Reality Check

Okay parents back me up on this one - at some point in time we have all looked at our babies (probably while rocking them to sleep) and thought, "Oh, I would just love to bring him to bed with me and cuddle with him all night!" Of course, those of us who aren't into the family bed thing (nothing wrong with it - just not right for eveyone, myself included) don't bring them into bed with us because we know how difficult it can then be to get them out of it.

Well, a few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to "cuddle" with my son all night - so for those of you who are tempted, let me fill you in on my experience.

Dan and I had decided to take a family trip to the Lake of the Ozarks - a last minute getaway. So last minute in fact that it was too late to get a condo, but late enough to get an awesome deal on a hotel. So I booked the hotel, very excited about our uber cheap deal and then it hit me - where would Reese sleep?? In a crib of course. Yes, I know they have them at hotels; however, I have a VERY routine oriented child and he is used to sleeping in his own bed, and even more so, by HIMSELF - with no one else in the room. Oh, boy! How was this gonna work out.

Let me tell you . .. . Not well. We arrived at the hotel around 7 pm. Spent some time looking around, letting Reese run around. Then we headed to the room to follow his bedtime routine as close as possible. We brushed teeth, read books, gave him his lovey and blankets and put him in the crib - and he screamed! We hid in the bathroom (yes . . .hid) and waited and he didn't calm down. After trying this twice we thought maybe we'd just hang out watch some tv and maybe he would just pass out and we could put him in the crib. Well he got super tired and we tried again with no luck.

So again, he came to hang out in bed with us and watch tv/look at books. Finally, around 11 - yes it took that long, he had fallen asleep. At this point we were too tired and too scared to move him, we just wanted him to sleep. So we decided he would stay with us.

Well, I was quickly reminded of why I moved my son to his crib and out of our room at 3 1/2 weeks of age . He is the most restless sleeper I've ever known! Several times during the night I was kicked, elbowed, slapped etc. Then he woke at 12:30 or so and wouldn't sleep. It was like he thought he had just had a nap. So we decided to try benedryl so we could all get some sleep.

For those of you who have heard that benedryl will help your child sleep for a plane, or car trip - I BEG to differ! Shortly after the dosage my child was running around the hotel room like a crazy, wild child. Apparently Benedryl has the opposite effect on him and makes him hyper. Oh, joy of joys!!

He did finally fall asleep and we were all extra groggy the next day, but we still managed to have a great time and the second night (although he still slept with us) went much smoother. Overall, it was a really nice (and believe it or not, somewhat relaxing) weekend.

So parents, next time you have the urge to bring your sweet baby to bed with you - just stay and rock them a little longer and do yourself a favor and put them in their own bed. You'll ALL sleep better for it.

On a side note - he would nap in that crib in the hotel room but not sleep there at night. Any thoughts on that?