My littlest guy is crying his heart out right now. A month of traveling–and sleepig with us because we’re in hotels and strange places and the Hawaii house–has made Mac only want to sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s bed. Tonight he’s cried for twenty-five minutes without stop and I don’t think I can take it much longer. I know what the baby books say, and last night we let him cry it out, but it took him almost 45 minutes with Ty standing there for twenty-five minutes rubbing his back and singing to him but it was still exhausting. Mac is such a little Taurus…so very stubborn…and all he wants is to sleep between Ty and me in our bed.
It’s not right. I know we’re creating bad habits. But oh, he’s only two and he won’t want to sleep with us when he’s 16, will he? Nah. My almost sixteen year old barely spends time with me anymore, more interested in Facebook, texting, and girls than hanging with family.
I think I’m going to get him. I need to ge thim. Not because it’s right, but because he’s shouting “Help, Mommy. Save me!”
Do you have any bad parenting habits? Is there something you did–or didn’t do–that you regret? Share one of your guilty parenting moments and you’ve got a chance to win a Help Mommy Prize…pampering spa products, fantastic escapist reads, and loads of gift cards. Contest runs through Thursday and I’ll announce the winner Friday morning. Talk to me and maybe you’ll win!
Same as you, and boy is Mac a cutie! I would let my daughter come into our bed to help her get to sleep sometimes. Hard to resist that crying! But now my baby is graduating from High School tomorrow…and I wish she was back safe and sound between us!
Jane, I know exactly how you feel. I was a sucker for my girls crying at bedtime. When I had my first child, she never liked to nap on her crib. She seemed scared. So I began holding her for her naps. Which got really old, really soon. Especially when she got older and was taking 2 hr. naps in my arms!!! She was 3 years old and I was still holding her for naps!
Then when my 2nd child was born it got worse. Even tho we swore we would NOT do the same. My husband and I agreed we’d make her sleep in her crib ALWAYS. Well, she was born with a horrible case of acid reflux. So bad that doing the normal medicines and elevating her head and mattress wouldn’t help. She would spit up about every 30 min. if we’d leave her in her bed at night. Which meant crying every 30 min. My husband and I got to the point that we were so exhausted and tired of changing crib linen and pajamas, that we decided to hold her. Keep in mind, we couldn’t lay down with her. So for the next 8 months ( I wish I was over exagerating) we didn’t sleep in our bed. One of us slept downstairs in a rocking chair holding her upright ALL night long. It sucked. I will never forget how miserable it was and how I just wanted to sleep laying down. Once the acid reflux had gotten better (6 months later) we still had a hard time laying her down. It had become a habit for her and it was so hard for us to correct. We felt like we failed as parents. It’s funny how all we wanted to do at first was get more sleep, but because of what we did, we missed out on so much more sleep.
I never try to judge someone who calms their kiddos while they cry at night – because I know first hand what a sucker I was!!! 🙂 These kids are smart and thewy know how to get what they want!
Hi Jane
Bedtime always seems to be a big issue with little ones. I made a pact to myself not to let my kids share my bed only because that was usually the only free time I ever had with my husband always deployed and no family nearby. However, I went the other way and established long drawn out bedtime routines in THEIR room that they still like to this day! So who knows which is better, probably neither, but it’s the bad habit I initiated. They know too that they share much more about their day when the lights are out and the house is quiet and I am always ready to listen to what they want to say.
Like Barb C, I had “long drawn out bedtime routines in THEIR room that they still like to this day”. Although my kids are now almost 26 and 24, my youngest (daughter) STILL tells me when she’s turning out the light so that I can come upstairs to talk quietly to her for perhaps down to 10 minutes now – almost every single night – and I wouldn’t change this for the world! This is “our time” to go over her/our day, review the following day, etc. I think it calms her so she falls asleep right away, but the way SHE would tell it is that “Mom put me to sleep droning on and on and on!”
During Final’s Week my teenager had nightmares, so she and I slept in the living room together–because she did not want to wake up alone. Happy teenager, or bad mommy? No, I’ll lose sleep over her anyway, it might as well be to make her feel secure.
My guilty pleasure was nursing our daughter in the wee hours of the morning in my bed. My mom used to fuss that I’d roll over on her or she’d get used to sleeping in my bed with me but neither happened and I’d do it again in a heart beat! 🙂
I held my last baby son all day, everyday. My husband would come home from work and ask me not to wear him…couldn’t help it. He was so perfect and I loved him so much. Even driving, I’d constantly watch him in his car seat. When he got to walking and his dad had left for work, I’d yell for him to get in bed with mommy and I’d cuddle him till we got up. Bad habits? No…I don’t think so. Nicholas ended up 6’3″ and Marine of the Year in Washington State in 2005. I’d do it all again!!!
A lovely photo. Enjoy this special time since it goes much too quickly and you miss it. We used to hold them and rock them to sleep for hours. I loved to soothe babies. They need it.
My philosophy is that just because it is in a baby book does not make it right for our family. I am in the group of the ones here who had long nightly rituals with their kids in their rooms. I would read to them (sometimes my husband would do the reading part) and then rub their backs and sing softly to them until they went to sleep. Our eldest son never wanted to sleep ever, night or day, so it was a struggle. Our youngest son could not help himself and would fall asleep pretty fast. Now our eldest is three states away and we only get to see him once a year if we are lucky. Fortunately right now our youngest is just 30 miles away and we get to see him often. Enjoy Mac while he is little and do what feels right for you. And, be encouraged that you are not alone in this struggle.
Jane,
As bad habits go, that is not the worst. I did it too and still do when my 7yr old has a bad dream or is sick with croup. We had an experience last March when he woke up and couldn’t breathe causing me to dial 911 and get an ambulance. For this reason alone, I have no problem letting him cuddle with me at night. But even as a baby, he had weird sleeping habits and I would just either get up with him or let him into my bed if I was desperate for whatever sleep I could get. There are worse habits to make. I think you are an amazing mom and woman. Go get that beautiful boy and give a nice big hug!!
Cindy
I don’t have kids (though I have two step kids, now adults, and that was a whole different challenge), but I can totally feel for you and how you would want to go get Mac. Especially when he is yelling, Help and Save Me.
oh,he is such a cutie…i would have gone to him, too. i let my kids come to my bed at times:it wasn’t that often, and eventually they stopped doing it on their own. the other thing i did, to keep them out of my bed, but within my room; was to make a “bed” out of quilts, comforters, sleeping bags, pillows (whatever they wanted) and let them sleep on that in my room. i have also done the same thing so they could sleep in their bed:and i got the make-shift one on the floor…lol you do what you have to to help your kids with what they need help with. i don’t think it’s bad; and all kids need different things. i think most mom’s know their kids and what they each need.
Oh Jane, no one can fault you for caving to that sweet face and those gorgeous curls. NO ONE!! 🙂
Our guilty parenting “pleasure” was rocking our kids to sleep. Both kids got rocked to sleep until they too big for us to get the “umph” to get us out of the rocker with that “dead weight” sprawled out in our arms. Those warm flush faces passed out while I rocked them. Would not change it for ONE second!!
When the rocking got to be too much, we sat/laid in their beds til they got super sleepy or fell asleep. It seemed when the rocking was over it became my husband’s place to “put” them to bed. He spends time in their talking about their days, their troubles, giggling and then ending with prayers. Sometimes I step in and take over one (daughter 13, son almost 10) of them. But now it’s dad’s time. That’s OK, no that’s good!!
With your crazy schedule and compounded with the fact that sometimes Mac is home and you are away…just let it go. Enjoy him, smell is sweet damp head and kiss Ty G. right over him. Revel in what you’ve created and the miracle that is Mac!! <3
One teeny tip…have you tried moving him when he's asleep? When he's a little older, and is up for simple reasoning, you could try that. You're a great mom and he needs you! You are right in comparing him to how you sometimes feel that Jake doesn't want to spend time with you…(even though he does and always will).
My kids also slept in our beds until 6-9 months because I was nursing. Wouldn't do that differently either. Parent from your heart, Jane. That's what I've always done. I'm not out of the woods yet, but I often feel like I'm doing a good job.
XOXO,
Shannon
I give in too much to their picky eating demands…at least for my older son. I’ll make him the same thing all the time if it means he’ll eat dinner and not cry about it. I also let them stay up past their bedtime and watch way too much TV. (No Spongebob though!)
Sounds like a fun prize package. 🙂
Jane, here are some things that worked for me when my boys were that age. You could put on a CD of children’s songs, classical music, or a Disney soundtrack. Play the music softly and only at bedtime. It will be a nice routine, and listening to it will help Mac feel not quite so alone.
Another idea is to have a mystery “bedmate” each night. By that I mean, choose one of his stuffed animals to put in his bed. It will be a surprise for Mac when he comes to bed because he will never know which one of his stuffed friends will be waiting for him. My 21-year-old son says, “yeah, I slept around a lot back then!” LOL
Whatever you do, don’t give up. Good luck! Let us know how things go.
I have also given in to picky eaters. I get to hear about it all the time from my parents and other older relatives. They are always telling me, ‘Back in our days, we ate what was on our plate or we didn’t eat at all.’ There’s also the famous, ‘Sooner or later they will get hungry enough and eat anything.’ I’m sure that is true, I just feel like a really mean parent pushing them to that point. They are still alive and healthy, so I must be doing something right! lol
He he – my first born did not sleep thru the night (not with out needing at least one little visit and a hug, preferrably around the 2.30 mark) until he was 5. At that point I was exhausted and not happy about it at all, working, being pregnant and taking care of him at night was just too much – nothing worked…the last effort was me telling him that since he knew both were the tap was, the bathroom was and how to pull up his comforter on his own it would be really cool if he could do that at night too…he just said “OK”! And that was the end of that. But all 4 of them make occasional visits to the parental nest at night (well the big boy not so much – mostly in the early morning). But I think I tend to still dress them too warmly and not letting them roam on their own – I have a real hard time letting go.
This is SO familiar. My daughter is going through this. She is exhausted. My grandson is very stubborn.
We gave in so many times I can’t name it all {hanging head in shame}. Staying up late..taking a free day off school..
Candy when I shouldn’t…need I go on?
Who doesn’t have a bad parenting habit? And if they say they don’t, they’re lying! 🙂
Same here, with my first, he slept with us every night. It was difficult when it was time to wean him, but I don’t regret it.
Enjoy your baby boy, they grow too quickly,.
All four of my kids were in and out of our bed. Nightmares, getting up for the bathroom, a drink of water… more often than not they ended up with us rather than back where they belonged in their own beds. I got tough a couple of times because I just wasn’t sleeping with two kids in between us. One time I barked at my then 3 year old daughter “Don’t get in this bed, don’t you dare!” and woke up two hours later to find her standing, sound asleep with knees locked and her head on the bed at my feet. Did I ever feel like a nasty Mum then!
My youngest was in and out of my bed until she was 10 and just too big. Nightlight and explanations and she got it and only woke me a couple of times with nightmares.
My husband travels a lot and each child had a turn to sleep with me on his side when he was out of town. My youngest is now 18 and she still takes her Dad’s side of the bed when he’s not around and it’s nice to chat and watch a movie in bed with her… a mini slumber party!
Bad parenting habits? Parenting regrets? Guilty. On a daily basis. With three little girls, sometimes I feel as though I’m spread too thin, then I lose patience, which most usually results in using a harsh tone and extending less grace. Both of which always lead to regret, sometimes immediately sometimes later in the day. As for letting Mac sleep with you, our eldest who is 5 sometimes sneaks in during the night, crawls in between me and her Daddy and snuggles up.
Sometimes it’s hard to not give in, but you do and they’re on their way to being spoiled. I think most have dealt with the sleeping issue.
My husband or I would stay in my daughter’s room until she fell asleep. Very bad habit!
Don’t feel guilty around me! No one ever had issues as an adult because they were snuggled too much as a child. Sure there needs to be “independence” training and growing up to be a good boy when he gets to school. Snuggling when there’s a constant disruption of beds, rooms, locations, is GOOD. So never call it bad, or feel guilty. 😀
I guess I can’t enter because I am not a parent! But anyhow I don’t think you are a bad parent–how can you turn a cold shoulder & deaf ear when your little boy is saying, Help, Mommy, Save Me?!!
My daughter was the only one that went through a period of crying and I hated it. We would let her cry for 15 minutes before we would get her and she almost always fell asleep before the time was up. I think the only thing I would change would be to have more time to play with my kids when they were little since they grow up so fast.
Hi Jane,
Hope your feeling better today! The kids sleep in our bed all the time. I’m going to echo so many here that say do what feels right in your heart. No person or situation is one size fits all. And things change day by day anyway.
My girls can go a whole week gobbling up one particular food and then suddenly it’s “terrible.”
lol!
Thanks for all you do to maintain this awesome
community here.
I wish I had some advice, but since I’m not a mother, I don’t know what to say. I’ve heard twos are a hard year. hopefully in time Mac will outgrow his needing to sleep with you and Ty. I do have one story that my mother blames something on me. My niece is a shopaholic just like I am. I used to take her to the mall all the time when I was taking care of her when she was little. My sister moved away several years after that and I hadn’t seen any of them since then. But, all I hear is how much Jessica is a shopaholic and she didn’t get it from her mom. My mom says she must have have learned it early on when I used to take her shopping all the time. Good luck with Mac and I hope he quit crying after you went to get him.
Don’t do it! lol.. just kidding! I understand I do… Might I suggest comforting him in his room? It is probably just due to the travel but you won’t want him in your bed forever… think of the next time you want to “be” with your hubby…. Hard to do so with a child there. When my kids are sick or scared we always go to their room. I have let my children sleep on our floor if they get scared in the middle of the night… but my bed is just for me. Plus I never end up getting any sleep when they are in the bed. Whatever works best for you and your family. Your the mama!! Besides, every stage has a possible “bad habit” we do the best we can and show our kids we love them and want to protect them! Good luck! I hope the tears stop soon… poor kiddo!
Hi Jane,
If you have the chance (maybe you have already heard it?) listen to the song “Let them be little” by Lonestar…but be ready to grab a tissue 🙂 I think it says it all so beautifully…
I feel for you, Jane. I’ve been there! Actually, I’m still there. My son is seven and has some special needs. He hates being alone. Really, really hates it. He and my daughter used to share a bedroom until we moved to a new house in 2009 where he has his own room. He still creeps into my bed at least once a week. Even when I’m riding the couch (thanks to my husband’s extreme snoring, ugh) he still finds his way to me. We are trying our best to get him into his room every night, but I just can’t help feeling sorry for him. It is such a battle!
Hi Jane,
As a parent, the one thing I don’t regret is picking my battles. Life is way too short & some things just aren’t worth the worry, anger, or wasted energy. A thing I ask myself is “will it matter tomorrow” & if the answer is no, then no regrets.
Melinda
My daughter is 4 & I sleep with her more than I sleep with my husband. It’s just not a battle we want to have. It works for us. Plus, she’s my baby, my last one…
I really should do better about reading with my younger children at bedtime. I often am too tired and impatient. They do a lot of reading on their own, but I feel guilty that I don’t enjoy sharing this activity more. I’d rather be reading my own books. Shameful to admit?
Oh Jane you are doing NOTHING wrong! We all have our parenting faults. We could never let ours cry themselves to sleep either. We tried and tried but it isn’t in our makeup, no matter what our doctors and friends thought. Right now we have an almost 2 year old and she still does bottles. This is for 3 reasons; one, I LOVE her bottle time, its the only time of the day she lets me snuggle with her. Two, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, its the only way she will go back to sleep, and momma likes her sleep (so this makes me feel lazy). Third, I have a hard time deciding its time for her to give up her pleasures in life. No one decides for me, today I am going to make you give up coffee (well they better not or they would have a terror on their hands), so how can I just cut her off cold turkey without feeling bad. See either way we go in life, we feel guilty, so my best advice is to realize that no matter what we do we will feel bad about it one way or another, so $#%^ it and enjoy every moment you get with these little ones. I have twin 8 year olds and you are right they don’t want to cuddle anymore, they don’t take a bottle, and they don’t take their blanket or pacifier to school either:)
I don’t think any parent can consider themselves a bad parent unless they are neglectful and abusive to their children. How can you be a bad parent when your child is 18 months old and has pneumonia and all they want is Mom to cuddle and hold them to make them feel better? Or when they wake up at night saying they can’t sleep because there is a monster under their bed/closet etc.? Maybe our habits are not necessarily what the “Experts” claim is best for our children but ultimately our children are being raised by us and not the so called “Experts”! So if a cuddle in bed with Mom happens now and then it won’t hurt them. Neither will a small bribe to get them to behave long enough for family pictures or anything else that we do to show our children we love them and for us to remember not to sweat the small stuff because they are only little and want Mom’s undivided attention for such a short time. They won’t be harmed for it and they will only know that they are loved with all your heart because of what you did for them.
Jzne, he gets cuter every day.
Since mine are grown, with both son and daughter I told them I didn’t approve of their choices in boyfriend and girlfriend and I sincerely regret it. Wish I had kept my mouth shut but they asked and I was honest. Zipping the mouth closed from now on.
Hi! I must be on the worst mom’s list for both my kids slep with us, we didn’t have much room so we had 2 single beds pushed together, when Kenny was born, my step-son lived with us so he had the other bedroom, and Kenny’s crib was in the wall-way but as he got older he’d cry and I was working nights and I was so exhausted I would let him sleep with me. Kenny is almost 21 and he’s turned out to be a fine young man-and my daughter is almost 18 and she too is ok. I just feel its depends on the parents-I had all the books and I even took and still take child development classes but i don’t belvieve in all they say, its a trial and error thing. Thats what my mom said,don’t believe everything thats in the book. Mac willbe alright, for you and Ty are good parents and so what if he sleeps with you,thats your business, and I can’t handle the crying longer than 15mins.I love the picture, he’s a cutie pie. Have a good evening! I really could use the prize,God Bless to you all!
Hi Jane! I LOVE the picture, what a precious boy.
One of my bad parenting habbits was after my first child was born I had some post partum depression but it went undiagnosed and I suffered through it, but I didn’t want to hold my son. I did when I had to, I fed him and changed him and bathed him…but I couldn’t bring myself to just sit and hold him…and I hated myself for it. I feel bad about it to this day and he’s almost 18. 🙁
You’re being the mom you were meant to be and Mac will be an amazing young man because of it. He loves you and wants to be with you, nothing wrong with that.
Poor little Mac and he looks just so cute in that picture!!! I have to say we gave in to our 3 year old and let her come in our bed one night too…and she is now 5 and still comes in our room every night!!! It so hard to say “no” sometimes and just easier to give in. BUT we are going on 2 years of this and I do not know how we will break this habit. Good luck and my theory is they are only little once:-)
Guilt seems like a part time job sometimes. My parent of the year award was when my son was crying and my 5 year old yelled at me to stop washing the dishes and take care of my son he was more important. Nothing like being yelled at by a 5 year old!
For our first daughter, we got in the terrible, immediate habit of rocking her to sleep– twelve weeks in, and I had one arm on her cradle next to my bed,rocking it back and forth while I tried to sleep and she tried to sleep. If I stopped rocking, she woke me up with a loud cry! It was horrible. So for daughter number two, we said NO ROCKING,NO MATTER WHAT and even yelled at my mother in the hospital after the baby was born and my mother tried to rock her isolette. But she never developed a need-to-be- rocked habit. Now they are both teenagers and go to and stay asleep all on their own. 🙂
I’ve gotten so good at making sure my three-year-old has never slept with us that she actually will tell me, as I’m falling asleep on her bed after her nighttime story, “No, Mama. Go sleep in YOUR bed.”
I broke every rule/ guideline when it came to things like that. I loved having my kiddos close to me at night and my husband didn’t care. It’s kind of funny that when my husband is traveling it’s a fight between my 15 year old daughter and my 11 year old son about who gets to sleep in his spot. I never knew I was so popular! Lol! The time we have with our children is short so I say do what you want and what is right for you. I’ll be so sad when my 15 year old leaves home.
I was so maternal when I had our youngest baby that I never wanted him to fall asleep without me rocking him to sleep. I think it was because I had miscarried the one before him because I didn’t feel the need with our first two. Well, needless to say I had a wonderful time in the moment but boy did I pay for it later when he couldn’t fall asleep without being rocked. Not sure I would take it back though because it was such good bonding fpr both of us.
Oh, Jane, this is so weird – I’ve just finished writing a scene in my current book where the heroine brings her baby into bed with her because she can’t get him to settle. My parental guilt revolves around the fact that I was so conscientious about building good nutrition habits with my first, but by the time number four came along, I didn’t have the energy for it, so he has much more of a taste for junk food than the others. But I hate parental guilt. A friend’s mother used to say, “You do the best you can do at the time,” and that’s so true, and you can’t do more than that.
Yes Jane I have been there myself when mine was young.I can remember when he was three or four he would come to our bed saying he had a bad dream and we would let him sleep at the bottom of our bed. We had a King size bed and there was plenty of room for him. Sense I only had the one child I spoiled him rotten and he still is. He is 21 now and in college but he still gets about anything he wants within reason. If he needs money I will give it to him after all he is still my baby and always will be, but he want let you hug him. This started in his early teens years. They just grow up to fast.
Enjoy Mac while he is young, you will turn around and he will be grown. He is so cute a little doll.
We all have our Achilles heel as parents. Mama, save me. Mama, I scared. Mama, help me. I love you, Mama. I haven’t figured out how to NOT respond to those heartfelt pleas.
With my first, my weekness was holding him so he could sleep. He had horrid colic and wanted to tummy sleep and the only way I could make that OK was to have him sleep on me. And he did…until he got so big he cracked my sternum.
The next still charms me out of way too much. I worry for the poor girls who’ll fall for him. He can do more with a simple smile than most people can do with complex plan of attack!
My bonus baby is sheer indulgence. I want to soak up every minute of her babyhood, and sometimes I can find an entire day has gone by and all I’ve managed to do is dress like a queen, cook pretend food, build castles and pet horses. I worry about the day she realizes the world does not actually revolve around her!
Jane,
I did the same thing you did. My son slept with us from the day he got home and it was a hard habit to break. He gradually moved to the floor on a mattress for awhile when he was about 5 and eventually made it into his own bed/bedroom by about 7???????? I know, I know, a lot of people said how crazy, but I loved it!
Yes! I can relate! My youngest has just turned 3 and quite a handful! I tend to have a shorter fuse with him than with my daughter when she was his age. I feel so guilty! I try to keep reminding myself to be more patient with him. He is a lot more demanding and everyone says “that’s boys”.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Margaret
I always said I’d never do that~HA! Never say never. You do what you have to do sometimes so everyone can get a good nights sleep and is happy. (I have my limits, but I don’t think this is so bad.) My son (4 yrs old) is a snuggler and I love every minute of it. Sometimes he’ll call me to come in his bed and lay with him. I will take every precious moment and snuggle I can. They grow so fast! I think these are ‘guilty pleasures’.
I did way too much for my kids.
That’s the truth. I just asked my oldest daughter (age 25) and she said I didn’t let her do things by herself enough.
I just didn’t want her and her sister to get hurt.
i let my girls sleep in the bed with us they decided when they felt okay to sleep in their own bed. My youngest was in her own bed at a younger age. She has always wanted to grow up faster.
Those tears are hard to resist. I admit I was guilty of letting the babies sleep in my bed. I would do anything for a few hours sleep.
Jane, I don’t have any children of my own but I know for sure, I couldn’t turn my back on that beautiful, innocent face and let him cry. He is so sweet! You did the right thing. 🙂
We used to do the same thing – it took forever to get my son to sleep, and we had to hold him the whole time, then move away slooowwly, one hand just hovering over his back for a while, then moving a little at a time – or he would wake up and freak out and cry again. That was probably my worst parenting habit, even though I still screw up all the time (comes with the territory of parenting, right?!) : )
Who could resist that cutie – and what is the harm? I hope you can pick him up and put him in his own bed, that is how it worked with us.
They are only babies for a short time, and love can’t be the wrong thing!
You have to do what feels right in your heart, Jane. You know from your older boys that this time is so precious. Let that cutie snuggle with Mom & Dad.
Our 5 yos son had his weaning moment when he was 26 months old ! It was a very hard moment for me as a mom to our first child. but never regret it till now coz he’s a big ‘man’ baby already. busy with his school thing and with his 7 mos baby brother 🙂
I say let them sleep with you- most of mine grew out of it…however, my 12 year old daughter still from time to time will come in and tap me on the shoulder in the middle of the night…”Can I sleep with you?” A nightmare or I don’t feel good is usually the reason.
My feel guilty parent moment came when my first baby was not quite 2 years old. It was right before the Christmas Holiday and my husband and I both came down with a terrible stomach flu. We were both so sick and out of it- all I could do was hand my little one a sippy cup and some cheerios in a baggie no less! I felt so bad that I let her open up Christmas presents early while I lay on the sofa sicker than a dog…
Mac is so cute… how could you resist! We have let both kids sleep with us and when they are ready, they will sleep in there own rooms. We have to choose our battles wisely … and they grow up so quickly. I cherish each moment I have with them.
Boy with those eyes, that’s a tough one! The one thing I regret is not taking more time off after they were born. I would have liked to be off for a year.
The one thing I am so grateful for is making sure they remained close to their cousins. They just love them and have grown to be close. Almost like siblings.
Hi Jane,
I am a mom of five and I have been there too. My worst parenting boo boo was not teaching them to pick up their own rooms early enough. All of them have messy rooms no matter how hard I try. On the bright side, All my kids are cuddle bunnies. The first thing my 21yr. Old daughter does when she comes home from school(she is going to college out of state),is to climb in bed between her dad and me grab the remote and ask what are we watching? Sometimes sleeping with mom and dad to feel safe is ok! A couple of tips for you…..in a new place walk around with him, look under the bed together, look in the closet etc. Make sure in each place the bedtime routine is the same. Try a bath before bed if you can.
Then read his fav. Book or tell a story speaking softly and slowly, in his new room. I hope this helps. In the end I believe you need to trust your instincts. I have five great kids, and all of them ended up in bed with us at one time or another! Ps I have a pull out bed in my room (it looks like a footstool), and we call it the sick bed. When one of the kids is really sick we pull it out and they sleep in our room, just not in our bed. It really helps!
Hi all,
Happy Friday and my winner for this prize is #1 Stephanie!
Stephanie, please shoot me a private email with your mailing address so I can get this great box of goodies out to you ASAP!
Jane
Congratulations Stephanie!
Thanks Mary!
Yes I let my son cry it out when he was a baby. If only I knew astrology back then (52 years ago) I would have understood he is a very sensitive person (Cancer sun/Pisces moon) I would never have let him cry it out. Makes me almost cry to think about it but I can’t go back. I’m a Taurus too like your son.
My husband and myself never let him sleep with us since he was born. It worked great because it is bad habit for every parents let them sleep with them and it is hard to kick the habit for a child. I find it helpful if you let your baby himself in crib or toddler bed (depends on age of child) and let him cry with door closed (not lock) but it take while for him to fall sleep.
My son used to cry all the time in crib but it usually last 15 to 30 mins for first few years of his life by age 3 he stopped and loving his big boy bed and went sleep pretty quickly. Now he is 11 he fall asleep too fast every night we said good nights to him.
I fight this battle daily. My Two year old always wants to sleep in our bed. It is so hard to hear them cry. Do what feels best for you. Mommy knows best!
I let my kid sleep with me as a baby. She’s seven now and it’s still a struggle to get her in her own bed!