...are exhausting!

We entered a new phase Saturday when we introduced Younger Son to sleeping in a "big boy bed" in the same room as Older Son. We want them both to have plenty of time to get settled with the new arrangement before introducing the jealousy factor when the crib in the other room is occupied by the boys' new sib, who's due in August.

So far, Younger Son is OK with it. In fact, he LOVES his bed, and fortunately he's a solid sleeper to begin with. But the environment is just different enough that he's a little off his usual pattern. (The bed is in a room on the other side of the house, so the morning/evening sun he sees around the window blinds is at the "wrong" time of day.) And of course, sharing a room, when he wakes up, he wakes up his brother, who is a BEAR when anything other than his natural clock disturbs his hard-won sleep. Long story short, everyone's schedule has been messy the past couple days.

I knew that would happen, so I set out this week to get up a half hour earlier each day to capture the work time I figured I'd lose when the boys started waking each other up earlier than usual (which they have). It worked nicely on Monday, with my getting quite a lot done at once, early. But OUCH. At what cost! I've never been a morning person, and 5:30 am was nothing short of painful for me. So I cheated yesterday and today, not getting up until my husband left for work at 7:00--a full hour LATER than normal!

It's just a phase and we'll work it out, find our groove and roll with it, probably before too long considering what an easygoing kid Younger Son is. Even Older Son, the tough one, will adjust eventually. But for now, all I can think of is...YAWN.

No questions, y'all...just thought I'd share with a few folks who'd understand.

I will be going through this transition shortly, as well. We are in the process of trying to potty train my 2.5 yr old now and then make the transition to the big boy bed. He is excited about the bed, but not the potty. Any thoughts???

Hi Jen,

Advice? Hmm, I guess if I knew, I'd use it myself. "Potty training" is a joke as far as I can tell. In my experience, there's no "training." A parent can suggest and encourage it, but what it comes down to is a kid has to decide it's time for him to do it, and there isn't anything anyone can do to decide that for him. He may be physically able to control, but if he has decided he's not going to, he isn't going to. I'll PM a few details I'd rather not post.

We'll get it figured out--the bed part anyway--in the next few weeks, and when the time comes, your family will, too. It's just very tiring in the in-between. I guess I do have some advice: Persevere!

I am going to be experiencing this in about a year, I guess. Nou still sleeps with me, and that works well for us for now (I get more sleep than most moms, I think, and I'm convinced it's because she's in bed with me), but I have thought about getting her a little mattress for on the floor next to my bed so that we can start to transition a little. She is no longer nursing at night, so that will surely help... but at 20 months she is busy even in her sleep, very leggy and kicks a LOT. I find myself squished over to the edge of the king size mattress trying to escape those feet!

Hang in there AnnaLisa, it has to get better! (and I am counting on you to tell me, at some point in the not too distant future, that it does )

Once again, Tess, I have to call it as I see it--you're BRAVE!

I lasted exactly ONE night with my oldest son sleeping in our bed. That was the worst night of my life. I might have slept a half hour altogether. Even as a three-day-old baby, he was an extremely loud, active sleeper. (Now, at three-plus years old, he gets a whole lot more sleep than he used to, but he's still not quiet and still like other people--he talks aloud and "signs" with his hands frequently.) After only trying the shared bed once, we put him in the baby papasan and, two weeks later, the crib. EVERYONE was happier (and much better rested) that way. I didn't mind getting up and out of bed for nursing when I could fully sleep in between.

Funny story to share:
I've had what my husband and I jokingly call "phantom babies" ever since that one night with OS in bed with me--very vivid dreams in which I discover I've "misplaced" a baby in the bed. I will sit up and start taking the linens off to find him, or feel around until I find a face (my husband) and try to pick him up to move him to the crib, or wander the room in the dark, "looking" for the baby on the floor. I'm usually well into physical activity before I wake up--literally!--and realize I'm acting out this craziness. These dreams happened every night (and sometimes several times a night) for the first year and a half of Older Son's life. And when my second son was born--even though he NEVER slept in the bed with us--the dreams started up full-time again. I will be very surprised if I don't have them once The Sib gets here, too.

I guess it's no wonder my kids sleep fussily...clearly I gave that to them in their genes!! ut:

Wow! I have a similar experience sometimes where I wake up in the middle of the night and can't 'find' Nou, even though she is right there. I wear contacts and my night vision is REALLY bad so couple that with being spaced-out in the middle of the night and I sometimes end up in a panic until I put my hands on her. She usually sleeps curled up into me or on my arm, but when she starts moving around a lot and we lose contact I tend to experience this.

I have to admit, the cosleeping has been a great thing for our family except that Hamid now sleeps in the guest room. It was kind of a bummer at first but I find that we ALL get better sleep this way. I used to think married couples who had sep bedroom were totally nuts, but now I really get it.