Three in a bed and the little one said…

…Ok, I did exaggerate a little with that title. Our living arrangements are not quite three in a bed, although our daughter, who is almost 2, does like to stage a protest, during the early hours of the morning, for her right to sleep between her mum and I.

So, we actually live in a one bed flat and Riri sleeps in a cot next to us. But I think it’s obvious where I am going with this…we need more space. Riri is groOOWing!!!! Not only are her ever increasing  possessions taking up more room, she also requires sufficient space to play and develop her independence.

This was my concern soon after we discovered that my wife was pregnant. What impact would living in a one bed flat have on the development of our daughter and on us as a family? The usual advice and guidance offered by various parenting websites is that babies can sleep in a cot in their own room from the recommended age of 6 months. Knowing that this wasn’t going to be the case for us increased my ever growing feelings of anxiety. I also started to develop feelings of guilt believing that I had failed my daughter. I remember during the early months of pregnancy,  searching phrases such as, ‘living in a 1 bed flat with a new born’ and waiting anxiously for the responses that followed. Thankfully, my findings did not leave me with the feelings of dread, which I’ve experienced many a time when trying to self-diagnose via Google and I’m pleased to say that it didn’t take as long for me to accept that there is no such thing as the ‘perfect father’ than it did for me to realise that I’m not a Doctor!

I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the many positive experiences many people in our situation have had. ‘Many’ being the operative word as it highlighted the fact that we were not the only ones in this position and this gave me some much needed comfort and relief, as well as going a long way in helping me to alleviate some of the guilt I carried.

What I developed was a new found appreciation for the fact that we have somewhere to call home and what was most important is that our daughter is happy! Mind you, I also picked up some excellent tips for creatively using our space. I’ll write about that soon enough!

xx

DCas