Relaxed co-sleeping: Helena (2 y)

by Marloes
(The Netherlands)

Helena is a happy co-sleeper and we are happy to have her in the family bed: we all sleep very well. We take a relaxed approach and accept Helena's needs, both at night and during the day.

Helena is an enthusiastic, open, cheerful and intense little lady who loves to explore by herself but frequently come and get a hug.

Helena is now 2 years old and we have never let her cry when she was alone (OK once: when her daddy thought I was with her and I was under the shower so did not hear her ... but other than that, never, not even 10 seconds).

From day 1, Helena sleeps in our family bed, she does not even have her own crib. We've all been sleeping perfectly, except for during the first few months when she had her day/night rhythm all reversed and was awake most of the night . Sometimes she'll wake me up, then I just nurse her a bit and go on sleeping.

In these two years, Helena had easy sleep periods and more difficult ones. The difficult ones were always due to an illness or a growth spurt. At first, we used to be very worried, pulling our hair, and think "she ought to be sleeping, right?".

But around 6 or 7 months, we let go of that, and relaxed more. And things suddenly went much better! She still has times where she slept less, but we just took it differently. Without stressing, we just accepted it. If she cannot or will not sleep, we just give her some time. Half an hour later, she would then go without a problem.

Sleeping through the night: she doesn't really yet but I think she will soon. She wakes only once a night. Sometimes she nurses a bit but more and more often she sleeps without.

Naps during the day: she hardly takes any naps anymore. If she does, it is usually when we're on the couch watching a movie.