Our bed!

This is where I sleep! I know it's not a four star bed with a mattress that produces amazing dreams. In fact it probably would count as a negative star. The bed is never made and the pillows are always askew. There is always something unexpected under the covers, like a stuffed animal or a random toy. The mattress is lumpy and then there is the issue of 2, count em 2, comforters! After all this momma doesn't share her covers. But it is our bed! Our wonderful, comfy bed! Some of my best memories have been made here.

Okay I know what you are thinking, and yes I have many of those types of wonderful memories! In fact there was this one night... aww never mind. I am actually talking about other types of memories.

I use my bed for many things. There is the ever important sleep, that I never get enough of and I love to read in bed. I recently got a new bedside lamp thanks to my dad and I love to read in there. There is no more comfy spot in my apartment then my bed. Then there are the memories I have made with my daughter in my bed. When Joslyn was born and we first brought her home, I did all of my breast feeding in my bedroom. My dad lived with me and my hubby at the time and I did not feel comfortable yet feeding anywhere else. I would feed her and then set her in her bassinet that was next to the bed. But breastfeeding was not a happy time for this momma and baby. So my sanctuary was turning into a nightmare. So I retreated to her room to do the feeding and eventually gave up breast feeding all together. Once bottle feeding started I was a different momma and enjoyed the heck out of feeding time and loved feeding her in my bed or on the couch or anywhere. Some of my happiest memories are feeding Joslyn in the middle of the night, just her and me snuggled in the bed. I really got to know her coos and cries and the lines on her face and on her fingers and toes. Yep good memories!

Now when I was pregnant I was convinced that I would never be one of those parents that would let my baby sleep in bed with me. I had all the tools to keep my daughter safe and happy or so I thought. I had a crib for when we were ready to let her sleep in her room. I had a bassinet by the bed so that I could have her within arms reach when she cried and needed me. I had it made. But getting in and out of the bed with the bassinet next to it was awful, especially for someone who just had surgery. And the bassinet was higher than the bed, so I couldn't look into it and check on her without fully sitting up and rolling over. I couldn't even put my hand on her to comfort her without sitting up fully. When Joslyn sleeps by herself she is very noisy. She would grunt and groin in her sleep and whimper. She still is that way! Except that she is like her momma and rolls over too! I quickly learned though that if I was holding her while she slept, she was quiet as a mouse. She needed that comfort and protection that she felt in her momma's arms. And I needed the sleep I only got when she was quiet. Soon all my fears about what I heard about babies that slept in bed with their parents, were soon replaced with comfort and joy. My mind and body said that this was right for us, and every moment I spent in bed asleep with her in my arms was peaceful!

After Joslyn turned 6 months old, John convinced me that it was time to get our bed back to it's original owners me and him. And although it was very hard for this momma to let go, I knew it was time also. Joslyn wasn't cuddling to go to sleep with me any more in fact it was pretty difficult to get her to lay still to fall asleep. Instead of cuddle time, bed time turned into fight time and then sleep turned into getting kicked and hit in the middle of the night. So with reluctance we dealt with the weeks worth of crying and screaming at bedtime and sometimes in the middle of the night until she was just as comfortable in her crib as she was in my bed. And oh the freedom I felt once those first few weeks were over. I could finally stretch out and roll over without having to take her with me. John and I could cuddle and move around in the bed without worrying about waking her. It was bliss.

But my bed is now something even more special. When sleepy baby wakes up from her toddler bed, (ouch how did it go by so fast) the first place she runs is to our bed. That is when we hoist her into bed with us and start the morning with her jumping on the bed and tickles and songs like itsy bitsy spider. It is one of the most special times we have each day, because daddy is there with us and we all play together. So many memories each day. Every morning she surprises us with a new word or phrase. We even try to get the doggies into the mix, but they don't much enjoy the excitement. No matter how bad the night was, morning will forever be special to us in our bed!

So Where do you make your special memories? And what do you do in your bed that is special? HEHE!!!