Out In The Open

How a tiny human can push two adults out of bed

The ups and downs of sharing your bed with your baby
If your baby prefers your bed to their crib, you might find yourself without much room to sleep. (Mark Evans )

Many nights, Nathan Loberg wakes up on the edge of the bed.

On the other side of the double bed is his wife, Victoria. And taking up all of the space in the middle is their five-month-old son, Odran.

"I think I just have gotten good at keeping myself precariously balanced on that edge. I definitely don't feel like I'm getting as much of my bed as I used to."

Victoria puts her sleep situation more bluntly.

"[Odran] kicks me all the time. He kicked me when I was pregnant, and now I'm not pregnant and he's continued to kick me repeatedly. So I definitely feel pushed out."

Victoria and Nathan have tried to transition Odran to his crib, but he still prefers sleeping with them.

"As soon as teething starts and things like that, there's gonna be times when he just wants to be around us. And leaving a baby to deal with that doesn't seem to be the fair thing to do," says Nathan.

"Which is fair," agrees Victoria, "But I will say I miss Nathan. Sometimes I do look across the bed over our son and look at him and think, Ah. I remember when it was us. Just us."