09.01.10
6

For the past few weeks, Baby-Ko has woken up saying “Mommy, I’m up from my dream! Come get me!” As I pick him up out of his crib (yes, he’s turning 3. No, he’s not in a big boy bed yet), I do my best to cheerily ask him about said dream.

Me: “What did you dream about?”
Baby-Ko: “The jungle!”
Me: “The jungle?!”
Baby-Ko: “Yaaaaaaaaaah, the jungle. And, and, and, the ocean!”
Now before you marvel at how amazingly imaginative my young boy is, I must confess: He did not come to these brilliant visions and landscapes on his own. I sort of fed them to him… At some point, during a typical nightly sleep battle, I encouraged him to close his eyes and think of all these lovely places… I promised him, that in the morning, “when the moon goes down, and the sun comes up,” we would talk about our dreams… And I did. In the morning, I asked him about his dream. He just said “it was good,” then asked me what I dreamt about…. Well, one day I dreamt about a lake, the next day it was an ocean, another it was a farm, and so on…
Fast forward to this morning…. He dreamt about a monkey biting him and a lion named Fred. He caught on quickly.
The point to me sharing this is that it’s what happens AFTER our little dream sequence, if you will, that will hopefully matter the most in his life and in mine. Every morning, after he gets out of bed, he comes in to mine, I offer him a “snackie,” he chooses a show to watch (well, it’s not like he chooses any show. It’s not like he’s like, “oh mom, you recorded, Weeds. Let’s watch”), and I go back to sleep as long as humanly possible….
I gently try to remind Baby-Ko that there’s an entire bed, and he should move over…
But he has made up his mind… he’s staying put….
Sometimes he literally puts his head on top of mine. Skull to skull doesn’t feel great and, to be honest, is kind of annoying…
But I know one day he won’t want to do this- he won’t want to cuddle and he certainly won’t want to talk about wild monkeys and talking lions…. So for now, I’ll deal with the lack of space and the lack of sleep. If anything, it makes for some truly wild dreams of my own….
FILED UNDER: A Little Life
TELL THE WORLD!

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Comments

  1. Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
    So sweet!! Baby-Ko looks so cozy. :)

    My kids always think they've got to be right on top of me, too. The other night, there was my husband and myself, two little boys, our fifty-pound Lab, and two cats ... all crowded into a queen-sized bed. Doesn't make for a great night's sleep, but you're right - they won't want to do this forever!
  2. Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
    So cute. My 2.5 year old recently boycotted sacking out in my bed, but there's no TV in there. Maybe that's the ticket. We're all "Mama get up! Put your glasses on! I want PBS Kids-dot-org!" Snooze button, child, snooze button.
  3. Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
    My son is 3 as well and always ends up in my bed too. However, it is usually by 2 in the morning, where we spend the rest of the night fighting eachother for the pillow, covers, and the bed. But I am like you, and love every second, because I know it will be over soon.
  4. Monday, September 13th, 2010
    I think if somebody made a blog of itty bitty things itty bitty people said - this would be a top 10 sentence! I love it! And, yes, eventually, they don't climb into bed with you anymore - and you miss it! I do!
  5. Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
    My daughter comes in the morning and asks to turn on the computer so she can go on the Internet to play games.
    Maybe she has dreams about Googling them.
  6. Saturday, October 16th, 2010
    I love it. My little one usually sleeps wakes up in the middle of the night to sleep in our bed. And he is a huge cuddler, snuggled up to me with his hand on my husband's arm. You know, to make sure he's close by. Sometimes I think I should try and train him to stay in his crib, but I then I think about how much I will miss these days when he no longer wants to schnuggle. Then the lack of sleep is worth it. (At least for now!)