Queen size bed

“Mommy can I just lay in here for a couple minutes?”

I know this is a little redundant, but it is my life right now. It seems like part of our bed time routine has been Pickle asking to lay in our bed. Perhaps it is sibling jealousy as he sees Poppy gets to lay in our bed sometimes.

For the last 2 to 3 months we have been trying to get Poppy into her own bed. Some nights are better than others. 

We did the cosleeping thing with Pickle for awhile. It all started when he was a newborn and would be gagging at night. Worry wart me, was too nervous to go to sleep because what if he puked and I didn’t wake up and he choked to death on his puke? He wound up sleeping on my chest, in our bed. We both got comfortable and use to it. 

Then we moved in with my parents and we tried getting him to sleep in his own bed, still in our room (the basement). He wasn’t having it. He would scream bloody hell nonstop. Unfortunately, sharing the house with other people meant he was keeping them awake with his screaming. So he wound up in our bed. 

Then we moved into our own house. We tried getting him in his crib again, but his screaming never would stop. Sure we could have tried harder, but at the time it didn’t really bother me. I loved the cuddles. 

At some point we bought him a Cars toddler bed. Nope, still not having it. Then we upped him to a twin size mattress thinking if we lay next to him he would eventually get comfortable enough to sleep on his own. We quickly realized the twin size was not accommodating. We switched to a full size. Still wasn’t having it. 

I want to say he was around 3 years old when we bought his loft-like bed. It’s not as tall as a normal loft bed. It has 3 stairs and you can put the trundle under it if you want it to be like a bunk bed. We don’t use the trundle because it’s more space for toys to be out of the way. 

For the most part he sleeps in his bed. Lately though, all he has been wanting to do is sleep in ours. Part of me thinks it’s sibling jealousy and the other part of me thinks he just wants to be next to us. 

The thing is though, we have a queen sized bed. There are some nights we manage to have all four of us, plus the dog and one or two cats, sleeping in our bed. You might be wondering, how the heck do you all fit on a queen size mattress?

It’s quite simple really. The kids and animals take over the bed. Chris and I get about 3 inches of space to lay on our sides on the edge of the bed. Needless to say, it is not comfortable for us. And Pickle, he is an active sleeper, tossing around all night long. It can make for very long, sleepless, nights for me. 

I do my best to remain assertive for Pickle to sleep in his bed and Poppy sleeping in hers. At the same time though,  I enjoy the cuddles and love while I can. I know it isn’t going to last forever. I read somewhere once that “you don’t see teenagers sleeping in their parent’s bed”. I certainly hope not. We have our needs 😉.

I don’t regret cosleeping because, for me, it was the only way we both  (the kids and I) could get solid sleep. For me, that was the only way I could function. It was just easier. Some nights are still like that, but it’s getting better. Slowly, but surely.

The things we do for our kids, right?

I hope you’re having a lovely Wednesday!

-Jenn