Welcome! I'm Cookie's Mom. You can learn all about Cookie and why I blog here: About Cookie's Chronicles. If you're new here, you may want to SUBSCRIBE TO MY RSS FEED. Thanks for stopping by! Pull up a beach chair and be my guest, won't you?

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Guest Blogger:
Leighann of Multitasking Mumma
"Big Girl Bed"

My guest today is Leighann of Multitasking Mumma. If you haven't visited Leighann's blog yet, you'll want to take a look. She's seriously funny, her vlogging skills are unparalleled, and there's no subject she won't talk about (not even poo is off limits)!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Let's get to know Leighann better:

Leighann lives in Ontario, Canada with her fiancé Brian and 15-month-old daughter.
"We have a bulimic cat (for real) named Drucilla." 
She describes herself as a hardly serious, witty mother of one, surviving PPD, motherhood, and a messy husband. She writes about the pain of Post Partum Depression, the bumps and joys of being a mom, and the annoyances of being a grown up. She can be easily found roaming twitter, #wineparty, and participating in all things social media. She is best known for her love of peacocks, a symbol of pride, and her awesome writing. You can learn more about Leighann at her blog: About Leighann

Favourite word:
I don't have a favourite word, I have a favourite phrase. I say "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" a lot. It fits every situation.
 Favourite time of day:
Night time. I'm a night owl and love to be up at night.
Favourite emotion:
Exuberance
Favourite song:
Forever and Ever Amen by Randy Travis
Favourite pastime:
Haha, Blogging and writing.
 Favourite comfort food:
Ice cream... mmmmm.
A favourite post of mine:
Surgery, farting, and Jack Tripper


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Big Girl Bed
by Leighann of Multitasking Mumma

The space beside me was still warm from where the small, sleeping body had been. Each night, for the past several months, she had fallen into a deep slumber with her tiny toddler body pressed close to mine. I found comfort in the rise and fall of her chest, the steady flow of her breathing, and the occasional reach from her chubby hand to ensure I was still there.

We had never planned on having her sleep in our bed. She slept in her crib from 8 weeks old and then was sleep trained at 8 months. We were confident that she would be an independent sleeper, but she continued to have difficulty with reflux and then Roseola.

We sought help for sleep training through books, online, twitter, and family. The guilt overwhelmed me. I pictured my daughter struggling with sleep throughout her life because I didn’t want her to cry alone in her room. So she continued to sleep with us, tucked closely beside me, and the guilt slowly washed away. I was her mother and she was sleeping. She wouldn’t be sleeping in my room at 18, so I let my self blame go and embraced my sweet child.

But as much as I loved it I recognized that she would need to move into her room at some point. We began to watch her sleep patterns. She was able to fall asleep in any bed, anywhere, as long as we laid beside her in the beginning, but she would not sleep in her crib. The crib caused tantrums, thrown blankets, and screaming until she threw up.  This made us think that perhaps she didn’t like the feeling of being inside the bars.

We gave it careful thought and decided to put together her toddler bed. We involved her in the construction, the decoration of her new big girl bed, and then let her get used to the feel of getting in and out. The tears stung my eyes as I watched my little baby turn herself around with ease and slide out of her bed and then pat the mattress with delight so that she could do it again.

She fell asleep with no fussing, slept in her own room and I went to mine. I had a cold space at my side, an empty bed, and an aching heart. I didn’t know I would miss her so much or that I would yearn for her warm breath on my arm. She was growing up and it made me sad.

But then I heard a familiar cry.

A baby needing her mommy.

And a mommy who’s never been happier to hear her baby.

18 comments:

  1. Leighann, so many of us can relate to this post. Sleep is one of the biggest challenges when our kids are little. We want the best for them so we try do what's right with long-term goals in mind, but we want to comfort them right now with every fibre of our being. It's in our genetic makeup to respond to cries.

    Not that I ever enjoyed the sound of a baby's cries, but after my son was born the sound was like nails on a chalkboard.

    We struggled with the cry-it-out method, and I think the only reason we stuck with it is because our little guy wasn't any happier sleeping with someone than sleeping on his own (the poor fella had acid reflux as a baby).

    Ultimately, erring on the side of affection seems to make sense to me. Thanks for sharing your story!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Babe, I know all about these sleep issues. You just do what's right for you and your baby, don't let anyone tell you what you're doing is right or wrong. Eventually all issues will resolve over time. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Right there with ya, babe. We've tried everything. After sleeping with us for a while, he's finally in his own bed and I missed those cuddles. Lately he's been coming into ours around 5:30 and I kind of like it (but that's because he actually goes back to sleep now).

    She will always need you, just in different ways. And it's okay to need her too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with Alison. Only YOU know your child and you need to not listen to others' opinions. Your post was lovely. I know the feeling. MY youngest is growing up so fast, it's killing me!

    ReplyDelete
  5. So sweet Leighann. She will always need you, and she'll always be your "baby". :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. My son slept with us (in a co-sleeper) when he was a newborn. Moving him from our bed to a bassinet next to the bed was horrible. Moving him to his own bedroom at six months? I'd been looking forward to more restful sleep, but the first few nights were by far less restful than any that preceded them. Every hour or so, I'd hear him cry and launch out of bed only to have my S.O. talk me into not fetching him.

    It's been much easier since. We did go through a couple of days of worry back in March when he decided to become our crib Knievel, but the rough patch really was only a couple of days.

    Now we're learning to cope with the fact he's deciding when it's time to wake up in the morning. It's not so restful, but it is sweet to hear that doorknob turning and know my little man is one step closer to growing into everything he's meant to be.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I feel you on this. We've had trouble with Donut's sleep from day one. It's so much better than where we were. Only last week though she decided she wanted to sleep in her crib in her room instead of the portable one in our room. I cried. It's still hard leaving her alone in her big room at night.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sob, sniffle- so very sweet.

    Also? Sleep stuff works itself out- i promise!

    {I want to work in Are you kidding me?! somewhere in here, but I can't figure out where.

    *Sigh*

    XO

    ReplyDelete
  9. My thoughts exactly, Leigh Ann. I just remind myself that however grown my kid will become, I will always be her mother and she will always need me at some point. Just like I do with my own mum.
    *Hugs*

    ReplyDelete
  10. So hard to deal with sleep issues! It really effects the entire family. Beautiful blog!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you all so much!
    It's so nice to have a community of women to turn to when I feel defeated!
    You are all wonderful and I'm feeling better than ever about her sleep habits now!!

    Also?
    thank you Sue for having me over to your space to share my words!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Leighann, it is my pleasure! Come back anytime!

    ReplyDelete
  13. So sweet. My kids don't sleep with me but occasionally in the mornings they'll stumble in sleepy from their room and snuggle for a moment or two. They are precious minutes!

    Stopping by and following from VB's GFC event!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I can so relate to this post - and agree, you have to do whatever is right for you and whatever works!

    Thx for stopping by earlier Sue! I'll be back to see who else is visiting this month. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a sweet article. You should let her read this when she is older. I'm following back from www.mama-press.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. This was a great post. I've had trouble getting my son into is own bed as well. I'm a new follower of both wonderful blogs from VB.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Shannon, Susan, Tracy and Kristy, thanks so much for stopping by!

    I'm glad you all enjoyed Leighann's post! Be sure to visit Leighann's blog too if you haven't already. She's hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I still listen at night for my little girls sleeping so far away in their room. At least they are together in there, I do sleep a lot better these days...

    ReplyDelete