Co-Sleeping The Second Time Around

When my first son wanted to sleep with mama and papa in our bed, I was conflicted about it.  I was constantly worried about his safety in the beginning.  I got used to it for the few months that it lasted and by the end I was over it.  Hey, I'm just being honest.  I know that there are many families out there who co-sleep from the beginning and sometimes the family bed is in effect for years. I have absolutely no problem with co-sleeping as a concept.  Personally however, I enjoy my sleep space. I like to stretch out so that I am taking up three quarters of the bed while my husband is on the far edge with just enough room to fit the width of his body.  Guilty as charged.  I see it as the trade off for the snoring that I put up with!

Fast forward to baby number two.  He is now seven months old and recently decided that he doesn't want to be put back in his crib in the middle of the night.  When he was a newborn I was so excited because I could actually put him in his crib awake and he would fall asleep. Amazing, considering that was never the case with my first.  Well, it didn't take long for him to recognize that it is more fun to be held than left in bed.  Who can blame him really? I am able to get him in his crib when he first goes to bed at night.  I can even get him back in his crib when he sometimes wakes an hour later.   That third time he wakes however, he has no interest in getting back in that thing.  For a week or so, I repeatedly took him out and put him in until he finally went to sleep.  As a result, my toddler (who shares a room with the baby) would stir, and I was getting no sleep.  I finally decided to place the baby in my bed and wouldn't you know, he was out like a light without even being nursed.  Silly baby.

I have now come to the conclusion that this is a phase that my kids go through. They must, for some reason, need to be close to mama and papa for a time.  Yes, I could continue to put the baby back in his crib.  Yes, I could implement sleep training at this stage, which would result in some amount of crying and no doubt a very angry, crying toddler who is more difficult to console than the baby.  A couple hours would pass and we would probably eventually get to sleep - until the next night.  I am taking the easy road. The first time the baby wakes after I go to bed, I have been bringing him back to bed with me.  Then, I sleep! and guess what?  I am enjoying having my little one in bed with me.  I am cherishing this time that I know will eventually pass and I will no longer have.  I know that in a few months I will have to train him to sleep in his crib, but for now I am simply enjoying the ride.