Testing the Waters - Part III

So, we started the kiddos' little room sharing adventure on Tuesday night. It's now Sunday evening, and I've learned a few things. 

Lesson #1.  It doesn't matter how long I wait for Ella to go to sleep before I bring Jack in.  She could potentially giggle and babble and throw herself all around that crib for an hour, and if I go in there while she's still awake? Good Lord, you'd think I abandoned her forever by laying Jack in his bed and walking out. I learned that on night two. She cried for 15 minutes. I felt bad for Jack. 

Lesson #2.  It's less hassle to just use my mom muscles and get them in their beds at the same time. I pretty much chunk him over the side of his crib after snuggling and saying prayers with them in my arms. He curls up with his puppy (that he immediately throws out the minute I'm out the door). At least until I leave the room. I kiss her and put her in her zipadeezip, and then, I walk out and shut the door. No tears. MUCH better. 

Lesson #3.  Now that they're sleeping in the same room, timing doesn't matter. It could be 7:00 or 7:45, and they will still babble and squeal and play peekaboo for 30 minutes. In the dark. There's usually 5 or so minutes of silence, and then one of them will make a sound, and it's a squealing/humming-fest for the next 20+ minutes. They're crazy. But they're happy :). And, I'm happy that there's no crying. 

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Jack LOVES having her in there with him. He wants her in there during naps, too, but I will continue having them nap separately. He typically goes down 30 minutes earlier than she does, so it's just simpler for her to go to sleep in the playpen in our room. I snapped these at the end of their naps. He had just woken up. She was still snoozing away. I took 5 pictures because almost all of them came out blurry, and the flash never disturbed her. 

Another new thing I've begun this week, is sibling playtime right smack between their separate independent room times. Ella plays by herself for 45 minutes to an hour after breakfast while Jack finishes eating, has art/learning time, and has a potty break. Usually, I then help Ella clean up, change her diaper, and get her down for a morning nap. Instead, I've added in 20-30 minutes where they play together in their room with my guidance.  Then, I get her down for a nap, and Jack has his hour to an hour and a half of room time while she rests. They are really enjoying playing together, and it's a perfect time to work on character traits like kindness towards each other and patience with one another. They play together (around each other) throughout the day, as well, but those times are usually free play, and I don't guide them to specific activities or toys unless they're just wandering around aimlessly :) Sometimes they gravitate toward one another, and sometimes they don't. 

Anywho, this room-sharing thing is a blessing, and it's just one more way they have shown me how much they truly enjoy being around each other. I'm so glad we bit the bullet and did this.