Our Family Bed

There are a lot of names for what we do. Some call it the family bed. Others call it co-sleeping. I just call it having the baby in the bed.

For me, this is the epitome of lazy parenting. ;-) Our decision to put Jack in the bed with us from the day of this birth was twofold: we didn't really have the space for a crib and I didn't want to have to schlep to another room (or even across our room, to be honest) to get him for night feedings. By virtue of the fact that we planned to exclusively breastfeed (big success on that front!), I would be doing all the feedings at night. Additionally, breastfed babies tend to eat more often at night and need night feedings through the first year. That meant that not only would I be doing all the night feedings, I'd be doing a lot of them. Co-sleeping meant that I could simply roll over, latch Jack on, and drift back off to sleep.

For the most part, my pre-Jack idea of what co-sleeping would entail has been spot on. I know he still wakes up in the night, but I have no idea how many times a night or when those wakings occur. Every morning, I have a vague idea that I may have been woken, but my recollections tend to be spotty and blurry at best.

I don't think I know Jake's true feelings on the matter. He's been, theoretically, on board since the beginning, but I am getting the feeling that he may be falling out of love with the actuality of it. Several times in the past month he's mentioned being kicked by Jack at night or needing a bigger bed. Of course, I think he's A) a pansy and B) crazy. I try to treat the bed space like the Chinese treat unauthorized second children: Jack doesn't get his own bed ration, he shares mine. I do my best to make sure that Jake gets a wide berth at night, but of course I have no idea what is actually happening at 3 am. I'm asleep. :-D

I am hoping that we can continue the co-sleeping until Jack is about a year old. My ultimate goal is to get the boys bunk beds and transition Jack to the bottom bunk sometime next spring. If things go my way, I'll still be able to go sleep with Jack part of the night if he needs me. That way Jake gets a really wide berth.