I'm glad you spoke up, Lynn. :-) I saved the same email so I could respond to it eventually with my own story. My daughter was almost 14 when my son was born, and - although she had been perfectly happy to sleep in her own bed for many years - she was still welcome to snuggle in my bed, and she chose to do so quite frequently when her baby brother came along. She just adored him and couldn't stand to be away from him, but I think she also wanted to make sure she was still Mama's Girl, too. She came in and slept with us all or part of many nights until she left home at 19, especially if she had something bothering her or needed some Mama time. Teenagers, like a lot of other people, will sometimes talk in the dark about things they are reluctant to bring up in the light of day. After my son weaned at age 4, I went to sleep most nights lying on my back between my children with a head on each of my shoulders. Usually with them also reaching
across me to touch each other. Such a warm, love-filled memory.
My daughter is 32 now, and she still climbs into bed with me when she visits either at night before she moves back to her old bedroom to sleep with her own kids... or in the morning before her kids wake up. While I was married to my second husband, she would wait until he went to work. LOL. When I visit her and her family in Montana, she always wakes me up by climbing into the twin bed I sleep in there. I wouldn't trade those special times for all the money in the world. :-)
Funny, though... my son - now 18 - has never once come back to snuggle in my bed since he slowly and gently transitioned to his own bed at age 5.
Cee
>________________________________
>From: Lynn Carter <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 9:27 AM
>Subject: Re: "they won't still cosleep when they're ten"
>
>This is slightly off-topic, but I couldn't let that quote go unanswered :)
>I'm sure the underlying message is that older kids don't drain us dry in
>the same way a baby can, which is true.
>
>I have 6yo and a 10yo who have both coslept from birth. Our bedtime
>routine all the way up to and including last night is that I lie down in the
>middle of the double bed, and they snuggle on either side of me, usually
>with a head on my shoulder. We have our prayers, we review the day and plan
>tomorrow, and then we just talk for a while. They eventually relax into
>sleep, and I either extricate myself and go wash dishes, or I pass out from
>exhaustion and move when I wake up in the night.
>
>School-aged kids can be busy busy busy, and young boys aren't always very
>cuddly. Bedtime is when i get to touch my kids and really get back in touch
>with them. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
>
>For the record, my kids are perfectly capable of falling asleep alone. We
>just prefer it this way :)
>
>Lynn Carter SFO IBCLC
>Missouri, USA
>
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