My first blog
This is my first post here at the newly created blog, which my husband Ernesto set up for me while I had a glass of wine and told him what to do. He's a little blog-happy and knows his way around better than I, so I let him go to it. He' s been trying for a while now to get me to start my own blog (and to contribute to his) so here I am. My intentions for this blog are to share my attachment parenting stories, insights, musings and related links so that others can draw from them in some way that is meaningful. That is the hope, anyway, so we'll see how it goes. A lot will depend on how often I post and how much info I can get on here in the next couple of weeks. The actual free time I have is a small window that opens when the kids go to bed until I go to bed. Or when one of the kids wakes up, which is Sofia lately, who is on the verge of crawling and I suspect the excitement of attaining such a milestone baby feat is keeping her from sound sleep. But tonight while Ernesto and I were giddily brainstorming on my new blog, David was the first one up, or down I should say as we heard a loud thud followed by a drowsy whimper and assumed correctly that David had fallen out of bed. How any child can make his way during sleep off a bed of that size is beyond me, but he's done it more than once. I used to keep the bedrail at the foot of the bed (which is where he falls off) but he got kind of stuck in it once and then I needed it for Sofia's bed, where it is now. And since falling out of bed doesn't seem to wake him up at all (I picked him up, put him back under the covers and he just rubbed his nose, smacked his lips and sighed before rolling over on his side) I guess he's no worse for the wear.
You may wonder what any of this has to do with attachment parenting. Well, nothing I guess, unless you consider that David's bed is directly adjacent to our own and Ernesto spends a good deal of the night getting kicked and jabbed by our 28-month old, who is still learning to "share space". Our kids are in bed with us every night for a couple of really good reasons. They want to be there, and we want them to be there. And we are able to get some sleep now, which we did not the first year of David's life before deciding to sleep share. We learned a lot of lessons that year, and there's a lot those parenting books don't tell you, but should. But much more on that later...I've got to go reassure Ernesto that I'm not in here writing a novel. Now he's wondering what he started...
You may wonder what any of this has to do with attachment parenting. Well, nothing I guess, unless you consider that David's bed is directly adjacent to our own and Ernesto spends a good deal of the night getting kicked and jabbed by our 28-month old, who is still learning to "share space". Our kids are in bed with us every night for a couple of really good reasons. They want to be there, and we want them to be there. And we are able to get some sleep now, which we did not the first year of David's life before deciding to sleep share. We learned a lot of lessons that year, and there's a lot those parenting books don't tell you, but should. But much more on that later...I've got to go reassure Ernesto that I'm not in here writing a novel. Now he's wondering what he started...
posted by Kristen @ 10:06 PM
3 Comments:
At 2:55 AM,
Anonymous said…
K, sorry it took so long to read your first ever blog, it is awesome, and not just 'cause you write way better than I do. I have to send it to Tanis, my "mother to be" friend at work. Got to get back to the rest. Oh, and I really wanted to use a curse word in a positive manner to convey how I felt about your post, but I didn't feel it was appropriate.
At 6:52 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hi Kirsten, Just a quick note from a fellow Mum from Melbourne, Australia - I read your blog and you sound so happy. I found you by accident, looking for some co-sleeping advice. I am a single, working parent and I co-sleep with one of my two sons most nights.
Ben is nearly 7 and Rob is 5, but they like it, I don't mind and I figure they do it because they're not getting something from me during the day that they need. And why not!!
Thanks for being a positive role model, Kate.
At 7:42 AM,
Kristen said…
Kate-Absolutely why not! I thought I had it all figured out before I had kids...I believed all the bunk about how you should not allow your kids in your bed and that they need to learn independence...blah, blah, blah. It is such a total and complete fraud and I think it hurts lots of families because parents think they're doing the right by making their kids sleep in their own bed. Night is a scary time for kids and they feel more secure if they can sleep with a parent. It actually teaches independence, not the opposite. Oh, when I think of the sleep I could have had the first year of my son's life if only I had kept him in bed with us. I didn't want to make him "clingy" and "dependent", but having him sleep in a crib in a room by himself is what made him that way. I brought him into bed with us when he was one, right after I found out I was pregnant with his sister. I needed some sleep and I couldn't be getting up every couple of hours with David. Thank goodness I did. He just slept so much better with us and my husband and were like, hey, whatever gets you through the night! Now we've got our big bed and David's twin-size pushed up together and the arrangement really works for us. Most nights, everyone sleeps great and it's so cool to see your kids first thing in the morning like that. I can't imagine it any other way! You know you're doing the right thing and re-connecting with your kids at night is great for all of you. There will be a time all too soon when they will want their own space at night, so enjoy it now! Keep up the good work!
Post a Comment