My son will be 7 years old a week from tomorrow, and even though he's a big boy now -- he still sleeps in bed with me and my husband every night. Yes, I said I'm co-sleeping with my almost-7-year-old.
(Go ahead and gasp and freak out a little bit if you want to. I understand.)
Let me make one thing very clear: co-sleeping was something I always frowned upon and never in a million years thought I'd wind up doing -- up until a year or two ago.
Letting my son sleep in the big bed with me started out as something we did occasionally when my husband was out of town on business. It was fun for my little guy, kind of like a sleepover party. But then we entered a stretch of time where my husband was traveling five days a week for months -- so little dude wound up sleeping in the master bedroom every night.
And somewhere along the way, it became a habit -- one that we've never bothered to break.
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Granted, he goes to sleep in his own room every single night. But at some point, he wanders down the hall to our room and winds up with us. And you know what? We love it. And we don't plan on kicking him out of our crib any time soon.
Actually, it's gotten to the point where I really don't even sleep well until he crawls into bed with us. I toss and turn and wake up over and over again until I know he's safe and sound, in between the two of us in our king-sized bed.
And I know that he's way too old to be sleeping anywhere other than his own bedroom, but I'm still just not ready to break him yet.
Here's the thing -- our son is our only child and will remain our only child because we're on the "one and done" plan. And that's why both of us really want to savor every ounce of the "little kid" phase we have left, because it's slowly slipping away before our eyes.
Before we know it, he'll be locking us out of his room instead of coming into ours at night, so we figure we might as well enjoy the cuddles while we still can.
And if we get to next year and he's still sleeping in our bed before his eighth birthday? So be it. There are worse things in life than having your child want to be close to you.
Do your kids ever sleep in your bed?
Image via Mary Fischer
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Comments 204
My nearly 5 year old sleeps in the bed with me. Her father passed away last year and I think it gives usgreat comfort. My 11 year old slept in the same for the first 3 months after my husband passed and none of us had a problem with it. Sometimes my daughter sleeps in her brother's bed. Right now it works for us.
My boyfriend's kid HAS to sleep with an adult every night. Her mother encourages it, while he tries to get her to sleep in her own bed. It's a nightmare. She has become so dependent on grown ups to do everything for her because her mother caters and coddles and spoils her rotten. I never co-slept with my parents when I was little. My parents told me straight up that children do not sleep with their parents, and I turned out fine. My kids wont be sharing my bed either. I like my space.
My five year old ends up in the bed with me a lot because DH works third shift. I think it's just comforting to both of us, because we both feel his absence at night so intensely. I'm sure that before he starts school this fall the habit will be one we get out of, but I'm enjoying letting him be "little" while I still can, before school starts for him and he has to start adding responsibilities to his life and growing up. :)
Congratulations, Mary Fischer, you're raising a wuss.
I just wish we had a king size bed - it's too crowded when our 9 yr old tries to sleep with us now. But I still love the fact she wants to snuggle up with us and read a book or talk or whatever if the mood strikes her. She knows she's always welcome if she's scared or something, but she also knows 3 out of 4 times she'll end up in her own bed at some point. To each their own with the co sleeping thing.