Moving to a Family Bed

Here in a few minutes I'll go lay down in bed with Bug (2y). We'll chat and giggle, he'll roll on top of me and stab me with his dagger sharp elbows, and eventually he'll take a deep sigh, yawn, and drift off to sleep.

Until about 2 weeks ago, we did all this in his bedroom. After he drifted off I'd leave him to sleep on his own for the rest of the night. Its the way we'd done things ever since we moved to this house (when he was about 18 months old) and it was working all right.

But recently he started waking in the night, crying out in his sleep. I'd trudge across the hall half asleep to comfort him, then come back to my bed to toss and turn. Neither of us were sleeping well. Then one night as we were headed to bed he said, "Mama's room? Mama's room?!" So I let him lay with me in my bed to fall asleep, then moved him to his room later when I was ready to sleep. I hated moving him. I knew I was disrupting his sleep cycles by doing it, but our bed is barely big enough for Papa and I as it is.

After a few nights of that, and Bug still waking in the night, I knew we needed to make a change. We chucked our bed frame and opted instead for a wall-to-wall mattress set up. Now Bug can fall asleep with me, and continue to sleep all night undisturbed. Everyone has plenty of space and we all sleep more securely. Bug has stopped waking during the night, and I am sleeping more soundly as well. I like having the whole family together in one room at night. I feel like I can sleep deeply, not half listening all night in case someone needs me. If some dangerous situation were to present itself, I know both my "babies" are nearby. It is working well for us.