Can we just be roomies?

While co-sleeping is popular, it can be risky for the baby. And so, doctors recommend room sharing

- Anuja Susan Varghese

It was a standard 2am wake-up call. I blinked and squinted at the clock, as I began the instinctive mid-sleep search for the warm, swaddled bundle that was supposed to be tucked safely beside me.

My hand hit empty sheets.

Panic struck! I sat bolt upright, only to find her at the other end of the bed. It was a relatively large bed—about six feet wide—and luckily, it was pushed against the wall. She was only about three months old then, and I never imagined a human that small was capable of inchworming her way across the bed as if in a cross-country race.

Sleep was her absolute priority from day one. I would often pause and stay still for hours after she finally drifted off, terrified that even a twitch would ruin the hard-won silence. I am sure mothers everywhere curse the noise that leaves their little ones' sleep ruined.

Don't even get me started on the aunties who would just turn up to wake them up—“She has been sleeping for too long, hasn't she? It is okay to wake her now.” Uff!