Room Sharing

I just put the kids to sleep in the same room for the first time…. I’m looking at pictures of them to remind myself how wonderful they are just in case this ends badly.

Emily getting married with her veil in place.  When I asked if I could take her picture she held up her flowers too.

Yesterday we built a cave which both of the kids absolutely love.  They played, actually played, together for probably an hour yesterday chasing each other around and playing peek-a-boo.  There was much squealing and laughter.  I love these moments of joy where friendship shines through and we can see we are creating something wonderful.

Putting them in the same room has been the always plan, but we were waiting until Nathan started sleeping through the night.  He is mostly there.  We have been working with Emily for months to reestablish a good routine and rules for sleeping (1. Stay in Bed, 2. Close Your Eyes, 3. Be Quiet, and 4. Go To Sleep).  Now that she has the hang of it and potty trained we are giving room sharing a go.  Too bad we forgot Andrew has a late night meeting tonight and will be home after bed time.

Today Emily helped me move her toddler bed in piece by piece and reassembled it in the office/Nathan’s room.  I also faced the reality that the door squeaks very loudly and always wakes Nathan up.  After dinner I loaded the kids up in the stroller and walked to a friend who mentioned while playing games a few weeks ago they had extra wd40.  As soon as we got home I sprayed all the hinges until the squeaking stopped and put Nathan to bed.  Emily and I went through her routine, not rushing, and then snuck her into bed.  Then put her back in bed three times after she used the bathroom, which thanks to the wd40 didn’t disturb Nathan.

Now I wait, silently, hoping that there isn’t too much screaming and waking each other tonight and the wee hours of the morning.  We are absolutely at the beginning of the sharing the room journey, but maybe it will be painless. A girl can hope.

But just in case, any tips on sharing rooms?