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| Note the rosary in the top right corner, it was blessed by Pope Paul VI! |
When we first got married and found out we were pregnant with Peter, I had all kinds of ideas of how we were going to raise our children. Little did I realize that my plans pre-baby would be drastically different from my plans post-baby.
After arriving home from the hospital with Peter, we were exhausted and just wanted to get some sleep. I put him down in the cradle that my grandfather had made for me as a baby and he immediately woke up and screamed. The exhausted me picked him up, nursed him in our bed, he fell asleep, and so did I. Our bedsharing lifestyle began.
When Peter was three months old, we moved to our current apartment. We could never ask for better landlords, the rent is extremely affordable, and we live in a wonderful location. The only downfall: one bedroom. When we moved in, we didn't think anything of it. After all, we were a co-sleeping family. Then came the addition of Thérèse. We had a crib set up in our room from the moment we moved in, but knowing that we would need space in our bed for the new baby, we transitioned Peter into the crib. (Two nights ago, after feeling comfortable that he wouldn't crawl into our bed and squish the baby, we converted the crib to a toddler bed). We also decided to invest in a co-sleeper (for the baby) which is used for the first half of the night and naps. Our plans once again evolved, and we now have a family bedroom.
From the outside, it looks as though we are just in an unfortunate situation. Four people, one bedroom. But you know what? Now that we've experienced it, we wouldn't have it any other way! When we do buy a house, we plan on keeping the little ones (under age 3 or when developmentally ready) in our room with us.
Why do we like our family bedroom?
- We can quickly take care of our children's needs.
- They feel safe knowing that we are always nearby.
- Infants who co-sleep are found to have less chance of SIDS and gain a greater trust since their needs are met quickly.
- It makes breastfeeding much easier. Instead of stumbling to another room and struggling to stay awake, I merely have to roll over and we both fall right back to sleep. Call me lazy, but it works!
