Andy at How To Be a Dad recently wrote about the blurry eyed, early morning (or late night!) wake up to a little one staring you back in the face. In his diagram (3rd below) he calls this the "Stalker" sleep position. Anyone who shares sleep with their baby knows that there comes a point, usually right around that first birthday party, when nighttime acrobatics become commonplace in the family bed. We've laughed about it, cried about it, and ultimately, come to truly treasure these fleeting moments with our children who quickly grow up to want a room of their own. Looking over these sleep positions, there may just be a couple you recognize as well.
For more on safe sleep sharing, visit the Safe CoSleeping page on Facebook, and look into research cataloged on the Baby Sleep Resource Page.
If you have a photo you'd like to contribute to the How CoSleeping Happens album, we'd love to hear from you. Write to DrMomma.org@gmail.com This can be a photo of your sleep sharing set up only, a photo of cosleeping 'in action', or both. The gallery will serve as a snapshot of how families around the world share sleep with their little ones - a sociological reflection of our present time in history.
I LOVE THIS!
ReplyDeleteLOL! This will be so fun to see what else people share. I know these are just a few I've experienced and my daughter is almost 2. She sleeps just like I do; taking up the entire bed and violently! LOL!
ReplyDeleteLOL This is so cute and hilarious! So real :) but so wonderful and a memory treasure. We co-sleep with a side-car/crib for our almost 3yr old and 3month old in the middle to 'protect' from acrobat toddler. Oh the love!
ReplyDeleteOur first baby was all in for "H is for Hell," except with her feet on hubby's back.
ReplyDeleteOur new baby is only 5 months old and she is doing what I call "The Cliffhanger" to me ... slowly she gets closer and closer in the night and I move away and away and away until I have half my back hanging off the edge of the bed!!!!
Ha! Our first kiddo had "H is from Hell" mastered! The child could *not* sleep unless some part of his body was touching each parent. I usually ended up with the feet in the abdomen.
ReplyDeleteLOVE THIS!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha. This is awesome. I like snow angel we always call it starfish position though =D
ReplyDeletelove love love. i can relate to almost every image!
ReplyDeleteI actually can't stop laughing after looking at these, I am looking forward to my betsy doing "the stalker" thanks for brightening my day with this post!
ReplyDeleteToo perfect! The only thing I would add would be "The Barfer." It was the only time I reconsidered bed sharing. :)
ReplyDelete-Kass
Thank you for your (always) thought-provoking and (sometimes) side-splitting funny articles. Having bed-shared with all 3 of my children, I found this completely accurate! Shared widely. :)
ReplyDeletehellarious
ReplyDeleteI think we managed 5/8 of those last night!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the laugh! From a sleep deprived parent of a 2yo and a 3mo
ReplyDeleteHahaha the "Stalker" one made me laugh out loud! The joys (truly joys) of sleeping with little ones. =) I wouldn't trade it for anything.
ReplyDelete- Cara
Oh how I can so relate to those poses and captions :)
ReplyDeleteI love this! My little girl usually sleeps in the Snow Angels position, and sometimes in the H is for Hell. She is moving up to Stalker, though- I can see it in her eyes ;)
ReplyDeletehahaha. Yes. to all of the above (except strangely donkey kong...3 children and never experienced that one!)
ReplyDeleteHahahaha! Love it!
ReplyDeleteEach and everyone of these have happened to us. As a mom I can totally relate to this article as well
ReplyDeleteThis made me giggle :-) we have definitely experienced this in our bed!!! Particularly th 'neck scarf' :-)
ReplyDeleteSo funny! laugh out loud pictures! thanks for posting! My lo was always "the stalker" hahaha!
ReplyDeletethis is just tooooo good....laughed my lungs out...my 3 year old is a booby trap...i pity my husband...wat to do?????
ReplyDeleteMy son does what I call the log roll. He crawls into our bed on my side and slowly pushes me until my husband falls off the bed and I'm hanging on the edge while he has the rest of the bed. Which then we crawl back in and wind up in the donkey kong position.
ReplyDeleteI'm fond of the night when my DD insist on lying inverted, with her feet above my head. I consider it an advanced nursing position, lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think of a title for the times she latches her sharp toenails into my still soft abdomen and shoves her hands under my breast. Perhaps the Koala or Sloth? Scared Cat? Opossum?
LOL. I know the "neck scarf" and "donkey kong" all too well.
ReplyDeleteLove it!! We currently sleep with our 2 and almost 4yr old...we know these positions well LOL
ReplyDeleteHilarious! neck scarf and dog house are popular here!
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness!! this is too funny and so true. we have experienced all of these between our threee girls. enjoyed this. i needed the laugh.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Unfortunately, we've got "The Dog House" going on here.
ReplyDeletehahaha!
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious! I particularly love the Donkey Kong picture.
ReplyDeleteWe don't actually co-sleep, but we have plenty of nights where my 21 month old daughter ends up in our bed for several hours. She always does H is for Hell eventually... except she uses my tummy for a pillow of sorts and has her feet in daddy's abdomen... and gives an occasional kick... which is about the time we decide to put her back in her crib. She can't get comfortable in our bed, but she wants to be with us.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. The only one missing is when the kiddos insist on trying to put their feet into your waistband. I don't get it but I definitely don't like it.
ReplyDeleteWe have a variant of H is for hell, with lo's head on top of my head and feet kicking DH
ReplyDeleteLOL! We currently co-sleep with 5 month old, #4. It's almost 2pm, and we were all taking a nap a bit ago. I woke up and went on FB where I saw a link to this-- I laughed so hard-- I am crying. In fact, I laughed so much that as much as I tried to be quiet and not shake the bed-- DH got up, yelled at me, and went to lay down in the other room. THANKS FOR THE LAUGHS! It's so true... If you've lived it, it's hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI think the H was the one most used by mine! But still loved having my little ones in my bed!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I've been getting "the mountain climber" where I get elbowed in the boob while baby tries to scale me.
ReplyDeleteThis can also be applied if you own a cat :)
ReplyDeleteSo true! Love number 6!
ReplyDeleteSo true to life
ReplyDeleteNeck Scarf is popular here, as is the stalker and the dog house (especially with both kiddos in bed with me). I just sent these to my husband, he'll love it.
ReplyDeleteI can't stop laughing. "Neck Scarf" and "Jazz Hands" top my list.
ReplyDeleteI think there should be one called Pendulum, where the baby alternates kicking each parent over time. Weird thing is when our daughter had nights in the crib, she was perfectly still most of the night.
ReplyDeletejazz hand to me
ReplyDeletehaha I actully love this. The amount of sleepless nights I have had waking up in some of these positions is unbelievable. Think "the dog house" is the solution for me!
ReplyDeleteThese are great, and I LOVE that they are circulating the net so freely! Any exposure to sleepsharing will "demistify" it and maybe make it more mainstream!
ReplyDeleteMy son is so the stalker lately. He won't actually fall asleep nursing in bed anymore. It's nurse for 30 minutes, pop off, stare in my face, pinch my nose, and try to walk off the bed.
ReplyDeleteI just couldn't stop laughing. My 2 year old went through just about all of those positions and now we have the daddy, newborn, mommy, toddler position. Thank goodness our bed is a Cali. King :) I just happened upon your website and I think it is great!
ReplyDeletelovely :)
ReplyDeleteYou need a Karate kicking baby, with the feet in Dad's face, while nursing from Mom :)
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be a second article now - sleeping with two or more children in bed with you. I woke up to 'The Sandwich' this morning with my 2 year old up against my back and my 2 month old attached to the breast. :) Ahhh...bliss!
ReplyDeleteI would like to offer the "Dairy Queen"...baby latched on all night long! Could also be called the "Golden Corral" or insert name of other all-you-can-eat establishment, lol. That's how we roll!
ReplyDeleteMissing the one in which the baby insists on trying to slide their fingers underneath you. My kids were champs at it. For a name for it, I would suggest "Trim My Fingernails".
ReplyDeleteThese are soooooo cute. EVen though it's been 20 years for us, my hubby and i can definitely remember many of these sleep scenarios! Thanks fot eh fond memories...and laughs!
ReplyDeletelove love love. i can relate to almost every image!
ReplyDelete"the pincer" Both kids lying on either side of me. I'm lying vertical they're both horizontal.
ReplyDelete---|--- (like that)
Hahaha all of them every night.
ReplyDeleteOMG I'm laughing so hard right now! I thought only my kids did all these positions! Glad to know I'm not alone! I have a 5 year old and 2 year old one on each shoulder half the night. Or I end up curled up on the end of the bed while the kids are doing the snow angel position while daddy is pinned against the wall.
ReplyDeletethe biggest problem is when the "stalker" pookes you in the eye just to check if you are asleep
ReplyDelete