We are debating all of the sleeping arrangements in our house. We have three bedrooms. Currently, Calvin & Patrick share and Titus has been sleeping in the guest room (his main crib is in their room but that isn't working). I think we are going to trade beds with my parents and let them use our guest queen and we'll use one of their twins.
We have been debating whether to just put Titus in that room or whether to separate the boys and put one of them with Titus and give the other one his own room. You see, bed time has not been fun lately - the boys keep each other up, get out of bed, and just generally aren't minding very well. BUT when we put them in separate rooms, everything is way better. We really want them to be successful in the obedience and sleep departments and we truly want bedtime to be a positive, good time.
Since we aren't moving any time soon, we have to come up with a new plan. So I think (as much as this pains me), we are going to have to give up having a dedicated guest room. We love having overnight company but the reality is that this is the house God has given us (we really do like it - we just built it before kids! :)) and we need to make it work the best that we can for our family. We will still have a hide-a-bed and an air mattress and an extra twin bed but it won't be quite the same. :)
Now we have to determine who goes in what room. I'm excited to see how these changes (and the new black out curtains) will work to improve bed times, nap times, and even cleaning. I'm sure that some day they may be able to share a room again, but I really think this will be the best way to make things better and to give them success.
On another note, Titus has been sleeping MUCH better. We've been able to drop the late night bottle - he has a bottle right at bedtime (between 8 and 9) and then he has been sleeping until 5:30 or 6. This is truly amazing! I'm not ready to say it's a permanent change yet, but it has been great for the past week or so. Maybe it will stick!
8 comments:
We have the same situation...3 kids in 2 rooms (with a baby coming in July). Our 8 yo daughter has her own room, while my 5yo boy and 3 yo boy share a bedroom. We stagger their bedtimes. Because the 3yo still naps, he stays up until 8, while our 5 yo goes to bed at 7:30. That way, Alex is asleep by the time Drew goes in...so Drew doesn't keep his brother up. You could try this and have the boys take turns having an extra 15-30 minutes with Mom and Dad every other night...with the one going to bed first understanding that 1. he will get his turn to stay up tomorrow night and 2. his brother won't be coming to bed until he's asleep (eliminating the urge to stall...because then his brother just gets to stay up longer). Then, when the routine is set, you could always add Titus to the rotation. Just an idea that has worked for us! It may or may not for you!
We're having a similar dilemma. Right now Hannah and Jack share a room at night, but they keep each other up, wake each other up too early, and so on. At night Sarah sleeps in the pack and play in the guest room. Then for naps Hannah is in the room by herself, Jack is in the guest room pack and play, and Sarah is on a blanket on the floor in our room (which is not working that well anymore now that she rolls). This is further complicated by the fact that we never found a good twin mattress for Hannah so she's on the extra crib mattress and the crib we borrowed from the Enas family is sitting empty with no mattress...the whole arrangement truly pains my need for order and organization!!!
What kind of blackout curtains did you get? Did you order them online or find them somewhere local?
Good luck sorting out sleeping places!
Glad to hear Titus is sleeping better. We are giving up our guest room as well when #3 comes home. Oh well! :) I hope the new arrangements help!
Oh my goodness! We are in a similar situation with our house. We built our house before we had kids and we are completely out of room. We had to give up our only guest room and, to our surprise, the kids love sleeping on the air mattress when we have company. So far, it's worked out just fine. I hope it works for you too. I hope your little guy continues to sleep through the night :)
Hey Catherine - we are ordering them from Menards. They have a variety of styles - some starting around $2 and you give them your window measurements. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the suggestions Erica!
Whew...between Catherine's diaper explosions, your bedtime snags, and our problem with potty training (or not really) while on the road I swear there must be something going on in the air or a full moon or something! Hope you are able to figure things out. We have had to stall plans for more family members for the same reason. 2 adults and 2 babies would be too much for our little 2 bedroom house.
I feel your pain because we have gone through similar battles with kids that wake each other up and won't sleep! I can see how giving up a guest bedroom would be hard but I think you'll be really glad you did it!!
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