We play a lot of musical beds in this house. To be fair, we started this system up eleven years ago with Jessie. She had her crib, and started there most nights. But when she’d wake up, I’d just take her back to bed with us, and we’d all sleep thru the night. Julie co-slept with us from the beginning as well, the only time I remember putting her in her little crib to sleep was after her first nursing strike on the day after we brought her home. She had refused to nurse for almost six hours, before I finally gave her a few ounces of formula. Then she passed out, sound asleep and I laid her in her crib. Other than that one time, she nursed to sleep and was beside me until she moved to a toddler bed. Both girls transitioned to their own big-girl beds easily enough. Julie still sleeps with us sometimes, but as a rule, she’s in her bed in her bedroom.
When Sam was born, he never went into his crib. He was inconsolable, and it was just easier to keep him with me. So he was with us for a long time. He was an easier sleeper from the beginning – he’d nap on the couch or in my nursing chair, and when he was tired at night, he’d just put himself to bed. Sometimes he slept in his bed, sometimes he slept in ours. Sometimes he’d conk out on the couch, and that was cool too. The other night, he wanted to sleep on the floor in his sleeping bag. Because he’s such an easy sleeper, it’s never really been an issue. Sam’s got his fair share of challenges, but sleeping isn’t one of them. He just sleeps, sometimes in the oddest of places. He never needed or wanted an elaborate bedtime ritual, he’s perfectly happy to have me or Marc read to him, but also just as content to lay down, wherever, and go to sleep.
Last night, I went into check on the kids before going to bed. Jessie was asleep in her bed. Bottom bunk, with a thousand stuffed animals all over her bed, and buried in a pile of blankets, I could just see the top of her head. Julianna was all snuggled into her little bed, clutching her teddy bear. I peeped in Sam’s room, and he wasn’t there. He’s got a queen bed, so there was this huge expanse of empty bed, with no boy. We’d had an all day playdate here on Saturday, and been out of the house on Sunday, so his room was still in shambles, with super hero figurines and army guys battling it out, stuffed animals and Julie’s tea set littering the carpet. I tiptoed in (partially to be quiet, but mostly because I had to step carefully to avoid stepping ON something) and tried to figure out where he was. Finally I found him, in the tiniest of spaces. There’s a super-small gap, between his bed and the wall. Perfect only for a seven year old boy. His big sister couldn’t fit there, because she’s too tall, and his little sister wouldn’t dream of trying to sleep there. But for Sam, last night, it must have been just irresistible. Either that, or he was just hanging out in there and accidentally fell asleep. Crammed in between the wall and the bed, with just enough room to breathe. He was warm and safe, and obviously comfortable so I left him there and went to bed.
He ended up waking me up at around four thirty this morning, saying he’d had a bad dream. I let him crawl in next to me, knowing that it was far more likely that the poor guy tried to roll over and found himself stuck. And trapped in one position. Not a nightmare, just an unfortunate side effect to sleeping in the hole.
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