Sleeping Arrangements

The downstairs belongs to the kids. There is a play room and two bedrooms down there. When we moved in, I painted Reagan's room pink and brown and Lincoln's room blue. Now that we'll be moving around rooms I'm realizing how silly it is to paint/decorate so gender specific. Creating a cute nursery is so fun and lovely but really, how long are they in it?! Newborns don't even use their room anyway! This is hard because it's so fun, but I'm realizing it's not super practical....

So as the months got closer to McKinley's arrival I pondered on where I wanted to put her. I thought the logical thing was to put her in Reagan's room, two girls together, perfect. But it seems the kids had other plans. About two months ago, after putting the kids to bed, Linc started sneaking out of his room and into Reagan's bed! I would walk downstairs to see him peaking out of his door to see if the coast was clear. At the sight of me he would quickly close the door! But sure enough he would make his way over to "Gaga's bed" (what he calls Reagan). So that was that, Reagan and Lincoln are now sharing a room, sleeping in her queen sized bed. So back to my first thought about gender decorated rooms, Lincoln will be sleeping in a pink room full of princess decor, but he'll be the last to care. I can chalk it up to, it really doesn't matter.

Having Reagan and Lincoln share a room works out pretty nicely. It's easier to put them to bed when they are both together and they let us leave easier when they have each other. It is so cute seeing them sleep next to each other.

McKinley will sleep in our room for a while. I like to sleep with my babies for the first few weeks. We have a bassinet we can put next to the bed. Then we'll move her to our closet. When she gets a little bigger we'll move her down to the crib in Lincoln's room. That room is so quiet and nice for a little baby. I'm thinking once she's two we'll put her and Reagan together and let Lincoln have his room back.

Since sharing a room Reagan and Lincoln have been a little tag team. If one of them wakes up in the middle of the night they both come up. They come together. We hear them in the morning walking up the stairs, "Here they come," we say. They climb in bed with us and cuddle. Then they watch a show while we get ready. One of their favorites is Little Einstein's on Disney Junior.

They pat to the beat to make the rocket fly, "Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat!"

Reagan attached to a Ninja Turtle sheet as her blanket when she was really small. She lovingly calls it "Turts." Now Lincoln has his own Turts, the blue turtle pillow case that goes with the set. Lincoln says, "Gaga's turts, MY turts." See him cuddle it, awww.

Lincoln's at a hard stage in regards to sleeping. He still definitely needs a nap (if we go anywhere in the car mid day he will fall asleep) but is at the point where he is old even to know he doesn't want to take a nap and therefore wont go down on his own. Naps got hard when we took away his pacifier in May. Previous to that he was soooo easy to put down. Give him a pacifier, a blanket, lay him in his crib and you didn't hear a peep from him! Since we took it he was no longer content in his crib so he learned how to climb out and wont go to sleep. He'll stay in his room quietly playing and happy but wont fall asleep. So in my analness of still wanting him to get the rest he needs, I have been rocking him to sleep for his nap or letting him fall asleep in the car when we're out and he continues his nap when we get home. It takes extra effort but I've been fine with this arrangement.

But as of late, since he gets so rested from his nap he isn't as tired at night. I remember having to cut Reagan's nap, even when she would still take one, because she wouldn't go to sleep until 9:00. The problem arises that Reagan is exhausted by the end of the day, because she doesn't nap, but Lincoln is ready to laugh and play. Reagan is constantly yelling up, "Lincoln's not letting me go to sleep!" He runs his cars on the wall, plays with loud toys, and squirms around, poor Reagan. Will and I will lay down with them in attempts to get the mr. to sleep, he is so adorable! He is so cuddly and cute that you can hardly get mad at him for not going to sleep, he simply isn't tired. He puts his arm around your neck, or will put an arm underneath your head to hug you too, and says, "Love you mama."

So what to do, what to do. Eliminate his nap? Not allow him to sleep in Reagan's room so he wont keep her up? Any advice? Lincoln is 2 1/2, when have your kids stopped napping? He can still nap but is it worth it when we have to put his bed time so back? We'll be experimenting with these things over the next couple weeks. Sleep transitions are sure hard!