Is that a sack of potatoes? Nope, just a kid sleeping in the shopping cart . . .

I was just reading another website I frequent, and someone was saying how their kids (preschoolers) go to sleep on their own, in their own beds. The mom had worked on this since they were born (putting them in their own bed, putting them down while they were still awake, etc). But, she says she wonders if the joke is on her because her kids won't sleep anywhere but in their own beds (not even in the car), meanwhile she sees other kids sleeping while their moms shop/eat out, etc.

I admit: I'm the mom with the sleeping toddler in the shopping cart.


Since before he was born, Mike and I had decided that we didn't want our kid to have a dyed-in-the-wool, can never be changed schedule. Our lifestyle isn't 'scheduled'. Although I'm a very organized, list-making maniac (I make lists of lists I have to make), overall our life is pretty much a crapshoot. haha We like to go out to a late dinner and go grocery shopping around 9 or 10 pm some nights. We like to sleep late and have lazy mornings. I like to pick up and go out to lunch/shopping/for a walk in the park on a whim.

We have always dragged J along with us. He can sleep through the dog barking, kids screaming, and the phone ringing while sleeping in the car, in his stroller, in his own bed, or even in a shopping cart. We rarely plan around naptimes or bedtimes. J just sleeps when he's tired. Some days we sleep in until 10a.m, other days we are up at 7a.m. Some days we have breakfast at 11a.m., sometimes it's at 8a.m. Sometimes we go to bed at 1 a.m., but most of the time it's 9ish.

J goes with the flow and is a happy, healthy child. It has worked for us, although I know other people think I'm crazy for not having a schedule (they've even said so!!). One mom I know who asked for advice on how to get a baby on a schedule. I told her I wasn't a good person to ask! lol However, she did become a scheduled mom and it works for her and her child wonderfully.

HOWEVER (here's the disclaimer), I would like J to put himself to sleep in his own bed without me laying with him. But someday he will. For now, I'll enjoy laying with him and snuggling while he dozes off into dreamland.