I'm often asked how we are able to have three small children sleep in the same room. For the most part, it has gone extremely well...better than I anticipated a year ago. But, nighst like tonight...I wonder. You see, not every night, or nap time, is perfect. Most nights all three sleep peacefully. Most nights if one wakes up crying (or throwing up), the others are disturbed very little. Most nights I can walk in and remedy the situation rather quickly (except of course if someone throws up, that takes some time you know)...but tonight, tonight was not one of those nights.
Almost every night for the past week, Nathan has been waking up in the middle of night and crying for close to an hour. Some nights I let him whimper in the crib off and on and I stand outside the door ready for action if I'm truly needed. Tonight, Nate screamed....and screamed...and screamed. You know...the kind that even when picked up, they are still screaming. I told him I wasn't going to feed him....but I gave in. Mostly because I heard Hannah trying to talk to me through her sleepy daze. Tonight, she did not peacefully sleep on. Tonight she was bothered. And, tonight, she caused a bit of a ruckus too. Not once, not twice, but three times I had Nathan settled and so I quickly laid him back down and snuck out of the room, and she began to call out. "Good night!". "Good Night!!", "GOOD NIGHT!", which of course forced me to peak my head in and say goodnight, inducing a brand new set of wails from Nathan, and being forced back to square one.
So, no, it's not always perfect. They don't always sleep peacefully through their cries. Sometimes, even most of the time they do. But some nights....some nights just don't go that well.
Even still, I like it that they all share a room. Those, crying sleepless nights are quickly forgotten and the mornings I wake up to silly laughter are the ones I hope to remember. The mornings when the girls are playing peek-a-boo with Nathan. The mornings when they are quietly building a fort together, with Nate watching on. The mornings they are reading together or singing and jumping and dancing together. Those are the moments I hope to remember, and the moments that I believe will be a foundation of bonding and love between these three siblings. Yes, even tonight, I like that they all share a room...for now.
3 comments:
lol I still am flabbergasted as to how you do it!
Sometimes I catch Nicole plugging her ears with her fingers :-)
That's encouraging to hear! You guys are proof that it can truly work! :) That's so sweet about them giggling and playing peek-a-boo. They'll remember those moments for years to come.
We talked to someone recently who had just built a house and just had their 2nd baby. They said they were done having kids b/c they didn't want to build a bigger house. What in the world!?!? Where does this mentality come from that the kids have to have they're own rooms? Bunk beds! Hello!?!? If anything, they're probably taking something very precious away from their kids instead of treating them to their own room. Oh well. Kudos Michele! You're doing great!
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