It started BEFORE kids.

Yesterday morning our oldest dog, Phoebe was being super lovey. Phoebe was my first baby. She has been with me since she was 7.5 weeks old and has been with me through all sorts of ups and downs.
Mairead had asked why she was being so loving, and I said "because she loves her mamma". I explained to her that Phoebe was my first baby. She was with me when I bought my first house at 23, when I met daddy, when I got engaged with Daddy, when we got married, when our four babies were born - Phoebe was there. She has moved to Virginia, to Maine and back to Virginia again. She has been there.

I also told Mairead that Phoebe used to sleep with me in bed. That's right, I didn't follow any of the dog "experts" when they said don't let your dog sleep in bed with you. I guess nothing has changed, has it, whether it is with kids or dogs. Phoebe used to sleep on daddy's side of the bed. Mairead says "On daddy's pillow?" - Yes. On Daddy's pillow.

Before we had a bed full of kids, Phoebe used to jump up in bed once daddy left early for work. She'd go right back up to her pillow as if she was reclaiming her spot.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I guess I started co-sleeping with my babies well before I even had human children. It just felt right - even with a dog. I felt sad for Phoebe when she was a puppy. I was a stranger to her and this stranger had just taken her away from her brothers and sisters. She cried at night because she missed them and her home, and I felt guilty, so in my bed she came. And we both were happy.

And do you know what - at 8.5, Phoebe now sleeps in her own bed, just like a big girl :)