Like I said, 95% of the time we get more sleep. They come in, slide in bed next to us, and fall asleep.
Then there's the 5%. Last night was the 5%.
So, around 4-5AM, I was nursing Josiah who had woken up. I was about to fall asleep when Arianna comes in the room. She insists on laying next to Mommy. So, she gets halfway on the crib and our mattress and starts to go to sleep. Then enter Jonas. He wasn't happy that his sister had taken the spot on the crib. That was HIS spot, and he made sure everyone knew. So, I scooted her over more on the mattress, and he snatched the crib's blanket and laid down. Which, naturally, caused her to melt down because she then was left without a blanket. Does she want the big comforter that Mommy and Daddy were sharing? No, no she does not. She wants HER blanket. I tell her to go get it. "BUT I'M TOO TIRED!"
At this point, Jonas is sitting up, irritated that his sister isn't content with him getting his way. Now, you may be wondering if the baby is sleeping through this. No, no he's not. Is Daddy? Why yes, yes he is. Grrrrrr.....
(**Disclaimer: I love my husband. He works long, hard hours in a very physically demanding job in the Florida heat and humidity. He deserves to sleep through the night. However, nights like this are when I need a little support.)
I wake Daddy. He goes to get her blanket, she lays down, then Jonas and Josiah refuse to go back down. Daddy takes Jonas, I nurse Josiah a bit longer, then switch to pacifier when he doesn't want to nurse. I hold him in the crook of my arm until he falls asleep. He's just almost asleep, as I am, when his left arm flies up and smacks me across the face... Did I mention I had a headache too??? Well, now it was worse.
I waited until he was good and asleep, transferred him from my arm to the bed, rolled over and looked at my cell phone. 5AM. Yay.
As I kissed LJ goodbye this morning, I said, "They had better sleep past 8!"
The time is now 8:13. They've been up for approximately 45 minutes.
This is the rare experiences with co-sleeping. Like I said, 5%. Attachment parenting (really, parenting in general) is about taking the good with the bad. Enjoying the fun and not pulling your hair out during the frustrating moments. The usual mornings, when we wake up to the baby nursing, the other two quietly asleep in our beds, and not remembering any of it happening, are reward for the bad nights. The big reward is how close we are to our kids. I wouldn't change it for all the sleep I could get!
