A humorous tale of a new mother who was desperate for sleep

Yesterday, a friend related to me that, like so many infants, her baby would not fall asleep unless he was by her side. Once he was asleep, he stayed asleep, if she inched her way out of the bed with care, so as not to startle him. This was very inconvenient, because she couldn't leave the baby on her adult bed without fear that he would fall off the mattress.

The dreaded grunt

My friend was as gentle as could be as she moved her sleeping infant from her bed to his crib. She would lower him with soft delicacy into his crib, and release her hands from around his tiny body with excruciating exactitude. However, as soon as her hands and the baby had become two separate entities, Little Man would begin the dreaded grunt that meant he was once again, stirring from sleep.

Desperate for sleep

Once my friend was so desperate for sleep (his and hers), that she crawled into the crib beside her baby. This is not something I would recommend for two reasons. First of all, even though my girl friend is teensy, she was taking a chance. Cribs are not meant to hold an adult's weight—not even an adult as small as my friend. That was a dangerous chance she took.

Oddball ideas

Parents are always tempted to do crazy things to get some sleep, but they need to weigh whether or not sleep is more important than their child's safety. Had the crib collapsed, both mother and child might have been injured. This is not an acceptable risk to take. Please think twice before you consider an oddball idea in relation to childcare.

The other reason this was a bad idea was that my friend, once ensconced in the crib beside her baby, could not climb out without waking him. She was stuck there until such time as her infant awoke. Imagine, too, just how difficult it was for her to get out of the crib. There couldn't have been much room for her to maneuver about. This story illustrates how far a mother will go to get some sleep. It also serves as an example of the way desperation breeds creative ideas!