Seven years. That’s how long we’ve been co-sleeping for – sometimes with one, sometimes with two and sometimes with all three kids in our bed.

And it turns out there’s a lot they don’t tell you about co-sleeping.

co-sleeping

Exactly what they don’t tell you about co-sleeping occurred to me when I spent five (blissful) nights away from the kids in Morocco when Misery Guts was running the Marathon Des Sables.

I slept uninterrupted, I stretched, I wasn’t cold and I slept until I woke up for the first time in almost eight years – and needless to say it was absolutely marvellous.

Interestingly the kids (largely) kept to their own beds while we were away, but now we’re back home they’ve wormed their way back into our bed once again. And it was while lying awake at night that I started compiling a little list of things I wish I’d known about co-sleeping.

10 things I wish I’d known about co-sleeping

1. Co-sleeping isn’t a decision. Or not your decision anyway. It’s one they make for you.

2. Buy the biggest bed you can. Buy two beds and push them together. There is no such thing as too big.

3. Expect to sleep on the tiniest sliver of mattress on the edge of that bed. Even though it’s the biggest bed you could fit in the room. The space they take up is not proportional to their size.


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This photo pretty much sums up my week. All three co-sleeping while I lay there co-awaking being kicked & elbowed & left shivering on a sliver of mattress perilously close to the edge of the bed 😠 (photo taken by Misery Guts before stomping off to sleep in one of the bunk beds). Presumably one day I will miss this, but having not slept without one, two or all three kids since I can’t remember it’s pretty hard to imagine right now 😩 Looking forward to a LARGE glass of wine this evening🍷(& hopefully some 😴) #keepingitreal #mumlife #mumproblems #breastfeeding #breastfeedingmama #honestmotherhood #rawmotherhood #motherhoodunplugged #capturingmotherhood #oureverydaymoments #documentyourdays #rememberingthesedays

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4. Get used to being cold. Really cold. While they feel like a furnace and kick all the covers away, you’re left with bare shoulders and exposed toes shivering next to them.

5. You’ll get weed on. And if you’re really unlucky, you’ll get pooed on too.

6. If being weed and pooed on sounds bad, guess what’s coming next. Expect to be chundered on at some stage too.

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7. You’ll need a layer of towels between your mattress protector and your sheet. Trust me.

8. Don’t be surprised by the parps. They escape from their little bottoms all night long, to the point your bedroom sounds like a trumpet voluntary.

9. There is zero point changing the sheets on their beds once week, since they never sleep in them. Yours, meanwhile, could do with changing at least twice a week.

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10. It’s not a phase and they won’t ‘grow out of it’. At some point you’re going to have to muster the energy to actively transition them to their own beds.

Do you or have you ever co-slept? Can you relate to any of the above and is there anything you wish you’d known? Do tell us what it is!

If you liked this you may also enjoy reading:

How do you stop co-sleeping?

10 things you should never say to a sleep deprived mum

Breastfeeding at two – what happened next