"I Sleep In Mommy And Daddy's Bed?" CRAP! Nooooo. What Have I Done...

The advice I heard the most while pregnant was, "Do NOT! Let that baby into your bed. EVER!" I was warned that from newborn through infant, it was incredibly dangerous. Then, some of my been-there-done-that friends, through tears in their eyes--or possibly just blood shot eyes from lack of sleep-- said not let my son in my bed at any age, because I would NEVER get him out again. 

So I didn't. 

Except this one time. 

Recently.

FTD and I were incredibly careful to not let our infant son in our bed, no matter how tired we were.  As Ollie got older, we still didn't let him in the bed, not even to nap. Our friends took too much care to warn us of the, "you will never sleep alone again," fate we would face if we let him in the bed. Lucky for us, Ollie never seemed bothered by it. From his first night home from the hospital, until recently (2yrs4mos), he slept in his crib every night.

Then he got really sick.

I was afraid he was going to have horrible breathing problems from the sickness and die. (It really wasn't that bad, I was just suffering from first-time mom paranoia.) So, I let him sleep in our bed so I could watch him--FTD slept on the couch I barely slept that night. Partly because I was so worried about him, and partly because he kept tossing and turning and kicking the crap out of me.

I will admit, I did like cuddling him, and having him close... So I may or may not have let him sleep with me one or two more times while he got better... Being that hind sight is 20/20 I realize that decision may have been foolish for a few reasons.

1. I quickly learned that once cuddle time was over, I couldn't get to sleep thanks to his Chuck Norris scissor kicks and headbutts... in between barrel rolls from one pillow to the other.  

2. There is absolutely no solid sleep to be had when that sleep sucking machine is in my bed.

3. The kid is now OBSESSED with sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed. 

Getting him back in his bed has been the challenge of the century. (Think: F-Bombs sprinkled with tears and frustration.) Thankfully, after a few days, he's back to going to sleep in his bed initially, but the minute he wakes up in the night, he comes into my room and tries to get into bed. He cries to me and FTD like a monster is going to eat his face off it he has to go back to his room. Feeling horrible, but still desperate to keep him out of my bed, I sit in his rocking chair and rock him back to sleep. Sometimes this process takes up to an hour.

Holy crap, it sucks!

But, I am adamant to right what I have done wrong.  I am not going to break.  His ass is going back in his bed every night. I know what it's like to sleep without a toddler foot in my kidneys all night. 

I want that back. I will have that back.

My friends, I now join the ranks of been-there-done-that parents preaching the most important rule of thumb when it comes to babies/toddlers and sleep: DO NOT let that child in your bed.  If you do, you will either NEVER get them out again, or lose many a hours of sleep trying!