This Magic Moment

There are many rewarding moments to be found in the tumult that is parenting. My late nights #bedsharing is one such opportunity to cherish the moments.

My daughter Blue appreciates closeness and it’s one of the reasons I choose to share my bed with her. She’s ambulatory now, but if she slept in her crib, she wouldn’t be able to get up and come to me if she wanted me. That does me no favors as I’d have to get out of bed to retrieve her when she could simply be right here from the beginning. I’ve endured many an eye roll from people who consider me lazy for refusing to put her in her crib. Why would I? She’d scream and be in emotional distress, creating an unnecessary attachment issue as she can’t understand that mommy WILL return for her, leave her to “self-soothe” (which has been proven to be a myth because the child just accepts that you’re not coming when they need you). So why would I put her through that only to then inconvenience myself and affirmatively interrupt my sleep to go fix an issue I created with my own actions? No, we co-sleep. In return, I get magical moments I wouldn’t ever trade.

As she drifts off to sleep, she loves to lay near me, her face pressed to my face. Sometimes, she feels she can’t get close enough and her head gets smushed against my head. I can be annoying, but it’s mostly endearing. She will spontaneously hold my hand as she sleeps. Tonight, asleep in the crook of my arm, my daughter was asleep and snoring when a commercial with the song, “It Wasn’t Me,“ came on. Her body unconsciously responded to the music and I felt her dance in time with the beat. I laughed because my goal is to raise a music-appreciative child.

Here are a few of my favorite moments:

How flattering is it to earn your place as your child’s favorite person? I’d miss these sweet rewards if she weren’t beside me. If you’re reading this and you’re a bed sharing mama, screw the eye-rolls and push the bullying on the other side of your boundary line Mama, it’s your decision. May my child never, ever, question my affection for her or draw back from me because I withdrew comfort; I am her peace.

One of my best friends told me, “How flattering it must be that an innocent human understands that they’re perfectly safe with you?”