IC is four and MC is six, yet we still bring the kids to bed; we still stay with them until they’re deep in slumber — or else, they wont sleep.
It took a while before the kids actually agreed to sleep in their own beds; after all, I breasfed them for a total of five years. That means, they spent most of their breastfeeding years sleeping between their mama and papa.
I used to envy those parents who easily trained their kids to sleep alone. I do wanted to have some ‘lounging’ time with my husband at night, but that’s never the case at home. Papa would bring MC to bed and would be the first one to fall asleep most of the time; and I would be lying beside IC. Separate ways, not easy, especially if we wanted to talk about something; or if we simply wanted to relax and enjoy a glass of wine together.
But after a few years of encouraging the girls to try to sleep alone; and trying out a lot of tricks and tips on how to let kids sleep alone, we are still bringing them to bed.
And you know what? We are now enjoying those alone nights with the kids, too. Because it is during those times that they would really talk to us. They would ask loads of questions that would sometimes be so fascinating though some would be a bit weird, too. They would tell us about their observations and would ask about reactions. They would summarize their day, our day and fantasize about the days of a friend. They would make us laugh mimicking some people. Oh, we would talk, and talk and talk and snicker and giggle — and before we knew it, we’d be asleep.
Soon, the kids would be kicking us out of their beds and their rooms. Meantime, my husband and I agreed to savor the nights with them first. After all, we could always create our together time, too.
) It is different when it’s face to face!
