I'd like to tell you that the only reason I co-sleep with my son is because it's beneficial for him. In fact, it would probably be easy to convince people that's true. Co-sleeping helped my son regulate his body temperature directly after he was born (doctors had us skin-to-skin the first night of his life) so I could say, "It helped him, so I continued" and most would buy it. I'd be lying, though. I co-sleep because it's freakin' easy, you guys. So. Easy. Sure, there are co-sleeping moments that prove I'm a hot mess mom, but those co-sleeping moments also help me get more sleep, stay in bed longer and genuinely assist me in having a somewhat easier start to a day I can only assume will turn into a complete disaster (you know, like most of my days).
These days, I'm all about effortless efficiency. If I can do something without exerting too much energy, that still accomplishes what I need to accomplish, I'm all about it. That's co-sleeping, dear reader. My son will fall asleep quicker and sleep longer if he can kick his mother in the face, apparently, so I'll take a few shots and deal with some (read: a lot) of pee-stained sheets if it means I can have five more minutes of sleep in the morning. How else am I going to deal with working a full time job and dealing with a tantrum-throwing 2-year-old son and make it to my favorite Chinese takeout restaurant in time (again) for another late-night dinner, if I have to wake up seventeen times in the middle of the night because my kid sleeps in the other room? Yeah, that's not the name of my parenting game, my friends. I want easy. I want smart. I want, you know, unconsciousness.
So, while I can't deny the many benefits co-sleeping provides my son, I also can't deny that — because Im a proud and rather shameless hot mess mom — co-sleeping just makes more sense for me. Personally, if it's going to help me make my way through a particularly trying day (or just a day in which I forget something my son needs or I'm running late to another appointment or I'm finally realizing I've spent all day with my three-day-old yoga pants on backwards), I'm all about it. So, you know, hot mess co-sleeping moms unite. There's a support group for us, right?