For 3 weeks, I've been working on improving my sleep. So far, I see improvement in the quality of my sleep. One area that is such a challenge for me (I'd LOVE your feedback), is what to do when my kids crawl in bed with us. They don't want Jared. They want me. Usually it is just one or two of them that find their way into our bed.
I wish I had a picture of us this morning. You'll just have to imagine it. Between 2 and 3am, I had Audrey tucked under my left arm. Samuel had his head under the covers with his feet by my face and his body smashed against my right side. Then Eliza decided to join the party and laid on top of me. Without exception they all want to be next to me. As much as I love to snuggle my babies, this interrupts my sleep and I have a more difficult time waking up in the morning feeling refreshed.
I carried all the kids back to bed and resumed sleeping and it worked out alright BUT how do I help them be comfortable staying in their bed all night? Or do I just tell them they have to sleep on the floor? Or do I lock my door? Every night we talk to them about staying in their beds. Sometimes they listen and other times, they all want me.
As a child, I loved sleeping in my parents bed. Being near my Mom was comforting. I don't want to take that away from my children. I also don't want to get kicked in the face. I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice.
We keep the hall light on all night long, it seems to help the kids sleep better or not be so scared if they do wake up. If they come in our room they have to bring their pillow and blanket and sleep on the floor.
ReplyDeleteWe have left the hall light on for awhile but then I can't sleep with it on. We leave our door open so I can hear Michael if he needs me. So, recently we have turned off the hall light and left the bathroom light on. That seems to work great for us and I sleep a lot better.
DeleteI think Marvia that you are one of the few people I know that has 4 children under 5yrs old just as I experienced. We went through that some situation with all of the kids climbing into bed with us for a few years. We should have gotten a bigger bed. Haha. It is comforting for the kids to sleep by mom. I was probably 10 when I stopped sleeping by my mom once in a while. I would say that you will not be guaranteed an uninterupted nights sleep for the rest of your life unless you hire someone to stay at home with the kids and you go to a hotel. I think just trying the things you were saying will help and of course as they grow older they will eventually stop. Even now sometimes I go get Kyle out of his bed to sleep nest to him because he is so comforting David feels the same way. Especially in Dec when we were so sad, we both felt better next to our baby.
ReplyDeleteEmily, you are an amazing lady. You've accomplished so much and with EIGHT children. :)
DeleteWe only have two children (now adults) but I remember when they were both coming into bed with us. We decided to accept the situation and make the bed bigger temporarily. We did this by turning it so that the length became the new width, and adding a single bed along the bottom to extend the length. We also bought a king size duvet instead of the double one we had been using. The situation only lasted for about 6 months, and then they seemed more able to stay in their own beds. It felt important always to start them off in their own room each night so they were in no doubt that that was where we really wanted them to be!
ReplyDeleteThat was when the children were toddlers. A few years later, when our daughter was 6 and finding it hard to settle after a house move, she needed to sleep with us again. On that occasion she was happy with a mattress on the floor beside me, and her own single duvet. Again it seemed important not to fight against her very real need, and after a few weeks things went back to normal.
All the best - it sounds like you're doing a great job!
Thanks, Bella. I like your attitude to just embrace the situation. I think I need to adapt that outlook.
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