Go to your room

Now, when I say that to The Boy, he can actually go to his own space. When I pregnant, I mae the worst statement a potential parent could make. I said "no kid of mine will ever sleep with me" Those of you that know me know how well that worked out. When he was born, I fought and fought to get him in his crib. I spent hours rocking, nursing and walking until he was asleep in his crib. Then, at 6 weeks old, he got RSV and ended up spending a night in the hospital. When he came home, he was still on all kinds of breathing treatments and was having trouble sleeping. We brought him in to our room so that I could monitor his breathing through the night because that was when he had the most trouble. He would sleep draped over my hip so that he could remain upright and maintain normal breathing. By the time he was better, he was 10 weeks old and I was going back to work. I spent weeks fighting with him and sleeping on an uncomfortable twin mattress in his bedroom, trying to get him back in his crib. Eventually, I gave in and just brought him back to my bed because at least it was comfortable in there. I was exhausted and I couldn't do it anymore. He slept with us until we moved into this house and we set up the second bedroom for him. I chose not to move him right away because of the stress of the move and all that. About the time I was planning to move him, RF changed jobs and started working nights and weekends, which made it really hard for him to share a room with me, because I was still keeping normal hours. I got him a big bed for the second bedroom and moved TB's bed into my room. He wanted nothing to do with sleeping in it and since it was just me and him, it wasn't as uncomfortable so I didn't push the issue.

Then I got PG with Ms Thang and decided it was time to start pushing the issue. He really wanted nothing to do with it and when MT was born, we found she slept better alone so she started sleeping in TB's bed. By the time he was 4, I decided that he simply had to sleep in his own bed and we moved the bunk beds in so MT could have the bottom and TB could have the top. He didn't like it but he eventually got used to it and has been happily sharing a room with us since then. That works well for all involved because RF still works odd hours and can't share a room with anyone else and we only have 2 bedrooms. All of a sudden, the other day he says to me "Mom, all my friends have their own rooms, I need my own room too" I told him that we didn't have room, but that in the next year we would be moving to somewhere that has more bedrooms and then he could have his own bedroom. Then I got to thinking. If I got rid of some stuff (which I was intending to do anyway) I could move things around in the dining room and block part of it off and put his bed there. It isn't a room but more of a "sleeping nook". Regardless, it is his own space and it is seperate from other people and it will work for the time being.

I measured it all up and the bed will fit in the little alcove where my desk was, minus the foot board piece. It is about 6 inches too long so I have to take that piece off but otherwise it is perfect. So today, I spent the day sorting and cleaning the stuff I'm getting rid off Then I drug it all up on to the porch to be taken to Looseyfur's for the playgroup swap in Oct (I'm taking it this week, but the swap isn't until Oct). Then I unloaded my desk and file cabinet, hauled it all across the room to where the toys used to be and set it all back up again. Tomorrow, I have to go the fabric store and buy the AWESOME Darth Vader fleece we saw to make him a privacy curtain, while RF goes to the hardware store to get a dowel rod to hang the curtain on. My mom is going to sew the curtain and then I'm going to set toy shelves in front of it so no one accidently pulls it down.

I've also been spending some time looking on the internet for noise machinces since the dining room and the living are all connected and I sit in the living room to watch TV at night. I looked at a "white noise" cd and some Star Wars CD players for him, but I think we will just get the machine and not mess with the CD. I've also been looking for night lights and lamps. He needs a night light because he has never slept without one and he needs a lamp because the way we have to mount the curtain puts the ceiling light in the room outside it. It would make for a dark room if I didn't get a lamp. Finally, I have to call MIL and have her ask FIL to bring in MT's bunk bed that they have been storing at their house since we didn't have room for it. Now, TB will take his fire truck bed (although he won't get to have the firetruck cover on the bed since it won't fit without the footboard that we have to take off) and MT will have the original bunk beds that we bought for TB when we first moved here. They are nice, heavy solid oak and really pretty.

So, while I can't yet tell him to go to his room, in the next week I will be able to and he will be able to!