I am so proud of myself and my husband for attachment parenting my young children. I breastfed each of them until they were at least 20 months old, I practiced the loving art of “baby wearing”, we utilized a family bed and co-sleeping. I owned a baby sling, Maya wrap, breast pumps (manual and electric!) moved my bed against the wall to keep my little ones from rolling off despite the fact that aesthetically it was hideous and a decorating nightmare, and I owned many books from the Dr Sears library. Having said all of this, please allow me to change directions a bit. . .
I reluctantly practice the co-sleeping method. I have never truly enjoyed sleeping with babies. Heck, it took me long enough to be able to sleep (no innuendo there) with my husband. I will admit that breastfeeding while laying in bed with a soft, chubby little cherub suckling away is heaven, as is not having to get out of my warm cozy bed to feed a hungry infant. I found breastfeeding to be one of the most loving, satisfying aspects of parenting a new child. The problem is that getting a full night’s sleep with children who no longer need nourishment throughout the night is uncomfortable for me. I do not enjoy feet in my face, nor do I enjoy being woken up by a small person who is climbing over me, or worse, hurdling over me. Furthermore, I enjoy sleeping next to my husband! My 5 year old daughter stays in her room, in her bed, all night about twice a week and my 3 year old son starts most nights in his toddler bed which is in my room, but eventually he ends up in my bed too.
I want my bed, my room, my bathroom and my sanity back! Please help me attachment parenting friends. Is there a peaceful way to get the kiddies out of your bed when they are this old? Not peaceful in a crunchy-granola, breastfeed-until-they’re-teenagers sort of way. I mean peaceful, as in, not resulting in screaming, acts of war or the like.
I was nowhere near as attached as you were – and my 4 year old still climbs into my bed. He is just a natural snuggler. It’s getting to be less often. I’m not fighting it, because he’s such a sweet little hugger and just wants to be near me. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing Liesl. My mantra has been “I will never get these days back” and “they are only little for a little while.” Deep down, I want them to stay with me forever!
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Oh my gosh..you just wrote about me! I feel for you girlfriend. I have 3 beautiful babies..11, 9 and 5. The 11 yr old never comes in anymore..the 9 year old ..aah..hardly ever and now the 5 year old maybe 2 x a week. Just broke that habit. With the girls .. I put up with it until they stopped. With my son..(cringing as I write this) I bribe him with treats from Target…There…I said it. With that I still end up in his bed many a nights and him in mine! Good Luck .. At the end of the day your kids will remember the LOVE!!
I hope that my kids will “remember the LOVE,” that’s really all that matters when it all boils down. Its great to hear that your older children are successfully sleeping independently. Thanks for sharing and reading.