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04 May 2016

Mummy and daddy's bed....

It has been far too long since my last post. I have been completely swamped in work and all my free time goes to my growing demanding toddler... So I am afraid that my blog has been suffering from my lack of time... I don’t even have time for my never ending projects...  Which unfortunately means no news in the creativity sphere of my life as well.

Nevertheless, I still have time to do some reading and today I will be posting about a text  I read long ago with which I immediately resonated with. It described 'co-sleeping', sweetly narrating the night excursions children do to reach their parents’ bed and the comfort found by both children and parents. 
It described the peaceful sleep offered by the  'magic' that lays on parents pillows that ease  little one's sleep and effortless drive away any hidden monsters....:


The parents' bed has a magnet and I believe (no one convinces me otherwise ) it has a soporific magic, a mysterious love powder imbibed on its pillows which makes the children fall asleep immediately and that drive away the worst of nightmares or the most tremulous night terror.
The parents' bed offer the last  refuge where peace is absolute.
Children arrive, driven  either by exhausted and lost parents or by their own two feet, sweaty and frightened, as little birds flying at night jostling through the halls until they reach the place of places. Two laps with soft sheets and the parents scent. They fall as robins asleep, appeased.
Parents pretend to mind the following morning : “ Again on our bed! When will you learn to overcome your fears and to sleep by yourself? You have to grow up! “ But they say all this without facing their children's eyes, so that the little ones don’t know that  with the brief return to the nest, the first crib,  parents are filled with love and tenderness and they are also comforted. A warm neck. A chubby hand in our hair. One returning foot  to the mother's rib. The quiet breathing on a shared pillow. The secret desire that this nest will last forever and that the following morning arrives late. That the mysterious love dust forever preserve these nocturnal excursions treats, that are no more than a clever foreshadowing of an immense longing, the best days of this life.

Translation from an original text by Rita Ferro Rodrigues. Find the original here



I am a mummy that is comforted by a chubby hand on my hair. A mummy that is sweetly waken in the morning by a little kiss. By a beautiful wide smile cheering me.
I am also a mummy that is waken in the middle of the night by a little foot gently squashing my stomach...

Would mummy and daddy sleep better alone? Maybe... 
And would we sleep better, alone,  if in the bedroom next door our little guy is disturbed and scared? Doubtfully.

In truth, I  don’t mind my little one’s night excursions that much...  Having my sleep troubled, and waking up certainly is exhausting, nevertheless I am comforted that our arms can settle him and ease him down. I am comforted by the notion that we can shield him from the cold night shadows. I am happy that he comes to us for this protection and warmth. That mummy and daddy are his safe haven.
I am happy to provide this solace. And as for us, tired parents from badly slept nights, I am also sure that these moments will be missed. As they grow up, these tender moments will never be enough...

They have time to grow up.
They soon will be facing and walking the world on their own. And then, if only mummy and daddy would be sufficient to guard him from all the uneasiness from the world...
For now I find solace in shielding from the known shadows through less rested nights.
It is the unsuspected ones  that keep me from a quiet sleep.

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