To Sleep or Not to Sleep

When I was pregnant with our first child, my mother-in-law commented thatwe didn't need the port-a-crib I had registered for because the baby wouldjust wind up sleeping in our bed; after all, that's what she had done.
I about fell over. Of course my baby would NOT be in my bed! Everyparenting magazine and book I had read through discussed the negatives ofdoing that. I was sure I would roll over on my tiny daughter, she'd gettangled in the blankets, the dog would lay on her, or she'd fall off thebed... Just thinking of it made me picture awful things happening to myprecious baby, not to mention the lack of alone time for the husband andI.
When we brought our bundle of joy home, she didn't want to sleep at night.My husband and I walked the hall with her, not realizing then that wewere further stimulating her. Finally, when I could take no more, I'dprop myself on the couch, still afraid of what would happen if I laid inbed with her. Let's just say Mommy (and Daddy) didn't get much sleep atfirst.
The weeks flew by and I returned to work, thankfully by then she wassleeping through the night.
Long story short, I knew I had to be home with my little girl and resignedat the end of the school year, just in time to find out we were expectingour second bundle of joy.
This time around I was determined NOT to miss out on a single snuggle. Itook a nap almost every day with my little boy snuggled in my arms whilehis big sister napped in her room. The nights he had trouble fallingasleep? I laid down with him in our big bed. Usually I'd fall asleep,too. I'd wake to find him sleeping peacefully and would lay him in hisport-a-crib, next to our bed.
Not only did he and I BOTH get more sleep, but I really think it helped tomake him the snuggler he is today.
The moral to the story? It is easy as a new parent to want to doeverything perfect; we listen to all the parenting experts (and sometimesfind they don't actually know everything). By the second child we have amuch better grasp on what we're doing (and may even find out our in-lawsknew a thing or two after all! Shhhh!! Don't tell my mother-in-law!)
Thank you to today's guest poster - One Mommy!OneMommy blogs at There’s Just OneMommy, where you can read about her adventures as a SAHM of a 3 and 4year-old and find fun and easy craft ideas for little ones. You can alsofind her on Twitter, Facebook, or in her BlogFrog community.