Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These

A partnered post with ShopNBC.

A mattress saved my marriage, people. Pretty much.

For ten whole years my husband and I slept on a double bed. It was a double bed that belonged to one of his grandparents; we’re not sure which one. Note that both those grandparents passed away before we had even met, one of them at home, in his bed. So this bed was what? Twenty? Thirty years old? At least. It was bumpy and lumpy and the unmistakable bony finger of a spring pushing into my side was a nightly treat.

Did I mention it was a double bed? And that I now have three children? Early in this latest pregnancy with Mary, my bed stopped being a place I could relax and maybe even sleep (gasp!). Instead, it was the site of kicking and pushing and wriggling as one and then two of my kids tried to squeeze into the few inches of space between Ed and myself every single morning. Even when the kids were safely tucked into their own beds, an unfortunate turn or a mistimed toss meant I’d have someone snoring directly into my ear. We were painfully aware of each other’s every kick, twitch, scratch and involuntary muscle spasm (ahem, Ed). I had taken to hugging the edge of the bed, scarcely moving at all in my sleep.

About half way through the pregnancy we stumbled across a deeply discounted, top quality, king sized mattress and box spring set. Then the heavens parted and angels sang and we all held hands and danced around the bed, swathed in pure light. Well, not exactly. We still couldn’t really afford to spend the money, but we could at least scrape together just enough. We made a split-second decision and decided to go for it. After all, pregnant with my third child, I figured there would never be a time I needed a decent bed more.

Ladies and gentlemen, that may have been the best thing we have ever done. It’s definitely top five material. Six months later, I still can’t get over how big and comfortable the mattress is. I sometimes wake up at night and I’m not even sure if Ed is in the bed. I have to prop myself up on one elbow and lean forward, reaching way out to feel that, yes, he is in bed. Living with someone for over ten years is trying enough without pissing each other off while you sleep!

And the kids. I have woken up surprised to find all three of my children lying next to me. (Surprised and alarmed since one of them is only a couple months old. “How many times do I have to tell you to keep your rock collection away from the baby?!”) The first thing we did when the bed was delivered was to lie down on it — the four of us side by side by side by side not even touching, not even close. We laughed and we laughed and, really, we’re still laughing.

Well, maybe not Colum since he’s still sleeping on one of those Ikea foam mattress things. I really should do something about that.

This post was written in partnership with ShopNBC. You can give the gift of sleep this year by
ordering one of the ever popular Serta mattresses online at sites like ShopNBC and having it
delivered anywhere in the US.