I can’t remember the last time that I went to sleep in my bed and woke up in “MY BED” uninterrupted, with just my husband & I laying there…alone. I knew having four kids would involve there being KIDS in every aspect of my life, but for some reason (maybe because my parents always kept their bed KID FREE), I never realized that our bed would constantly be bombarded with little visitors in the middle of the night.
So what is “ROTATING BEDS Syndrome” (yes, I like to make up syndromes)? Let me explain!
I start most nights out in our nice, comfortable bed…in our (my husband & my) bedroom. The appropriate place for me to get snugly, warm and ready to rest for the night. It might be an hour, it might be four, but soon…there will be little feet pounding the hardwood floors and a bounce of the bed, as a child flies up, snuggles in between my husband and I and we are off on another interesting night’s sleep. Our kids do not lay still when they are sleeping. They fling and wiggle and kick and flop. Which means that, basically in a nutshell, my husband & I hug the edges of the bed, while they get to spread out their little bodies and enjoy the entire rest of our beds.
But, here’s the thing, after having a child’s foot in my back, their arm across my chest or my arm stuck above my head so far that it’s asleep and numb…I go looking for another place to sleep. ROTATE (you know, like centers in school)! I know, I should move the child, but chances are…if I do…this same child will wake up ten minutes later, realize where they are and come darting back into our room once again. Typically, I will either go downstairs to the couch (which is my second choice for sleeping arrangements because it’s so gosh darn comfortable) or head to the bed that is currently missing the child. No…their mattresses are not quite as comfortable (and since they have plastic mattress covers on them, not quite as warm), but at least I will get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep…or so I think…UNTIL…
My baby boy wakes up and realizes that he’s alone in his big bed and he starts crying (which is actually mild screaming) and I have to go calm him down before the entire household of children are wide awake. His poor brother (he has to sleep like his father), because he seems to stay sound asleep through all the drama. Thank goodness. So once again, I find myself playing “ROTATING BEDS” and hopping into bed with the little guy, so he will fall back asleep. This is typically where I find myself sleeping, if I’m lucky and everyone else stays asleep for the rest of the night.
I love being a mommy! I know it was what I was meant to do…but I NEED MY SLEEP! Seriously! These trying nights of playing ROTATING BEDS needs to come to an end soon!
People tell me, how lost I will be when it’s just me & my husband (when the kids are all grown up). I agree, I will definitely miss them. But there are certain things that I will not miss…ROTATING BEDS is one of them. Being able to head to bed, fall asleep and wake up in the same bed will be delightful. I will not only wake up pleasantly (instead of by a screaming child in the middle of the night), but I might actually feel rested again! I forget what the feeling feels like.
So, how many of you have children’ who sleep with you in the middle of the night? You put them to bed in their bed and they find their way to your bed while you’re sleeping? How many of you change (ROTATE) beds (yourself) in the middle of the night? In desperation to salvage a few more hours of peaceful sleep. I know I’m not alone here! Please…COMMENT and share your stories with me! Advice is always welcome too!
http://www.oneboredmommy.com/2010/12/i-suffer-from-rotating-beds-syndrome-do.html
