I can't sleep.
Because Sonny Boy is busy sleeping.
I can explain that. I bet ALL mums who co-sleep can explain that.
Sonny has entered that phase where he not just rolls around in his sleep, but in addition to that he also rotates. He's growing tall, and even though it's just the two of us in bed (daddy got thrown out long ago!), there's no space.
Even if I start the night putting him to sleep at the farthest end of the bed, he snuggles close and says "Amma, huggie". So we hug and cuddle up to sleep. Then he slowly turns over, pushing himself against me and throwing his weight onto me. So I move towards the edge of the bed, so that he can sleep flat on his back. Sometimes I slowly push him back toward the other end of the bed. But by the time I've finished this tedious move, he just rolls back on to my pillow before i can return to it!! Bah ghastly!
Deeper into his sleep, he'll start sleep talking. And he can't talk without action. I'm so tired of having his fingers poking into my eye dreaming of elephants, trains, zebras and his grandfather (four words that always figure in his sleep!), and waking up with a shock with him slapping my ear or cheek with the back of his hand as he keep wringing his hands in air.
Then deeper still into his sleep, he starts being the hands of a clock -- going round in circles real fast. Peeping through my heavy eyelids I sometimes see his toes under my nose and sometimes find his head tucked into the cusp of my tummy. And then he has to lift his legs in the air and slam them on me. Ouch that hurts, specially when you're sleeping.
Towards early morning, he starts nudging my waist with his toes! The gumption of the little brat...So I move away so his toes can't reach me. And this is where he gets mean. He wiggles down in the bed, stretches his toes, seeking some part of me to poke. Rascal.
I've been thinking i need to slowly phase him out to his own bed, placed next to ours in our room. And then go on to get him to sleep on his "own". I know know. Every one's told me it's gonna be hell. He won't. A cousin has bought her son a car-shaped lovely bed paying a bomb of a price. And the kid snuggled into their bed anyway after a few minutes of "sleeping alone". I don't have the luxury of space or money for a new specialised bed that may not even be used. (I still keep patting myself on the back for my decision to rent a baby cot in his early days and not buy one. He barely slept in it!).
In India co-sleeping is not a choice we make. It's just the way to go...natural way, the expected way. I remember my mom being so scandalised when I suggested we look for a bigger home so Sonny can have his own room to sleep in! I can't really figure out what to do.
Moms who've co-slept with their kids and have managed to move them out to their own bed -- when did you do it? At what age I mean? AND HOW??? Tips and tricks, suggestions welcome.
POST-SCRIPT: My dear mommy friend and fellow blogger from Bangalore, Aparna, has given a blow-by-blow account of how she transitioned her kid into sleeping alone. Practical lesson learnt! Here's the link: Aparna's blog "Life as a Mom"
Because Sonny Boy is busy sleeping.
I can explain that. I bet ALL mums who co-sleep can explain that.
Sonny has entered that phase where he not just rolls around in his sleep, but in addition to that he also rotates. He's growing tall, and even though it's just the two of us in bed (daddy got thrown out long ago!), there's no space.
Even if I start the night putting him to sleep at the farthest end of the bed, he snuggles close and says "Amma, huggie". So we hug and cuddle up to sleep. Then he slowly turns over, pushing himself against me and throwing his weight onto me. So I move towards the edge of the bed, so that he can sleep flat on his back. Sometimes I slowly push him back toward the other end of the bed. But by the time I've finished this tedious move, he just rolls back on to my pillow before i can return to it!! Bah ghastly!
Deeper into his sleep, he'll start sleep talking. And he can't talk without action. I'm so tired of having his fingers poking into my eye dreaming of elephants, trains, zebras and his grandfather (four words that always figure in his sleep!), and waking up with a shock with him slapping my ear or cheek with the back of his hand as he keep wringing his hands in air.
Then deeper still into his sleep, he starts being the hands of a clock -- going round in circles real fast. Peeping through my heavy eyelids I sometimes see his toes under my nose and sometimes find his head tucked into the cusp of my tummy. And then he has to lift his legs in the air and slam them on me. Ouch that hurts, specially when you're sleeping.
Towards early morning, he starts nudging my waist with his toes! The gumption of the little brat...So I move away so his toes can't reach me. And this is where he gets mean. He wiggles down in the bed, stretches his toes, seeking some part of me to poke. Rascal.
I've been thinking i need to slowly phase him out to his own bed, placed next to ours in our room. And then go on to get him to sleep on his "own". I know know. Every one's told me it's gonna be hell. He won't. A cousin has bought her son a car-shaped lovely bed paying a bomb of a price. And the kid snuggled into their bed anyway after a few minutes of "sleeping alone". I don't have the luxury of space or money for a new specialised bed that may not even be used. (I still keep patting myself on the back for my decision to rent a baby cot in his early days and not buy one. He barely slept in it!).
In India co-sleeping is not a choice we make. It's just the way to go...natural way, the expected way. I remember my mom being so scandalised when I suggested we look for a bigger home so Sonny can have his own room to sleep in! I can't really figure out what to do.
Moms who've co-slept with their kids and have managed to move them out to their own bed -- when did you do it? At what age I mean? AND HOW??? Tips and tricks, suggestions welcome.
POST-SCRIPT: My dear mommy friend and fellow blogger from Bangalore, Aparna, has given a blow-by-blow account of how she transitioned her kid into sleeping alone. Practical lesson learnt! Here's the link: Aparna's blog "Life as a Mom"
