And they all rolled over . . .

My darling husband Pat is such a sweet little Daddy, and such a wonderful husband in so many ways! He is just as excited as I am to have a big Catholic family bursting at the seams. However, he does have a few reservations when it comes to sleeping arrangements.

 A few days after we brought Kateri home from the hospital, I decided to pull her from her little co sleeper and bring her into bed with us. Our house, for whatever reason, has a hard time with temperature regulations. It will be nice and warm in the main living area and cool in the bedrooms. This is ideal for us most of the time! It is lovely to snuggle down under soft downy blankets, but it is tricky with a little newborn. Thus, into the bed came our little 7 lbs bundle of joy.

After a few days, Pat asked me, "So, how long do you think Kateri will be sleeping in bed with us?" To which I had some vague reply, "Oh you know, not long, maybe she'll be out in a month or over the next couple years."

Then, several days later, he started talking about some friends of his, "You know, I know families whose kids sleep with the parents from infancy through age five or six . . ." His worried expression conveyed this was not quite what he hoped would happen in our family.

Finally, a few days ago, Pat said, "Let's try putting Kateri back in the co-sleeper." I think this is the first step in his mind to encouraging her sleep- independence. But you have to understand something. Pat likes his room VERY cool when he is sleeping, anything over 65 degrees is H-O-T (our room runs about 62 degrees at night at my guess). When Kateri sleeps in her co-sleeper, we put a little space heater on low near her bed. Guess what! Even if it is on low, it still heats up our room to a nice and toasty temperature of, say, 75 degrees or so. So the very fact that Pat is asking, in effect, for his nice cool room to be heated up to sweltering conditions indicates to me how important this issue is to him! Now that is willingness for sacrifice!

While perusing my newsfeed on facebook today (useful pastime, I know), I found a picture which I am sure embodies Pat's worst fears. You will notice that my worst fears are ALSO present. Currently, our puppy, Wrigley, is not even allowed in our bedroom. . .

However, does this mean that maybe I will have chickens in my future as well???