Sleeping like Sandwiches:

The night before Yo was born, Adam and I couldn't help but feel a little glum.  Sure, the following day was going to be exciting and we couldn't wait to meet Yo.... but, something was ending.  It was the last day of the three of us.  It had been almost three years of just the three of us.  All of a sudden, I didn't feel ready to let it go.  All of a sudden, I wasn't ready.  So we let Wylie sleep in our bed with us.  Just for that night.  And Adam and I laid awake while we worried about the next day, and Wylie kicked and jabbed us all through the night.  We awoke and were reaffirmed that sleeping with a toddler is like sleeping with a zoo animal.

Before I became a parent, I knew everything about parenting.  Including co-sleeping.  I'm certain I said judgmental things like, "You'd have to be CRAZY to co-sleep!", "Kids should sleep in their own beds!  NO EXCEPTIONS!!" (Sorry, co-sleeping pals.  I'm a more humble gal these days.)

And then, we got into a habit where Wylie would go to sleep in his own bed, and then sometime between 1am and 5am, he'd climb into our bed.  He'd walk up to me, blue blankie in tow, and say, "Mommy- let's sleep like sandwiches".  Groggy, and too exhausted to fight him, I'd let him climb between us, and he and I would snore the night away, backs smooshed together- just like a sandwich.  Occasionally- he would somehow sleep like a sandwich with his feet on Adam's face.

Sometimes, in the light of day, Adam and I would talk about how we REALLY need to break this habit, and walk him back to his room.  Sometimes, we'd even try it.  For a night or two.  But, then we'd lose our steam, and without noticing, he'd be right back between us, snoring away.

And unlike my initial staunch stance on snoozing with a toddler (and most of my staunch parenting platforms, for that matter) I have softened.  There's a part of me that would like him to sleep through the night in his own bed.  And then there's a bigger part of me that loves that he goes to sleep happily in his own bed at seven pm on the dot, and then climbs into our bed, sandwich style around 2am.  Because he's only little for so long.

The real trick is making sure Yo doesn't find out that she's the only one in her own bed.  She'll be climbing in with us in no time.  Maybe we'll have solved this problem by then?