*yawn*

Earlier in the month, I explained my love/hate relationship with co-sleeping with Liam. Well, in the last few weeks, he has upped the ante. It went from being somewhat uncomfortable, though tolerable, to not working at all in a few weeks time.

Basically, he has gotten more restless and more kicky and I just can't sleep with him anymore. Even when Joe sleeps on the couch, he finds me in the big queen bed, sleeps with his head digging in my back and kicks me. Not cool.

This combined with the fact that a) my belly is only going to get bigger and more cumbersome b) it is really hard to get comfortable in bed when I am largely pregnant anyways, sans the kicking toddler and c) the newborn that will be in our bed in a few months, we decided it was time to bite the bullet and try out something different that respected his need for companionship and everyone's need for a good night's sleep.

The Solution: The Sibling Bed(room)
As you can see from our picture, we moved Issy and Isaac into a room with Liam (his is the bed in the middle, he wouldn't turn around and pose for the picture) in hopes that he would feel comfortable enough to stay in his room, since he would have them in there. And that then he would not feel the need to sleep in our bed and harass me all night.

It is really nice in theory, isn't it? But as with many things with 2-year-olds (well, at least Liam) there is a large gap between the theory and the practice. As of last night, it was a total bust, but that only means that there is no where to go but up, right? (RIGHT?!) At this point, we are just going to have to stick to it and hope it catches on quickly because the alternative wasn't working either. And I want him to get used to it well before the baby comes so it is not perceived as a "baby usurping my position" thing. Honestly, I would be more than willing to let him sleep in our bed indefinitely if it was working. But it Just. Is. Not. Here is him this morning after being awake from 1:00 to 6:30 a.m. Trust me, you don't want a picture of me or Joe this morning :P
A final reflection: Honestly, I had no idea that parenting would be this hard. Seemingly simple things liking sleeping and eating with ease and unhasseled are a distant memory. Know what, though? It is totally worth it. I remember in college, I would nap for hours and hours a day even though I had a full nights sleep. But I didn't appreciate it. Now, every hour of uninterrupted sleep is hard fought and I see it for the gift it is. It helps to know that there is an end to all this too. I trust that it will not always be like this. When Liam is 16 the problem will most likely be how to get him *out* of bed and I won't have to hold his hand while he falls asleep.

Sweet dreams to all my readers :)