I’ve mentioned before that Donnie and I are not super sleep-compatible. He likes to fall asleep watching TV and I like it dark and quiet. He tends to be a sleep-cuddler whereas I have a distinct sleep bubble and if you so much as BREATHE on me in your sleep I wake up pissed off. So, when Nikki went through her “I want Mom to lay down with me” phase I willingly obliged because then I could go to sleep in the quiet and darkness like I loved and Nikki never tried to cuddle with me in her sleep. Then, as time went on, I realized that my back MUCH preferred her few-years-old mattress to our decade-old mattress. At this point Donnie and I agreed that we’d buy a new mattress when we moved so that maybe I could one day enjoy sleeping in our room again.
And then we never moved and Donnie was still sleeping on that beat up mattress.
Well, as Nikki is getting past the phase where she HAS to have me in bed with her, I kinda miss sleeping next to the man I married so I suggested that maybe…MAYBE…we get the new mattress before we move and just use our old bed to stage E’s room better as it currently housed an air mattress that had 14 leaks in it.
Long story short? LAST WEEK WE BOUGHT A NEW BED!
We downsized to a Queen since that’s kinda the motif in our lives lately, downsizing. The lady at the mattress store made us lay down in a King and a Queen memory foam mattress a few times on the floor so we really understood the difference. You know, because it’s a complicated concept. We still stuck to downsizing and Donnie picked out the mattress as my only opinion was: EVERYTHING IN THIS STORE IS BETTER. We had it delivered and I’ve been sleeping in it almost every night and it’s been GLORIOUS. We read a few reviews on Review.org to try and find which mattress would be best and I’m so happy with the one we chose: Puffy. Donnie is watching TV on his phone with headphones so the light/sound is minimal and his subconscious seems to have gotten used to being alone in bed because he doesn’t try to cuddle while he’s sleeping. IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL. I used to think we’d just always been the couple that couldn’t sleep together since we just don’t fit well as sleepers, but an extended time without and we seem to have settled into a good rhythm where it works again. AND I HAVE A NEW MATTRESS AND I LOVE IT DEARLY.
I’m still periodically laying down with Nikki and Wes at night but I’m waking up soon after they fall asleep and rolling back into my own bed where I seem to now officially sleep better. It’s amazing what a new mattress can do for your soul. And your back.
It’s the little things that make life grand! I must ask where you got your mattress because I’m about to be in the market for a new one.
I heart this post! I have had kids sleeping with ME in the master bedroom for 10 years now and Manoj sleeps in the spare room (aka Anjali’s room) with whichever kid isn’t sleeping with me.
Manoj and I also are not sleep compatible and I am worried as the time ticks down to us sleeping together. He is a “turns off the light, rolls over and zzzzz” kind of sleeper. I am a “pops a melatonin, reads for at least 10 minutes and prays that sleeps takes me over”.