The recent death of the baby panda, smothered accidently by it's mother made me stop and think about our concept of co-sleeping. Humans are the only animals, (well I think at least, I'm not a zoologist) that confine our young to a separate sleeping area. Other animal mothers snuggle and suckle their young entwined in the warmth of each others bodies. I think that more infants and children die each year riding in the back seat of their family mini van, than die co-sleeping in the family bed percentage wise. No one would suggest that we walk our children everywhere we went. No, we buckle them in and go on with our life, hoping we will not be a statistic, if we even think about it at all.
Being a single mom of a five year old who I have been bribing, and begging to sleep in his own bed, I must admit I will selfishly miss his presence . His little toes jabbing me in the back, his drool on my pillow. When I wake up with his hand on my cheek, fingers tangled in my hair, I know that before long his room will be off limits, and his hugs to far apart. I will miss the days of the to small double bed with me, my son, and our four cats, curled up as one big happy co-sleeping family.
