Big kid beds

We have [finally] graduated from the cribs and moved the twins into big kid beds — and to sharing a room. This was the plan from the start. But with their very different developmental stages in those early days, and the different sleep patterns that came with those differences, we ended up having them in separate bedrooms and splitting up so we could each be in with one. 

And while they still aren’t consistently sleeping through the night, we decided at Christmas that it was time to take the plunge and move them in together. We figured it could be absolute torture, or it could be about the same as it is now, but it wasn't going to get any easier so we might as well do it. 

So far, 10 days into it, the results have been mixed. But the room looks great, and they LOVE all the space for playing.

The new big kids room, where all three kids love to play
and someday (maybe) the twins will love to sleep.

We got everything set up first thing in the morning, so the kiddos could take their naps in the new beds/new room. Disastrous nap times are much easier to deal with than disastrous bed times. Veronica fell asleep pretty quickly, but Colin chatted for an hour before John finally got him to sleep. Unfortunately, he woke up when Veronica did. So she got a normal nap; his was only about half an hour.

That night, Colin was the super chatter again. Only this time, he also enjoyed the freedom that came with a toddler bed, and occasionally sprang up, flung the bedroom door open, and came out of the room calling “Mommy!” I think it took about an hour and a half to finally get him to sleep. Since then, however, they’ve done a good job about staying in their beds and falling asleep relatively quickly and quietly. 

It’s the middle of the night and the early mornings that are causing the problems now. Unfortunately, this pattern is the same as what we experienced when they were in separate rooms, so I don’t see a solution anywhere in the near future. John and I take turns sleeping in the room with them right now, so at least we’re able to get a night of somewhat uninterrupted sleep every other night. 

Veronica “sleeping” in her new bed.

Colin “sleeping” in his new bed.
(He actually does sleep almost sideways like that.)

On a side note, we now suspect that Colin might be lactose intolerant. We have been giving him soy milk for the past several weeks, and his digestive problems seem to be better. John introduced a little milk to his diet again on Sunday, and Sunday night was a very bad night for our little boy again. So we’ll be talking to the pediatrician today at our 2.5 year appointment about getting testing done. 

It’s always something, isn’t it?