March 10, 2014

In Their Room


After all of the dreaming and planning for a shared room, I was starting to get cold feet. Our baby is so good natured, but sleep seems to be the one area where she just won't go easy on us. In the last few weeks she began to wake more and more and settle with less and less ease... I felt like she was being disrupted being in our room, but was totally chicken to move her in with her brother and risk messing with his impeccable sleep record. 

I spent the better part of an afternoon rearranging our tiny office (formerly Little Smith's nursery and before that, my closet) to accommodate a travel bed and a rocking chair. I tried to make it cozy and imagined it would be her nursery for at least a few months, until she learned to sleep more consistently. In the back of my mind I started planning for a more permanent nursery and puzzling over where we could realistically house all of our work materials if this whole shared room thing went south. I just couldn't imagine Little Smith coping with the baby night noises that had been keeping me awake for all these months.

After two nights of near sleeplessness (she was a disaster in her own little room), I just impulsively decided to try her in the shared room with her brother... and like magic, she slept through the night. It's been nearly a week, and while she is still often waking at least once,she is sleeping better than she ever has before. They both seem to be truly comfortable together.

Of course I am giddy that they are in one shared space now. I dreamed of a roommate when I was a child, and honestly it is one of the best perks of marriage for me, to have my best friend beside me when the lights go out. I know our baby's sleep is likely to get worse before it gets better, but I am hoping we can work through the rough spots with them in the same space from here on out. It's my dream come true, from way back when I slept long enough to dream.

7 comments:

  1. That is so nice, I´m sure she feels calm by hearing him breathing during the night. Love the room as well, so well put together! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I definitely enjoyed obsessing over the room during my nesting phase ;)

      Delete
  2. What a great space for them, Lilly. It is so playful and fun! I do hope it continues to go well for you- I'm willing to bet that if it is working now, it will continue to work, especially since they are both so young. Milo and Oliver share a room and honestly sleep better this way. Though we've found that when Milo is not there for any reason, Oliver is really scared without him!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am really hoping that it just keeps working out. I have no idea what our strategy will be for sleep with R because she is sooo different than W was. I'm not sure I can bear to let her cry at all... but we shall see. That's sweet that Oliver is scared without Milo, probably not so convenient when it happens, but still sweet!

      Delete
  3. so sweet. My girls share a room and now Naomi wants Verity in the same bed with her. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha yes Melissa, my son totally wants the baby in his bed too :) It's a cute idea, but no dice!

      Delete
  4. this room looks amazing. I think we mammals like to sleep with others near by. My seven and nine year olds have separate bedrooms (a boy and a girl), but they almost always chose to sleep together on the trundle bed in Gus's room. It kind of melts me.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.