My son slept through the night last night…in his own bed. He also slept in his own bed the night before and the night before that and a whole six nights before that. That’s now TEN nights in a row that Connor has slept in his own bed. At eight and a half years old, he is finally sleeping on his own. How did we pull it off? I have no idea.
It isn’t as though we haven’t been trying for the past eight years or so. On the contrary, we’ve attempted just about every sleeping technique with Connor (but please let let me know if I missed anything): letting him cry it out, medication, bed time routines, sleeping beside him, fairy lights, bedside lamps, sleeping on the floor, story time, snack time, sleeping in the hallway, special pillows, a new bed, weighted blankets, special superhero pajamas, sleeping in a tent, threats, tears, sleeping in a chair and bribes. Finally, a kindly social worker told us, “Forget it for now. Let him sleep with one of you. All of you need your sleep, too.”
That was four years ago, and since then, Connor has been sleeping with either my husband or me (usually my husband, because I tend to make rather loud sleepy noises). And so, Steve and I became used to little feet at our backs, in our sides and occasionally in an ear. We have hugged the three inches of mattress left over from our little one’s creeping snuggle-attempts and have shivered in the cold when our special someone has decided to monopolize the blankets.
But we always kept offering, “Connor, would you like to sleep in your own bed this evening?” And ten nights ago, he finally said YES. And he hasn’t changed his mind so far.
One of the greatest parenting mysteries of all times is when to push and when to let a child develop on his own. I wish I knew the answer, but thank goodness Connor has appeared to have figured this one out by himself.
