Lynda Loveland: Sharing the bed

Sleep sometimes feels like a luxury when you’re a parent. It shouldn’t be, but it can be.

Working mornings, I usually don’t get enough sleep, so I try to protect it. I worked so hard, from the time my kids were born, to keep them in their own bed. If they had a bad dream, it was a different story.

It’s just hard to get good sleep when you have a small foot up your nose or someone sucking their thumb right next to your ear. Plus, kids always seem to sleep across the bed instead of down it. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE snuggling up close to my kids and smelling that kid scent. Love it. But I think a person’s physical and mental health depends on good sleep.

Lately though, I’ve been slipping. I’m not quite sure why. Maybe because I know I’m done having kids or maybe it’s because I see them growing up so quickly.

Whatever the reason, I’ve been sacrificing sleep to cuddle with the kids. The other night, I even went so far as to get one out of bed, already asleep, and bring her back to bed with me. I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her. Her soft head of hair was right under my chin. She never woke up. Never even knew she was in bed with me until the morning.

The benefit, and the memory, was all mine.