Keira has always had her own bed. Even before we started using the crib in her room, she slept in a little Moses basket that we kept by our bedside. Although neither of us ever formally discussed it, Felix and I somehow decided against the "family bed" concept. I suppose we felt it was important from the very beginning to give our tiny munchkin her independence.

Well, she's certainly independent.

When we went to LA in September, we stayed at the Lin's house. With one big bed to share, we felt it would be best to let Keira sleep between us, just so there would be no chance of her rolling off.

It was awful. Just awful.

Our every little movement would disturb Keira's sleep, and her tiny movements would disturb ours. The first night, we plunked her down exactly in the middle of the bed. Bad idea. Since Keira sleeps on her side, Felix hardly had any room and fell victim to Keira's tiny pokes and kicks. The next evening, we placed her a little off center, and I agreed to sleep with Keira facing me instead. Another bad idea. Sometime during the night, my arm must have fallen across her body. I was blearily awoken by an unhappy baby, beating my forearm with tiny little fists and pummelling my torso with tiny little feet. I mumbled my apologies, and the two of us grumpily fell back to sleep. Night after night, it was chaotic and exhausting. I vowed never to use family bed agin.

I think I've already talked about parental vows; you should never make them. Sure enough, I found myself looking at my adorable daughter last week, and after our usual morning routine, I felt an overwhelming urge to put her down for a nap with me. Picture it - mommy and daughter snuggled up together under the covers. Doesn't that sound wonderfully sweet? I thought so. I laid Keira down on the bed facing me and pulled the soft blankets up over us. We smiled at each other, and she cooed quietly, absolutely melting my heart. I gently closed my eyes and held her while we fell asleep. No, I'm sorry - I mean while I tried to fall asleep.

Once Keira realized that this was it, she got mad. Up popped her tiny little fists, pounding on my nose and grabbing at my hair. She churned her legs and wanted absolutely nothing to do with my precious mommy-daughter moment. Dismayed, I tried to calm her down. I whispered to her that I loved her, that I felt sleepy, that I was hoping to take a lovely nap with my beautiful baby. No, NO, NO!

Finally, I gave in and threw back the covers. I reluctantly picked up my squirming sweetheart and carried her back downstairs to her room, laying her down in her crib. I swear - she let out a huge sigh of relief, turned on her side, and immediately closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Me? I trudged back upstairs and climbed back into bed alone, reluctantly accepting that parenthood visions are not always the same as parenthood realities. Another lesson learned.