NewMom: Sleep like a baby? No thank you.

I said I’d never do it. I was warned to never do it. NewDad and I agreed firmly on this point – not once, not ever. It wouldn’t happen in our house. And then I did it. I brought the baby into our bed and slept there with her all night. Correction: she slept most of the night, I slept for maybe a couple hours, but not in a row. In the weeks just after NewGirl was born, I would wake up with a startle from the sensation that I had brought my baby into bed and rolled over on her. I would have to get out of bed and peer into her car seat (where she slept from weeks 3-10 to alleviate reflux problems) to reassure myself that, in fact, I hadn’t crushed her. But then she got sick, and by the third night of not allowing us to put her down without major protest, I caved.

It was probably the smartest thing I ever did. Because, while I only got a couple hours of sleep in the bed with her, it was more than I would get sitting in a chair, and it reassured me I wouldn’t make a habit of it. I don’t know who coined the phrase “sleep like a baby,” but until I brought her into bed, I never realized how much she squirms and turns, flops and kicks throughout the night. “Co-sleeping” may not be for me, but I now have a newfound respect for those who get a good night’s rest in the “family bed.”