Inspirations
Sleeping Through The Night.

Harrison took to it immediately of course. What could be better than snuggling to sleep with the people you love? Dad, whose bright idea this was, complains because each night he gets shoved over to one side of this suddenly small king-sized bed. Harrison sometimes kicks, and once in awhile his diaper manages to get loose, and we wake up to cold wet spots between us. We say we can’t wait until the weather turns, and we begin putting Harrison back into his own crib.

My in-laws are aghast. "Oh, that is a Huge mistake," they say, as if we have begun dressing him in little pink skirts. "I can’t believe you did it," my sister says, laughing, with a warning in her tone. My friends without kids laugh uncomfortably- because of course a family bed is the end of sex as we know it, right? Next thing you know we will be calling each other Ma and Pa and rubbing Ben Gay on each others’ sore bones.

I don’t know about any of that. I feel closer than ever to my husband. We do miss the feel of each other’s bodies at night, and compensate by touching our feet together below Harrison. Sometimes my husband rolls to his side and embraces us both in a huge family bear hug. It’s not the same, but it has its own charms. Along with the poignant knowledge that this is all fleetingly fragile, and soon to fade.

All I know is, all of a sudden I can sleep again. I kiss my husband good night, and I lean over and kiss the face of this miraculous child. He is generous with his radiant smile. He feels secure. And you know what? So do I. I don’t lie awake and worry about him- I can see him. He’s fine, he’s beautiful. We will manage to work this out, no matter what this turns out to mean. Sometimes when I do wake up, I just reach over to hold his little fingers. I tell him to be strong, to survive. He smiles in his sleep. He already has. And so will we.

About the author.

Debra Waltman, mom to Harrison (26 weeker), is at home vacuuming Cheerios from the carpet, and an aspiring free-lance writer for anyone who can recognize raw talent!