against the flow

ive talked about it before- and i know its not for everyone- but today's post is an ode to cosleeping and the wonderful cuddliness of miss k's bedtime routine. well, it has been filled with cuddles and spooning up until recently. just another sign that my baby is growing up faster than i can handle! boo hoo!! what we usually do is give her a bottle and just chill out on the couch for a bit- she snuggles with daddy and we watch something completely inappropriate like the simpsons or her favorite- family guy (she loves brian the dog). then when she is about halfway finished her bottle, i say, 'ready to go nuh-nights?' then she gives daddy a kiss and a hug, say, 'bye,' and then say, 'bye' to whoever is on the tv or in the room. then its off to bed.

she has her place between us (we have a big ass king sized bed- yay room for all of us!) so we snuggle and spoon while she falls asleep drinking her bottle and i sing her 'let it snow' about a bazillion times. well that was oh, a few weeks ago. now she insists on falling asleep by herself. take tonight, for instance. we go through our routine, i sing, and she takes her bottle and hands it to me and lays down on my pillow says, 'nuh-nights i-o-wooo.' loosely translated, she just told me good night and i love you. OMG! how sweet is that??? shes been saying i love you- well her version of it- for a week now, but not at nighttime. how cute! but its also so sad to me that she didnt want to fall asleep in my arms. she just turned 18 months today, so its funny how fast she seems to be growing up with the littlest things.

dr. sears says that attached kids can be more comfortable moving to independence... and i am seeing the proof! but its not just at bedtime- though that has been the sweetest so far... its everything. but thats another post all together... sorry for the tangent..

i know that a lot of parents dont rock, snuggle or sing their kids to sleep every night. they may just put the baby in the crib, say good night and thats that- and thats fine. but im taking the longer course... one that is a little against the flow... so what if it takes a long time to get her to sleep? sometimes it will take close to an hour if shes talkative (i like to think shes telling me her favorite parts of the day) sometimes shes restless, and sometimes shes zonked out before she finishes her bottle... but it is just a sweet, quiet time that i am happy to spend with her. she loves going to bed- its fun for her. its another bit of closeness that adds to our bond.

and its not just me- my husband loves her in our bed, too. he is what i like to call a nightwaker. he wakes up during the night to check the time, pee, adjust his balls, look outside. its wierd, i know, but hes done it since he was little. anyways, he loves k in our bed because he can see her all night. hes at work all day, so its his quiet time with her- sometimes she rolls over and snuggles up to him, which he absolutely loves. he feels closer to her because he can see her all night and wake up next to her, too. a connectedness that he definitely wouldnt have if she was in the room across the hall.

people like to say to us in that know-it-all, sing-song voice, 'once you let them in your bed youll never get them outttt'... as if its a warning or something. but here's the thing: i just know k will want her own bed before we are ready for her to leave ours.