Sleeping Arrangements

I’ll never forget our first few nights as parents.  Our sweet bundle of joy was born in the afternoon.  The first night in the hospital was torture, with our unswaddled babe awaking every thirty minutes (The nurses, who must have been terrorists, didn’t condone a tight swaddle).  We went all rogue and tight-swaddled our son for his second night got enough sleep for the excruciating drive home the next day, my husband driving at least ten under the speed limit the entire way.

Our first night at home was another sleepover, with our son in a bassinet in the corner of our room.  Every mother I met seemed to have separation anxiety when it came to sleeping arrangements with their newborn.  I felt I’d be breaking some sort of good mommy code if I evicted Kenny to his own room too soon.  We made it a week before I threw my preconceived codes out the window.  I am not a co-sleeper.  I don’t know how all those parents do it, but I couldn’t wait to get that baby out of my room!  I had graciously hosted him in my swelling body for months…..can’t a girl get a little break?  So you can just imagine my reaction when little wanderers find their way into our bedroom in the middle of the night seeking shelter and comfort.  I reacted like a bear whose hibernation was interrupted, growl and send them on their way!  

Now that good sleep habits and expectations have been established, and we’re getting plenty of sleep (most of the time), I’ve found myself softening a little.  Our youngest son likes to climb in bed with us at 6:30 and cuddle (he knows that one minute before will evoke a growl and banishment to his own bed).  And just the other night at 4 AM, the 5-year-old showed up at the foot of our bed with his pillow.  He was seeking refuge from a bad dream, brought on by Scooby-Doo.  We were both shocked when I reached down and pulled him up.  He muttered, “You’re the best mom in the world.”  I muttered back, “No wiggling!”

Of course he wiggled in his sleep for the next couple of hours, which gave me plenty of time to think about the grocery list, Father’s Day plans, and of course look for the “bigger picture” in my interrupted night’s sleep.  It didn’t take me long to realize the similarities and differences between me as Kenny’s parent and God as my parent.  Kenny knows that I will take care of all his needs, and I know that God will take care of my needs.  The divergence comes in the fact that there are times (mostly the middle of the night), when I will turn Kenny back to his room.  There will be times in the coming years when Kenny needs me and I won’t be there (school bus, locker room, college…).  But God is the perfect parent.  He is ALWAYS there for us.  He will NEVER turn us away.  What a comfort!  (And conviction to not be a growly mama in the middle of the nightJ).  I may not be a co-sleeping mama, but God is definitely a co-everything God.