing and then get in bed with me. They also were sick last week and so I wound up sleeping in one of their beds with them to keep an eye on them. But now we are trying to get them to stay in their beds if possible, or to sleep in bed with their sister instead of mom and dad. But I do admit, it is nice sometimes having them in the bed with me, or being in bed with them Snuggling up to their tiny little bodies.

 

All 6 of my kids co slept when they were babies, my twins and Easton still sleep with me and my 13 yr old ends up on my bedroom floor at least 4 nights a week ( he thinks my dad haunts our house since he died here) I wouldn't have it any other way. They grow up too fast.

 

Everytime we travel (which is about once a month), the girls sleep with us. They transition back very nicely when we get home. It does seem like because they are older they understand that at home they sleep in their beds, but when we are traveling they get to sleep with mama (and occasionally daddy, but normally it ends up being the girls in one bed and daddy gets booted to the other).