Roomies

In preparation for our newest little Rowden, we moved Max into Cole's room. I was a little nervous, because Max is still only 18 months old, and he just seems so little to be in a big boy bed. But we really didn't want to have to buy another crib, and the boys are getting along really well these days, so we thought it was worth a shot.

We did the same for Max as we first did for Cole: a twin mattress on the floor. That way, if he rolls off, it's not far to fall. The plan was to try it, and if he just wasn't ready, we would put him back in the crib, and baby Seth would just have to sleep in our room a little longer until Max was ready for the switch. I am happy to report, however, that Max is doing great in his new bed! But it wasn't always that way. The first few nights were, well, interesting.

The first night, Derek and I explained to both boys (on their level, of course) what our expectations were of this new situation. We went through the bedtime routine, tucked everyone in, and said "goodnight," with coaching as we went. That part was great.

Then the nightmare hit. I wondered what on earth we were thinking to try this. Max got up about 6 times before I had even left the room. Cole didn't help either. The second Max's feet hit the floor, Cole popped right out of bed too. He felt it was his duty to let us know Max was up. After about 10 minutes of this, I finally laid down by Max for a few minutes to help him settle down and get a clue that it was time to sleep. He seemed to like that, but as soon as I got up, he started to cry. Two minutes later, he was out and slept all night.

Night two was very encouraging. He didn't get up one time before falling asleep.

The next few nights, he learned to be more sneaky in his tactics. We would hear Cole yell out, "He's getting up! He's getting up!" One of us would go to the boys' room only to find Max lying in bed just as he should be. So either he was diving back in bed at the sound of Cole's call, or Cole was over-eager to tattle on him and called out just because he wiggled a finger. We're not completely sure, but I could have sworn a couple of times I heard the pitter-patter of his little feet and a thump as he landed himself on the bed right before I opened the door.

I guess Cole got tired of being the bad guy, because his cries of alarm ceased. Free from his brother's tattling, Max would get up quietly, only to be ratted out by his choice of toys. We would hear a random "Moo" from the farm toy, or a song from the musical chair, coming over the monitor. It took a few nights of redirection, but he finally got it. And for the last week or so, he has stayed in bed and goes straight to sleep. I'm so proud!

Here are a few pics of the new roommates:

Hanging Out

Sweet Brothers

Story Time

Big Boy Max