I'm at war with myself.
My eight month old daughter shares the bed with me about half the time- the other half, she's in her co-sleeper. She is still waking at least twice a night.
I'm a SAHM to three, and my oldest is a VERY high needs kiddo- much of the energy in the house is going toward keeping her pointed in the right direction.
I am EXHAUSTED. I don't remember the last time I really had a break.
Anyway, my three year old son is kind of stuck in the middle of all this- so much of my attention is going to my youngest and my oldest, that sometimes he gets a little forgotten about.
He's been sleeping in his own bed for a while now, but recently he has been coming and getting into bed with me in the middle of the night.
Intuitive me thinks that he needs me- if he was fine and getting the attention he needs during the day, he wouldn't need to get into bed with me at night. Intuitive me says that if I am ok with him sharing sleep with me again, he'll eventually feel ok about his own bed again, and in the meantime, he'll be getting some of that closeness that he doesn't get from me during the day. Plus, if I let him back in bed, I don't have to waste precious energy and sleep time trying to get him back in his own bed.
Conventional American parenting me is saying that he needs to sleep in his own bed, and I should take him back there every time he tries to get in my bed, or he'll never learn healthy sleep habits and all that.
Exhausted me is just DONE. I'm so tired. I NEED a break, badly, and instead of getting one, I'm getting hit with another thing that is taking more space and sleep from me when I just don't feel like I have anything left.
Any ideas?
My eight month old daughter shares the bed with me about half the time- the other half, she's in her co-sleeper. She is still waking at least twice a night.
I'm a SAHM to three, and my oldest is a VERY high needs kiddo- much of the energy in the house is going toward keeping her pointed in the right direction.
I am EXHAUSTED. I don't remember the last time I really had a break.
Anyway, my three year old son is kind of stuck in the middle of all this- so much of my attention is going to my youngest and my oldest, that sometimes he gets a little forgotten about.
He's been sleeping in his own bed for a while now, but recently he has been coming and getting into bed with me in the middle of the night.
Intuitive me thinks that he needs me- if he was fine and getting the attention he needs during the day, he wouldn't need to get into bed with me at night. Intuitive me says that if I am ok with him sharing sleep with me again, he'll eventually feel ok about his own bed again, and in the meantime, he'll be getting some of that closeness that he doesn't get from me during the day. Plus, if I let him back in bed, I don't have to waste precious energy and sleep time trying to get him back in his own bed.
Conventional American parenting me is saying that he needs to sleep in his own bed, and I should take him back there every time he tries to get in my bed, or he'll never learn healthy sleep habits and all that.
Exhausted me is just DONE. I'm so tired. I NEED a break, badly, and instead of getting one, I'm getting hit with another thing that is taking more space and sleep from me when I just don't feel like I have anything left.
Any ideas?
