Cosleeping Cons

We are sort of an attachment parenting family.  A mark of an attachment family, in some circles, is that there is a family bed.  We are only "sort of" in that my kids have their own beds and on good nights they sleep in those beds.  And "sort of" because when someone comes to our bed at night we don't turn them away.  Usually that means that about once a week someone shows up in the middle of the night and stays.  Sometimes it means that they come as Daddy is getting ready for work (which is early--5 ish) and stay.  I don't remember ever having more than two in our bed on any given night.


Until last night.


Last night, I shared the bed with all of my children.  Remember how many that is?  5.  Mmmmhmmmm. The oldest son rarely comes to us at night.  Once that child is in bed he is out cold until I roll him out the next day.  Last night though something was different and he showed up around 10. I would assume that he was having trouble getting to sleep.  Next was the Baby (1.5 yo).  Hubby brought him around 1AM because he heard him coughing his head off while he (Daddy) was working in the living room.  Next came the other son, 6 years old.  He slipped in and I barely knew he was there.  Next came the 5 year old.  If she comes in the middle of the night (which is becoming more and more often) she comes in like a tornado.  


Finally in came the 3 year old--she must have come because she realized she was missing a PaR-tAy!  However, as soon as I get her settled in the labyrinth that had become my bed, she asked for milk.  You have to understand that for my 3 year old, milk is the equivalent to crack.  If she asks for it she needs it and she wants it five minutes ago and WHY HAVEN'T YOU GOTTEN IT YET?  In seriousness, I think she has some sort of allergy problem and the cold milk is soothing to her throat.  At least that is what I tell myself when I allow her to flip out when I am not fast enough with her supply.  So, I had to shimmy myself out of the bed to get her the milk.  I carried her back to bed, milk in tow.  As I was placing her in her bed, tucking her in, Hubby's alarm for the day went off.


Really.


So, now I am up and 4 kids are somewhat peacefully sleeping in my nice cozy bed ( I took the baby to his bed as he is not big enough to stay in my bed with all his siblings without falling off...or being pushed off; 3 year went back to my bed as Daddy was getting ready for work).  


I love not turning my children away when they need us. We want them to always come to us when they want to talk or are scared or lonely. We feel one of the best ways to show this openness to them at their young age is in our nighttime parenting practices.  


The moral of this story is sometimes you get more than you bargain for.


After I publish this post, I am going to lay down on my couch.