Three’s a Crowd

  You’ve heard the saying….two’s company, three’s a crowd…well nothing can be more true when it comes to sleeping and kids. I have to admit up front that I am really against letting kids sleep in their parents’ bed. Call me mean, but the only time I think it’s o-k is when they’re sick, because who doesn’t need a little extra TLC when they’re feeling icky? I just think once they get used to sleeping with you and your spouse on a regular basis, they are going to think that’s the norm. Sorry to say it’s not. I am coming to painfully realize that breaking bad habits isn’t easy, especially with kids. So why start another one?
  With that said, I think you can guess that my daughter has taken up sleeping with mommy and daddy on a semi-regular basis. This is her M-O….we put her in her bed. She’ll sleep there for a few hours, wake-up, and call for one of us. When no one comes to her rescue, she takes it upon herself to get out of her toddler bed and come into our room. (Boy do I miss the crib days) Although the bed is too high for her, she scales it like Mount Everest, finds her spot between us and snuggles in for the rest of the night. She falls asleep instantly, which tells me she didn’t have any real problem while in her bed. She wasn’t wet, hungry, or sick. She apparently just wanted some company. If you try to take her out and put her back in her bed, holy hell breaks loose. There is screaming, arms flying, feet stomping….all at 2 or 3 in the morning. Lovely. Sometimes we try to be hard with her and keep her in her bed, other times, sleepiness wins, and we fold like Gumby. I know, I know, we’re not helping the situation, but sometimes you just gotta sleep!
  Some people tell me it’s just a phase she’s going through because we are expecting baby number two very soon. Parents who have lived through this hell, say she knows someone else is coming and doesn’t want to feel left out. Lord only knows what’s down the road when the baby actually gets here and is in our room (in his or her bassinet mind you) for awhile. They all tell me she will grow out of it. When? Others say she could be afraid of the dark. But she has a really nice night light and has never been afraid of the dark before. Maybe she’s having nightmares, who knows? She used to love sleeping in her big girl bed…alone…every night….for awhile now. I would really love if she could communicate what the problem is when we ask. But we’re not up to that point yet. Does anyone have any suggestions to get her back in her own bed or do we just have to suck it up for awhile?

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