Author: Joel

Hi, we’re the Extrovert/Introvert family. We’re co-sleepers.

I was going to post earlier when the Young Extroverted One slept through the night in her own bed. But I’m glad I didn’t because it has been hit and miss the last couple of days.

We started co-sleeping with YEO when she was a newborn. Apparently, we were lazy parents and didn’t want to play the ‘it’s-your-turn-to-get-the-baby game.’ Hey, it was great. YEO cries for food the Elder Extroverted Holy One rolls over and pops it in and everyone goes back to sleep. It was system.

However, the transition to crib after the weening process did not go too well. For starters, I’m not a big fan of letting the kid cry and get over it. It kind of makes me sad. So, the YEO has been with us for 4 years.

When she got older we tried everything to make sleeping on her own appealing. My folks got her a Thomas the Tank Engine tent when she was into the Thomas schtick. No dice.

When my lovely ladies were working in Montreat for the summer I painted the extra room a cool green color (her favorite color at the time), put glow-in-the-dark stars (even made the constellations that are in the night sky on her birthday. Yup, I’m a geek) and got her her own ‘big girl bed.’ She no likey.

As we all grew, either in heighth or width, we stepped up to a queen sized bed. Finally! Then we figured that maybe she didn’t like the small bed and that she would prefer a full sized bed. So, we move the full sized bed into her room. Uh . . . as if .

Well, since the summer and the increased renovations on the house next door to us we’ve had increased incidents of brown recluse spiders . So, the whole big girl room/bed thing was way out of the question. So, one day while the YEO was at her grandma’s house EEHO and I carefully picked everything up out of her room and literally threw it out in the backyard. We killed several of the buggers in the process and I still feel creepy-crawly all over my skin. Ugh.  Our neighbor was wondering if threw the YEO out of the house. If I was going to do that her stuff would be in the front yard!

So, with her room cleaned out and her original big girl bed replaced and some different arrangements of the rest of the furniture she seems very excited about her new, exorcised room. Her first night in there she slept there all night! It took her awhile to get to sleep but when she did she passed out. It was great! And continues to be great. The other night she came back into bed with us and last night she did as well but said she was crowded and moved back into her room. I think we’ve turned a corner. Just in time to do it all over again with the new parasite. What is it the kids are saying/typing/texting these days? W00T? I have no idea what that means.

All I know is that I am very proud of my big girl for making transitions when she felt it was the right time. The EEHO and I have always been the organic-like parents. We never really stuck to a rigid bedtime. We don’t do the vocabulary/science/math flash cards . . . anymore. When she ate the second pack of cards and didn’t get any smarter we gave up on the osmosis theory and the cards. Just Kidding (or is it, JK?). I kid because I love. We never forced giving up the pacifier. When she sucked her favorite one so hard it tore she looked at it and then us and said, “Paci broken.” And then threw it away herself. Very nice.

Every once in awhile we get impatient and try to force something. Like the sleep-in-her-own-bed thing. But we are the ones who get frustrated. And then the YEO will just do whatever it is whenever she is ready. ‘Nuff said. If she is going to grow up into a fine young woman or gamma girl it will be when she’s darn ready to.