Krishna Foster cosleeps, too
On her 2-mattress floor bed, Monty Don contact naps, and the secret snack drawer
Krishna Foster (mid-30s) lives near the historic steam train in Leighton Buzzard, England. She works in HR for the charity sector and supports new parents as a breastfeeding peer supporter on Instagram. She has two young children, is a nature lover, vegetarian cook, and deep-thinker. She cosleeps, too.
Family bedroom — My husband and I sleep next to one another, with our one year old daughter next to me. Our son, who’s five and a half years old, sleeps on a single bed right beside us. We've coslept with both babies since birth and wouldn't have it any other way.
We try to keep our bedroom a calm space, with plants and essential oils burning. We bought a mesh bed rail to separate the kids safely and wooden slats to go under the floor mattresses so that they can breathe.
Family bed ─ We love using wool pillows and quilts from Woolroom to have a less toxic space and it really supports a good night's sleep. It also helps regulate temperature for me, who wants to be warm, and my husband who likes it cooler.
The family bed currently consists of a king-sized mattress next to a single, with a mesh gate in-between. This means our daughter is in the cuddle curl with me and has the gate next to her so that big brother doesn't roll over into our bed. Dad is usually the one slowly being tipped towards the edge of the mattress.
Setup — The setup has continually evolved since our son was born, and now with our daughter too. He has always been in our bed with a sidecar attached, which he used more as he grew and wanted space. We then went back into all sharing a bed when we moved in with my in-laws briefly. And once we had our own place, and little sister had arrived, we added the extra mattress so that we could all snuggle together in a big bed in the same room.
I always send a prayer up of gratitude when I slide into bed and can hear all of my favourite people breathing a peaceful sleep.
I hadn't really considered our sleeping arrangements, to be honest, even though I coslept with my mother until I was 10. My friend thankfully gave me Sarah Ockwell-Smith’s The Gentle Sleep Book which informed me on what was biologically normal infant sleep. So when our son was happiest sleeping next to me, I felt confident trusting my instincts. It also really supported our breastfeeding journey.
Skincare ─ I love baths but sadly don't have a tub in this house, so my showers are usually rushed whilst hiding away from the many people searching for me in the house — that's just the season we're in at the moment. But I do create time to cleanse my skin at the end of the day, my favourite is Facetheory; sustainable, cruelty free and effective.
Style ─ Last summer I found a new favourite style with cropped tops and high waisted trousers and loose cardigans — I felt very comfortable whilst being put together. My favourite bras are Molke, which support breastfeeding and are a soft cotton. They don’t have an underwire but give great lift.
I always wear neckbeads made from Tulsi, a plant that's sacred to Hare Krishnas, and gold earrings and rings. It feels like a little bit of an everyday luxury.
Contact Naps ─ I have my kindle on hand for contact naps, so I can read one handed and in the dark. And I've just started The Seven Sisters series, I'm enjoying it so far. When my daughter was younger I also loved binge watching wholesome shows like Gardeners' World, Gogglebox, and Sort Your Life Out.
I need to have some hydration, so a big bottle of water or a spicy chai with fresh ginger. I love scrolling through vinted and finding some pre-loved bargains for the family. And when I just want to shut off, I enjoy watching some funny reels, (which my husband has no doubt sent me.)
Motto — Rebels get results.
Meals ─ Dinner at home is a family affair, usually my husband is playing with the kids whilst I cook and then they help to set up the table. We all sit together and ask each other how our day was, a tradition I wanted to start so our kids had a space to express themselves.
We are a vegetarian household due to our religious beliefs, so we don't consume any meat, fish, or eggs. I've been eating this way since birth, so I can skim-read ingredients real fast and with the boom of vegan options, we aren't hard done by, but we are big foodies and at home we mainly cook from scratch.
I grew up with a Hindu-based diet, so lots of rice, dahl and vegetables. My personal favourite is Italian food and a traditional Brazilian rice and feijão (which is my nationality).
I really love cooking nutritious and delicious meals, but I don't get hung up on everything being from scratch. On Fridays we have family film night, and it's pizza and chips.
We want to pass on a healthy relationship with food to our kids, so we discuss how some foods are more nutrient-dense than others, but I don't like to label anything as “junk.”
Being a parent means every week or day looks different, and so some nights I've cooked something well thought out and for others I'm making it up as I go along.
Community — This is the first home we've owned where we have a little garden, and we have a steam train track near by, which runs on the weekends. We love taking the kids into the woods and exploring nature together; it's our happy place. One of our favourite spots is Rushmere Country Park where we have woodlands and heathlands to ramble in. We get to make up a variety of games, collect treasures to craft with later, and we all feel much calmer after being in the fresh air.
I'm fortunate to have dear friends I'm parenting alongside. I love meeting up with them in big groups, in an open space, where all our kids can run around and play together, where we can maybe chat a little whilst sipping a cuppa.
Staying connected ─ I met my husband at university and we had our ankles tied together for a three legged treasure hunt for day one intros. That was very fortunate because he's reserved and I'm outgoing and it meant we were forced together and bonded instantly. We got married on our nine-year anniversary, which was followed the year after by the birth of our son. Four years later, our daughter arrived.
We love a simple life, enjoying making an adventure of the simple pleasures of the everyday.
My husband and I love comedies, and we are currently re-watching Parks and Rec, Brooklyn 99, and Schitt’s Creek. We have a snack drawer which we bring out onto the couch when the kids are in bed so we can have a nice selection of nibbles as we giggle together.
Career ─ I work in HR for the charity sector, which brings a lot of fulfillment. I need to have a balance between my work and home life, recently reducing my hours has worked well for our childcare needs, but also so that I can manage juggling everything without my mental health suffering. I'm fortunate to work from home, with grandparents here minding them, and so I get to see a lot of my kids. What a blessing!
After a traumatic induction birth with my son, I became a birth nerd and started my Instagram page to share the research and information I was finding out about the systems in place and to support other families to hopefully not suffer the same traumas. It's been a beautiful way to connect with others and have such valuable conversations. I recently freebirthed my daughter at home, which was very healing, and it was all the internal work as well as research that got me there.
Becoming a parent has forced me to unlearn so much which society pushes onto parents (usually to the detriment of us and our kids). I trained as a breastfeeding peer supporter and fueled a passion for supporting new parents. Parenting my sweet babes has definitely grown my patience, resilience, emotional intelligence and my view of the world, which is now a lot more compassionate.
Be sure to follow Krishna on Instagram and thank her for sharing a glimpse of her beautiful life with us!