How do you plan the sleeping arrangement for your kids? Do you co-sleep in the same room, have separate beds in the same room or have them in their own bedrooms?
When
we first had Aiden, we planned for his cot bed to be beside our bed in
our bedroom. It is easier for us as first time parents, to respond to
his needs and cries.
 |
| Aiden at 10 month old, pulling himself up for the first time. |
I breastfed Aiden for twelve months, and what
helped with this was co-sleeping with him. I was exhausted as he was
still not sleeping through when he was a year old. I remember him as a
bigger baby, and so carrying him in the night and walking around the
house is really no walk in the park. It's amazing how babies are super
sensitive and how they sometimes hate being put down to sleep on the
bed. He wakes up almost immediately when his body touches the mattress,
and we begin the rocking, singing and patting routine.
 |
| Aiden at 7 month old, naps are very much welcome. |
With my
parents helping with the kids, Aiden spends some nights over at their
place and he usually sleeps on the bed with my mum. When he returns
home, he co-sleeps with us on our bed. This continued until he was
turning 3, and we had a makeover for his room, and got him a single bed
with storage for his toys and a huge bed guard to put this mummy's
worries at greater ease. On the first few nights he slept on his own bed
in his own room, I rehearsed with him how he should get off his bed,
come over to our room should he need us. We left a bed side light for
him, and kept both his door and ours ajar. I woke up several times a
night to check on him!
Aiden was doing well, sleeping in his own
bedroom since then, until Ava's arrival. Many things take a turn and he
grew to be more attached to us and returned to co-sleep with us. He
wants to be close to us, to feel more secure with a new baby in the
family. We ended up co-sleeping with both Aiden and Ava and it really
deprived Daddy Darren and myself of good quality sleep. We also get body
aches, having to adjust to the kids' ever- changing sleep positions
through the night.
I started to prep talk Aiden as I set the
stage for a new sleeping arrangement this new year. He loves the idea of
sleeping on a double-decker bed with Ava when they are older. He saw
this arrangement in books and always tells me that he will sleep at the
higher deck and mei mei would sleep below when they are older. I sold
him the idea of sleeping with Ava in his room and he was happy to try it
out. With a few nights of prep talking, on the first day of the new
year back at home, i confidently said, 'let's get to bed in Aiden's
room', Aiden and Ava managed to settle to sleep side by side. We got the
best of both worlds. Aiden and Ava bonding during bedtime and sleeping
in their own room. Daddy Darren and I regained our spacious king size
bed.
With the both of them amusing each other at bed time,
sometimes it takes a longer time for them to fall asleep as they started
laughing out at each other's antics.
 |
| Play time before bed time. |
Aiden woke up in the
middle of the night a few times with his blanket and soft toy in hand,
climbed onto our bed and took his position right between us and fell
asleep almost immediately. I was happy that he has outgrown the
rock-sing-pat routine yet feels that he grows up too fast.
With
this sleeping arrangement, our only worry was Ava waking up in the
middle of the night, not knowing how to get to us. She hasn't started
talking or walking as yet and I fear that she'd hurt herself, pushing
open the doors to our room. Then it happened. At 4am yesterday morning, there
was a loud bang and our bedroom door swung open. I usually jump out of
bed this very moment, and there was Aiden appearing with his blanket and
toy in hand, squeezing his way between us on our bed. We went back to
sleep shortly after and then another loud bang! I was thinking 'Aiden?
No! He just came to our room...' Jumping out of bed, and realized it was
little Ava sitting in the doorway, and relieved to find mummy.
I
was happy my little girl managed to find her way to our room
independently, and that she was not in tears. Her diaper was full and
after changing her, she refused to sleep on her mattress, clinging
tightly as I rock-sing-pat her to sleep. I guess she might be frightened
when no one came to her when she woke up earlier and dared not go to
sleep on her own. Nevertheless I am pleasantly surprised and happy to
know that she unlocked this stage without us guiding her at all.
The simple joy of uncovering a new milestone brought a smile to this mummy's face and led to this first post in the new year.
Happy New Year to all of you!
 |
| My drummer boy and girl in the morning. |
