I’ve taken to sleeping on the couch for almost a year now. It sounds crazy even to me. I do make it to my own bed from time to time, but it never seems to go well.
It all started because sleep is vital, and by the third kid, and our thousandth disaster, whatever it took to get everyone to sleep is what we did. So when our youngest got to sleep the fastest and with the least fuss in our bed, we let her.
While she may be getting too old by normal standards, life has been tough enough. If snuggling with her dad helps her sleep, that’s fine (even if it is trying).
This has driven me to the couch. I can’t settle with her in my room. In my space. Not most nights (some nights I do cuddle with her). I also don’t sleep well and have trouble waking up with everyone in the bed.
The other morning my husband fussed that he kept waking up because I was so hot and sweaty. One of the few nights I had made it to bed and he had terrible sleep.
As I thought about it all, I realized I’ve been sleeping on the couch because my night sweats are disturbing everyone. If I sleep alone, they don’t bother me at all.
Sure, I wake up to add or subtract layers according to my ever changing internal thermostat, but I go straight to sleep with no guilt about disturbing anyone else.
So, I guess I do have night sweats as part of my perimenopause, but it’s not bothering me!
The Accidental Domestic Goddess 