My 4-year-old’s hand, when balled up in a fist, fits perfectly in my eye socket. I know this because on more than one occasion, deep in the middle of the night, when we’ve all been sound asleep, his silky soft little boy fist has landed there with such force, I’ve been jolted awake to see the kinds of stars the Grucci fireworks masters would be proud of. Call it Shock And Owwww!
That’s what wimpy parenting gets you. In this case, it’s my just desserts for allowing my wily child to take full advantage of my sleep-deprivation to barter uninterrupted slumber for entry into our bed. I caved; he triumphed, and 18 months later, he’s still camped out quite comfortably – not to mention horizontally — between me and my husband. There must be some peculiar theorem of sleep physics that states a child will always sleep perpendicular to whomever is in the bed next to him. Meanwhile, we cling to the sides of the mattress, dodging flying fists and (in my husband’s case) knees to the ‘nads.
To read more, please click here and follow me over to HealthBistro at Lifescript where I’m guest blogging today and the second Friday of every month about my late-in-life parenting adventures.
In today’s post I talk about accidentally falling into a family bed and liking it — even though I was opposed to group snoozing before our son was born. It’s amazing how many pre-conceived parenting notions crumble in the face of post-conception parenting realities. Has real-life parenting reversed any of your pre-baby ideas? Please leave a comment below the post and tell me about it!
Meanwhile, while you’re at Lifescript, stay a while and check it out. The site’s got great health info for women.
My oldest (now almost 13) slept with us in a family bed until he was 6. I was afraid the transition would be hard. But it was seamless. I woke up many night to toes poking in my face or a stray arm hanging over my face. I hear ya pain sista!
Thanks so much for responding! Glad to know that eventually there’ll be a transition! We’re starting down that path — putting our child on a floor mattress in our room. Most nights he starts out there, but by early morning, he crawls back in with us. When I don’t get clocked in the eye, it’s nice to feel him snuggle in because I know he won’t do that forever.
Thanks again for commenting!