In Her Own Bed

Last night marked a huge turning point for my family. I decided it was time for Katelyn to sleep in her own room. Katelyn has slept with Mike & I since she was about 10 months old and she's now nearly 4.9 years old. I have several reasons why now seems to be the right time to make this transition. Among them is the fact that she'll start kindergarten in the fall, and we'll have from now until then to get a good sleep routine in place. There are other reasons too, but I have to say having my gf Sarah look me right in the face and say,"Shelly, you've got to get Katelyn in her own bed" was a turning point. It was like someone turned on the lights; and maybe other people have said that to me before, but I wasn't ready to hear them. Thanks Sarah.

So I laid down with Katelyn in her bed at about 8:45 hoping the later time and the allergy medicine would help her fall asleep with more ease. We talked about the reasons why she was going to sleep in her big girl bed, made sure the night light was securely in place(she's afraid of the dark), and cuddled. You have no idea how much I'll miss cuddling with her. She was such a big girl-no tears, no argument, she seemed to know the time had come as well. At about 9:45, she was soundly enough asleep that I was able to creep out of her room. Whew!

Back in my own room, however, I was about as wide awake as if I'd had a double shot of espresso. I watched a little t.v. & read Breaking Dawn, all the while Mike is sawing logs-must be nice! Finally about midnight I turn out the light, but still I don't sleep thinking about my baby all the way on the other side of the house. I worry if she wakes up will she be scared, will she cry, scream...At 1 am I hear her door fly open and little footsteps make haste to our room. She comes to my side of the bed and says she wants to get in bed with us. Of course I let her. I know this is going to take a while, I hadn't expected she'd sleep in her own bed all night on the first night. I was just so pleased that she was calm, not scared, not crying, not angry. I praised her and praised her, telling her what a big girl she was. She stayed in her own bed almost 4 whole hours. She was very pleased with herself. I tell her she will be sleeping in her big girl bed again tomorrow night, and she says o.k....Within 5 minutes, she is back sound asleep until 9 am this morning. I, on the other hand, clocked about 4 hours of sleep because this is a big deal not just for her but for Mike & I too.

Do you think it's possible to love a child too much? No. I don't think it is possible. BUT, I do think it's possible to love a child so much that you forget to love someone else enough. Since Katelyn was born, Mike & I have never gone on a date. She has never had a babysitter. I can remember only three times that we ever left her with someone to be watched: once with his sister so we could go to the Richmond design center & pick out tiles & cabinets & flooring...; once with Anna for IVF #4; and once with Jen & Treva for IVF #5. But those times don't count; those were not dates. My girlfriends have encouraged Mike & I to go on dates. They have all offered to watch Katelyn, mind you not a one of them has less than 3 kids herself. (Now that's friendship; that's love.) I asked Mike last night what he thought about going on a date. He paused, and said, "We never have, have we?" So this Friday, we're going on our first date since having Katelyn. Thanks Tera & J.P. for having Katelyn, we know she's in good hands.