Henry shows his cards

"Co-sleeping" is the new term for sucker parents that let their baby sleep in their bed. It is usually started by sheer necessity from desperate parents eager to get some sleep. It continues due to laziness or because the parents like it. We unfortunately fall into both camps. It is much easier to get him to sleep when we put him in bed, it is much easier for me to nurse him in the middle night (I can do it laying down and go back to sleep), it is easier to pop the pacifer back in his mouth etc. We both also happen to really like it. It is so sweet to wake up in the middle of the night and see him snoozing away. He also schooches himself near one of us like a little heat seeking missle. It is just very cozy and a nice way to spend time with him.

When speaking with one of our neighbors recently, she said she used to love sleeping with her son. Her advice to us was to get him out of the bed once he started showing a preference for it, and protesting when he was not in the bed. She told me, "Don't worry, you have time."

Well, Henry has shown us that he is more aware than we thought and is going to get evicted soon as a result. We put him in his hammock for naps, and for his sleeping up until we go to bed. After his feeding right before we go to bed, we move him into bed with us. On Thursday night, I decided to leave him in his hammock next to me so that I could get some sleep. He was awake and gave me a little sad look when he saw me get into bed. I gave him his pacifer, which he promptly spit out and started whining. I put it back in, and he repeated this action. He did this over and over for about 10 minutes and the whining grew more pronounced. Adam said, "He wants to come in the bed, just get him so that we can get some sleep." I'm thinking, no way is he that smart already! I reached down, picked him up and put him in his usual spot. The little bugger shut his eyes and fell asleep in about 5 seconds. He should have played this a little better, he had a few more months in the Tempurpedic and now he is getting kicked out!