Ask Sherry Anything: This is my secret for traveling light with a child

You asked, and I am answering every Friday once I have enough questions!

You can ask any question using the form here.

How about getting your child to sleep on his own? Sounds like it’s about time.

I want to.. and I don’t. The little secret I have is that I’ve realized that it isn’t that bad all the time.

It’s only once in a while that he constantly wakes me up and drives me up the wall, but lately, ever since I have MADE IT A POINT to come home and force him out to the park, the pool, or to run him HARD, he has slept perfectly fine. (Or if he went to school that day).

I also.. sort of love having him there too.

It’s so weird but when I was with my partner and we didn’t have Baby Bun, I wasn’t able to sleep without a warm body beside me. I felt so cold and alone in my bed.

It’s the same sort of thing. If my partner isn’t in bed, I can’t sleep well. I don’t feel like the family is safe and complete.

If Baby Bun isn’t in bed with me, I feel.. strange now. Awkward even. Sure I’d sleep more, but … would I really?

I love sort of having this little bundle of warm cuddly soft baby-ness in the crook of my body.

I love waking up to see him look like a perfect little angel, perfect little lips, sleeping with his super long, jealousy-inducing eyelashes fluttering across his cheeks.

I even love some days when he wakes up, crawls on me, and says: Mommy? Pease get up!

So.. maybe not quite yet. Maybe when he’s older and more annoying and not super cute with still dimples on his little tiny chubby hands, and the cutest little kissable cheeks ever.

Will you be posting about how you managed to pack so light for yourself and Baby Bun for your trip to Europe?

Yes. In short, I packed very little in way of clothes for both of us (more for him than myself), and did a LOT of laundry. I also made prudent decisions not to bring things like a laptop along (just a small mini iPad this time), and my partner carried the chargers for both of us.

Have to get on this with something more detailed. I made a huge long checklist for himself and myself and have yet to turn this into a post.

Thanks for checking in.. stayyyy…tuuuunnnneeed! I promise I will do this.

Could you share what mascara you use? I’m looking for one that works reasonably well, is good for allergy prone eyes and doesn’t cost a fortune. Thanks.

Any one that comes for free for 100 points at Sephora. I am still working through the stash, and am currently on Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes Mascara which is fine.

The one go-to brand I have used however is L’Oreal.

Don’t need to spend a fortune. It’s mascara.

It gets tossed every 3 months, and each time you take it out of the tube, the oxygen gets in, and degrades it a little until it becomes clumpy and unusable and full of bacteria.

My go-to brand once these free ones are done, is the L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara — in any of the reiterations they have, from Million Lashes to Original.

What happened to you sex life after having a kid? Doesn’t co-sleeping with your kid make it harder to have one?

Everybody thinks and says this, but no. Not at all.

Even without co-sleeping with him, I doubt those parents have time either, always wondering if they’ll wake up early from their nap, or if they’ll come out of the bedroom just after being tucked in, asking for a drink of water.

Same problems, I daresay.

We have plenty of chances when he is napping (still 2 hours), and we also both wake up early (5 a.m.) AND can go to sleep later if we choose to if we’re in the mood. I just don’t talk about it in detail in my Week of Money posts, as there are SOME things that should still be kept somewhat private between yourself and your partner.

Plus, we have a second bedroom with a bed in it and my partner very prudently put a lock on it, so even if he wakes up, we have time to get dressed.

As he gets older, and older we will have even more time when he’s at school and we’re both at home working or whatever.

If you really want to, you can find plenty of time to have a healthy sex life.

It sort of brings to mind my friend who said her son (also my son’s age) caught them both in the middle of sex, and it traumatized them more than it did him. They’re still in therapy.

Still have a burning question?

You can ask any question using the form here and all of my previous Ask Sherry posts are here.