Co-Sleepers by accident

When I was pregnant with Jackson, I had never heard the term "co-sleeping". It was actually when I really began frequenting other blogs that I first learned of this concept...as well as other parenting practices that related to it.

I'll be honest, I was not crazy about the idea...but not for the reasons you might think. I am not of the opinion that it would damage him emotionally or make him needy as I have heard some people suggest.

I just need a lot of sleep to function normally. Hard sleep. I know not everyone is this way. I know there are plenty of people who can get just a mere 4-5 hours and maybe even wake up to breastfeed in between and still go about their day normally...and to those people I say more power to ya!

But, I'm not those people. I'm the person that with little sleep forgets important things like taking my medicine, leaves a burner on, cannot drive safely, and will pack the diaper bag without a sippy cup or wipes. It just doesn't end well for me.

That being said, my son starting sleeping in his crib at night at 1 month old. I would go in to breastfeed him when he cried and then put him back down when he was full. 

He was a crib sleeper until 21 months old, at which point I felt it would be good to get a toddler bed (I regret this now). So we did...and tried to transition into sleeping in there. He refused.

He would not doze off in it on his own no matter what kind of tricks we tried. I got restless, and he did too....so I caved and got a pack-n-play for him to sleep in. I figured he needed to feel more surrounded by something (as he had in his crib) and I was right. The P&P worked like a charm.

That is until this month. 

I think part of our problem now is that he is trying to give up his nap, but some days he still needs one....so his schedule can be really inconsistent as a result. He doesn't like the P&P anymore...which is good...but he doesn't want to lay down in his bed to doze off either.

We recently came up with a new solution ...lay with him in our bed until he falls asleep and then put him in the big boy bed. 

Rather, I should say my hubs lays with him. Apparently I'm not cool enough to relax with....if I lay down with J he continues to want to play and climb on me and goof around. But Daddy has some secrets to getting J to calm down...and is pretty darn proud of them.

At this point...I am too. I don't even need to know what they are really, so long as my little man is getting some rest. It beats finding him asleep with his toys on the floor after putting him down in his big boy bed alone.

After thinking alot about the past couple of weeks I realized that we are now co-sleepers to an extent...and I'm totally ok with that.

To me, the most important thing is that we let Jackson develop at his own pace, while maintaining his health. So if it means he has to lay down with Daddy to ensure he gets enough rest...I'm all for it.

After all, this won't last forever...and I love him so much I even let him get in bed with us each morning now. 

My favorite thing about being a parent is learning and growing with Jackson. 

He teaches me something new everyday.