Fit for a King

When Steve and I moved into our house, we bought a new bed - well, mattress set and metal frame. At the time I swore we had no need for anything bigger than a Queen sized bed. As a piece of TMI (too much info!) Steve and I still sleep very close together. He woke the other night to find we were holding hands in our sleep (collective AWWWWWWWE). What we didn't think of were other bodies in our bed. It has become customary on those mornings when they wake up first, for the Munsters to fumble down into our room and climb into bed with us. If there's time before the day starts we watch Dora or Backyardigans, all snuggled in together. And don't forget the 65 pounds of heart and fur who climbs into bed at 5am each morning. It's very squishy. If 2 full sized people, 3 half sized people and a big pooch don't fit in a Queen, we wonder where the other half-folk will fit. Furthermore, the other half-folk will likely come to us with full sized trauma. As I've discussed, we will need to actively teach her that we're her parents, we're trustworthy and here for the long haul. One of the biggest ways to bond is by co-sleeping. Annawen has a bed in the girls' room, and eventually she'll sleep there with Paxten, but Steve and I anticipate the possibility that she'll need to bunk with us for a while. And that's okay. And good reason for a new, King sized bed :)

We've been parents now for almost 6 years. We've had lots of experience, but in many ways we're starting over with Annie. Our home grown Munsters have needs to be met, but Wen's are very different. The parenting techniques we've chosen for her siblings may not be appropriate for her, in fact, many of our initial choices for her will be nearly opposite those we have made to date. That knowledge is daunting, sometimes overwhelming... we'll make it one day at a time.

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