My Idea of Happiness: Sleeping arrangements for toddler & infant

Of all the things on my mind when Cal and I found out we were expecting #2, the most pressing was: how will we sleep?

And I don't mean, of what quality or quantity... I literally mean, how? Where? In what arrangement?

I'm a huge lover of bed sharing. There is no easier way to raise a newborn than nursing, laying down, in your own bed. It requires almost no effort, although please read up on safety suggestions!

That being said, our support of co-sleeping extended much further than we thought with dear Oliver and it became that he was welcome to choose between his own bed in his room, or ours, every night.

So with a new one coming I had to think out the logistics. A newborn can't safely sleep beside a toddler. I don't want to move his bed gate to our bed and have one of them sleep on the outside because then there's no gate on his own bed when he uses it. And don't I want to sleep beside my husband? And will anyone get enough sleep!

The solution; a side car co-sleeper! It was lent to me by a friend. It attaches beside my side of the bed and allows Dakota to have her own sort-of crib-ish space that's close enough to pull off middle-of-the-night nursing sessions from. This opens up Oliver's chance to climb in when desired. And leaves me sleeping beside my man! Win-win-win-win.

Other hilarious arrangements include:

1. All four of us in our room but with Oliver exactly on top of me.

2. Dakota and I in Oliver's bed, and him with dad my bed (on grumpy baby nights, for max sleeping)

3. The opposite: boys there, girls in the big bed.

4. Mom with both kids, dad rocking solo (big day at work the next morning, not feeling well, just happened that way, etc)

And of course,

5. Mom, dad, Dakota together. Oliver out for a slumber party.

Here's how it looks:

Our bedroom. A queen plus a side car.