Sleep is Highly Overrated

I've been sharing my bed this past week with two beautiful babies.

Each night their mother comes over and tucks them in. It's quite sweet to watch -- she soothes them, sings them a song, then finally lays them down and strokes their heads for a few minutes before giving them a loving kiss good-night. Once the bedtime ritual is over, she promptly leaves but not before reading me the riot act and giving me a thousand and one instructions about what to do and what not to do. Like, I've never been a mother before?

Each night, I vow to myself that I'm going to put my foot down and have a word with the mom, because I just can't sleep very well with a couple of extra bodies in my bed. (Oh AND their mom insists that they need to have their plushy teddy bears with them for emotional security purposes, making even less room there for me). Some nights I swear under my breath and resist the incredible urge to pitch them onto the floor and plead sleepwalking or night terrors when their mom comes to collect them the next day. The worst was the night their mom told me that one of them had been puking up a storm that day, and that she needed to be watched carefully during the night in case she gave any indications of further vomiting.

I need to be firmer and assert my rights to my own time and my own bed. I already had three kids; I've had my fair share of giving up space in my life and my bed for small babies. I've had enough sleepless nights to last me a lifetime; I shouldn't have to put myself out for someone else, now should I?

So tonight, I've decided I'm going to do it. I'm going to just take a deep breath and say to my daughter "Honey, Mummy just can't babysit your dolls anymore. Besides which, I think they're probaby old enough that they can sleep in their very own crib".

Hopefully, she'll understand and won't call Children's Aid on me.

P.S. I actually ended up with yet another baby in my end last night. Yesterday, a friend of mine gave my daughter a small doll as a belated birthday gift. The doll looked exactly like my daughter had as a baby (big rosy cheeks, rosebud lips, inky black hair and Asian eyes), so it became difficult to refuse its right to be in my bed. I actually found myself kissing it good-night when my daughter did, too!