DeLappenings: Let’s Talk About Sleeping Siblings

Holy, moly, is there ever a topic more pertinent than SLEEP—especially when kicking off a school year???

Think.

Not.

That said…it’s highly documented on this here blog that I’m a night owl—in large part, thanks to my beloved reading. Which isn’t so great when pre-dawn wake-ups are necessary.

It just is what it is, and it ain’t gonna change. ;) However. The school mornings come a-callin’ before the sun comes up, and that alarm can feel pretty brutal.

So we always make a concerted effort to back the truck way up on our bedtimes during the first month or two of school, and I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing that keeps us alive.

Thankfully, we did a pretty solid job of it this first week. But…we sort of have a bit of a funny sleeping arrangement going on in our casa, at present. And it’s been that way for a looooong time.

I blame the winter storm disaster. ;)

Basically, my kiddos have been sleeping in the same room (usually, either in Little Man’s or Chicklet’s, as they’re the two biggest rooms upstairs) since FEBRUARY.

Yup…February.

So, at any given time, one of their bedrooms looks kinda like this:

Now.

From February ‘til June, these sleeping arrangements were absolutely necessary, because the house was torn to bits and pieces.

So Chica’s room had to become the hubby’s temporary office, Little Man’s room had to become the temporary master bedroom, and Chicklet’s room became the “sibling sleep room.”

And even though I thought this arrangement would be an epic disaster—particularly in the midst of a hectic school year—it was an absolute non-issue.

They slept great, they never complained (perhaps because they knew we had no other sleeping arrangement options, ha), and—dare I say?—they even seemed to enjoy the bonding time.

So much, apparently, that we haven’t been able to split them up since.

In case you’re counting, that’s six months my babies have been sleeping like three peas in a bedroom pod, and it’s really hard to be mad at it.

For the record, we did attempt to separate them about a month ago—in anticipation of the new school year—and it was an epic disaster.

I mean, Chica was fine, as she’s really the only one who ever asks about being back in her own bedroom, alone, because she occasionally likes to sleep in on the weekend, and that’s hard to do with her siblings within arm’s reach and prone to waking early.

But Chicklet and Little Man were super-uneasy to be on their own again. In fact, Little Man—who, before this crazy set of circumstances was my easy, uncomplicated sleeper, always—was so anxious to be alone that he was crying, sweating, shaking, and just so unhappy that we just didn’t see the point of forcing it.

We just let the kiddos all bunk back up, together, and saved the fight for another day.

A day that we still haven’t forced, ha.

Our current game plan is to perhaps try the transition again this coming week, as they’ll be so overtired from the start of school that they should each fall asleep quickly on their own.

But, you know what?

If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.

Millions of children, the world over, sleep with a sibling or other family member because a solo bedroom is kind of a luxury.

And I know a day might come when they won’t be in to this fun sibling bonding, so I’m just going to roll with it during this time when they love more than loathe one another, and it will pass :)

But in the meantime…I just couldn’t take the blank space where a mattress should be in Chica’s room any longer.

In addition to it being a major eyesore, it made it difficult for her to spend any waking-hours time in her bedroom (where she often sits on her bed), I was starting to get annoyed with the kiddos walking across the slats and coming close to breaking them!

So I hilariously ordered a super-inexpensive blow up mattress to stage the bedroom again, and it’s worked like a dream (and of course, I never took a pic of this).

Also, after more than six months of searching and searching for a new comforter for Chica’s room (her former one that she’d used since she was three years old was just so stiff and uncomfortable that it was impractical—I finally found the winner.

Purple, faux fur, and my girlie was in lurv at first sight (and touch, tehe).:

It’s from this line of products that I’ve been a fan of, lately. I’ve purchased a handful of pillows for the living room couch that are all the softest things ever. And this new comforter didn’t disappoint, either.