Co-Sleeping

Tug tug, Tug tug. I wake up to a small hand holding my bread and pulling gently but firmly. My eye's open and I follow the hand, then arm down to find its attached to my youngest daughter, who's still fast asleep. I release her grip and place her arm back down by her side, check Lucy who is sleeping against a pillow on the far side of the bed then fall back asleep.
​Since Lucy was born we have been co-sleeping. To be honest it was almost completely unplanned (the co-sleeping not Lucy). When she was first born she slept on my chest then this transitioned into my arm then between us and she kind of never left. Now at 3 and half she has her own bed and sleeps in it 50% of the time. When she does start in her bed usually at around 2 in the morning she will climb up between us and snuggle under my arm. When we found out we were pregnant with Tilley we actually up sized from a queen to a king bed to accommodate co-sleeping with both girls. The thought never crossed our mind that one or both would be sleeping in with us most of the time.

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IThere seems to be a 50/50 split when we talk about co-sleeping with our girls to other people. Some of our friend do it as well, others cant understand it and some think its down right unbelievable that we would let them stay in our bed. For us like is said above it was fairly unplanned but it really started out of necessity. Sheena and I both needed to get some sleep and having Lucy in our bed was the best way to guarantee a good night sleep for all three of us. Now I find I miss them if they aren't there, our bed seems huge and empty with out two little munchkins wriggling around. I recently read an article on fatherly that quoted a study saying men sleep better when being snuggle. I'm serious, it sounds weird but I believe it. Yes, co-sleeping does create a logistical issue for 'mum and dad time' but really, the issue is almost a non starter. I mean doesn't everyone who is a parent have the 'mum and dad time' challenge, I'm thinking we are all nodding our heads. So really this is my point of view as a father and a husband. The few inconveniences it causes us, are out weighted by the closeness, togetherness and extra sleep that come from co-sleeping. It's not for everyone but for us it works. And to all the people worried about our girls never moving out of our bed. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be out by the time they get to university.