We’re still unpacking, rearranging, cleaning, organizing and decorating, but it feels great to settle down a little bit.
In the meantime, I turned 7 months pregnant this weekend.
Whoorlita (is that what we are calling her? Whoorlito and Whoorlita? Wito and Wita?) is kicking like crazy, as well as making my hips feel like I’m an 80-year-old arthritic during the nights. Good thing I donated my maternity body pillow to Goodwill TWO WEEKS AGO. Seriously. How ridiculously stupid could I be? Ridiculously stupid, apparently.
Over the weekend, my extremely agile and handsome husband (forever indebted, D) put California Closets to shame when he turned the kids’ run-of-the-mill closet into a shelving haven. And it only took 13,000 trips back and forth from Ikea! Which means 13,000 ice cream cones!
If you have followed this blog over the years, you know nothing gives me more pleasure than organizing. I had a maniacal grin on my face for the entire duration of unpacking clothing bins and setting up this closet. (I even rearranged the clothing that will remain in the clothing bins for the next couple of years. By size. And season. FOR I AM AN ORGANIZING GODDESS.)
(Or crazy.)
Although the new place has 3 bedrooms, we’ve decided that the children will share a room. To be completely honest, I transitioned from OMG THAT COULD NEVER WORK to BEST! IDEA! EVER! in the span of 10 days. I’m truly super duper excited. Speaking of children sharing rooms, have you read this post by Rebecca? Beautiful.
I’m curious, though. How many of you have children that share rooms? Any words of wisdom? Obviously, Wita will be in our room for several months until she can make it through the night, but I’m excited for the day she and Wito can say goodnight to each other from across the room.
Which brings me to the next question…what should Wita sleep in for the first couple of months? Wito slept in his own crib in his own room at 2 weeks old, so we haven’t dealt with this issue before. We have a Moses basket, but frankly, I would really like something not so close to the floor. Should we assemble the crib in our room? (We have the Stokke Sleepi, so it’s pretty space-efficient.) Buy a bassinet? (I am so in love with the Cariboo Folding Bassinet, but not sure I can justify the cost for the short time being used.) You should know that sleeping in the same bed is not an option for us personally, although I have absolutely no problem with you doing it. Peace be with you!
You see? THE QUESTIONS. They burn. Please help.
I used the Arm’s Reach co sleeper for both kids (boy & a girl, sharing a room), and they transitioned to the crib just fine. Maybe the reason is that I used it like a bassinet — I didn’t attach it to my bed, since I never managed to do the nursing-while-lying-down thing. I liked having the baby right next to me when he (and she) were nursing all night long, but we never had any problems with a transition. We moved them to their cribs at around 3 months, so maybe that was early enough not to cause a problem? Also, those damn babies have personalities of their own and will confound you in ways you couldn’t have imagined, as you know. Our kids have loved sharing a room — they clearly draw a lot of comfort from each other. Good luck!
.-= Hilary´s last blog ..In the moment =-.
The “(Or crazy.)” is the reason we’re friends. It’s two word asides like this that make me lovvvve you so.
Also, yes, closet organizing a new place is the best. And I am counting down the days until I can see yours in the flesh and you, mine!!
Miss you, senorita xoxox
We have a son and a daughter and they were both in their own cribs in their own rooms from day 2 (because day 1 was at the hospital). I nursed both of them for 10 months, but had a comfy chair in their rooms to do that. I just knew if that if I had them in our room I’d be awakened by every little stir they made, so even if they fell back asleep, I’d be awake that whole time wondering if I was going to have to get up. We just used the monitor with the volume set low enough we couldn’t hear stirring, just the fussing and crying. We never did the co-sleeping thing for the same reason, plus I just don’t sleep well with people touching me. And sleep is a hot commodity, especially when they are getting you up several times a night.
I have three children — now an 11 year old boy, a 10 year old girl and a 7 year old girl. We have two bedrooms for the three of them. We’ve had the oldest two share and now the two girls share. There are struggles and negotiations of course. But one of the sweetest things happened recently. The youngest had a bad dream in the middle of the night — but instead of calling out for me, she just crawled in bed with her older sister. She was comforted and the older sister felt special that she could help out.
Our daughter slept in our room in her crib for the first 9 months. I liked it because: 1) short trips in the night on those few occasions she’d get up and 2) I could assuage my paranoia that she was going to somehow fall out of the crib. Or levitate. Or something.
Also, I shared a bedroom with my sister for 18 years. I think it made me more amenable in college and after with roommates. Also less shy about peeing when people were in the same bathroom. But that’s probably more than you needed to know.
My boy is 8 months old right now, while he has his own room with his own crib, until he moved into there at three or soish months, he was in a bassinet. It was given to us by friends so it was FREE! He was right there if needed. Then we just transitioned him over. Which was easy…we just, well uh, put him in the crib and he slept. LOL. I go with bassinet to begin with.
Also, go buy another pillow
Oh my goodness, that post you linked to made me want a kid (no, TWO kids)! I have no great advice, though I will say that I started kenneling my pug and my lab together when I leave the house, and they LOVE sharing a crate. They’ve totally bonded- it’s really precious.
BTW your baby bump is too cute.
.-= Trinity(of haiku tofu)´s last blog ..Mezze Night! =-.
We used our bugaboo bassinet. We bought a stand for it (made by jolly jumper i think?) which made it like a cradle (i.e. it rocked)…this worked for the first 2-3 mos.
You look amazing!! I am 15 wks and I think I’m bigger than you are!!
Found it!
http://comfortfirst.com/p-42879-the-rocking-bassinetmoses-basket-stand-by-jolly-jumper.aspx
this holds the bugaboo bassinet perfectly :) We loved ours and will hopefully be using it again in 5ish mos!
My girls have shared a room since the youngest (now almost 4) was born. Actually, the little one spent the first month or so in a pack n play (with a co-sleeper/nest thing in it) in the office-oops. Strangely, neither has ever woken the other up with screaming, sickness, potty training, etc. I love hearing them giggle in the morning and often find them snuggling in each other’s beds. Great luck, it will work out fine.
.-= elz´s last blog ..Being an Adult is Hard -#156 =-.
We used the Arm’s Reach Mini too. The only problem we faced with transitioning was me being a paranoid freak when we moved him to his bed around 4 months because we have a freak baby that was sitting up at that point. He had zero issues with the move to his crib. I absolutely loved it for the little space it took and the fact that I could be half asleep, breast feed, and pop him back in there without getting up.
It’s a crime to look that hot at 7 months. Especially with your second! Seriously, I might have to hate you now.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Senioritis =-.
Just a quick unrelated question-where’d you get that blue rug in the pic of you? It’s cool.
http://www.hdbuttercup.com/designers/stark-carpet/
I love the room sharing topic. When we had our second he slept in an alcove off our master bedroom until he was only waking once a night, then he moved in with his two year old big sis. They shared that room until we bought a bigger house a year later, when they were one and three, because of course they each needed their own room and our two bedroom house wouldn’t cut it. HA! They spent every night together in one room or another so we finally gave in and moved both beds into the larger bedroom and made the smaller bedroom into a toy room.
That lasted until my daughter turned seven and decided she needed her ‘pribacy’, which broke her little brother’s heart. So we moved his bed back into his room.
Do they have their own bedrooms? Technically, yes. But they have sleepovers in each other’s rooms.
They’re nine and seven now and sleep in the same room more nights than not.
I think the Bugaboo idea was a good one!
so a few shout outs for the arms reach…… you can put up the sides and even though the picture makes the child appear to be level with you she will not be. you don’t have to put it next to you you can place it away but still see my yet to be born niece. this is my beef with the cariboo. put it on d’s side and have him hand her to you-that way he is “part” of the breast feeding moments-heeheeheee!
my twins share a room & it has been great for them at night time. granted, they stay up & talk a bit, but it’s well worth it.
.-= mommymae´s last blog ..epiphanie bag crazy-awesome contest – updated with video =-.
Could u please get fatter? You aren’t nearly fat enough for 7 months pregnant!!!
My vote is no co-sleeping, eventually you get your mojo back and you don’t want an infant between you and D and I have no input on the room sharing.
First time commenter, totally love you and F. Fekkai’s hair cream has changed my life. I don’t think anyone has said this so far, so I hope I’m not repeating anything. My two boys (4 and 2) have shared a room since the second one was born. Two words: SOUND MACHINE!! I cannot tell you how helpful it has been. The room is somewhat small and they were not on the same schedule for about the first year, so the baby was usually asleep first. My older son and I could talk and the baby would never wake up. I’m sure you probably have one already, but I cannot overstate what a lifesaver ours has been while having room-sharers. It really is wonderfully sweet to see them in the crib together after naptime. They have so much fun. Sorry for such a long comment!
No, you can’t be 7 months pregnant. I’m pretty sure I look more pregnant than you (I’m not pregnant).
We set up the crib in our room. Right now our 3 month old is sleeping in it, in our room, and I plan to keep her in there for about another 3 months. I figure for 6 months it’s worth the work.
Right now our 3 boys all have their own rooms, but our 2 and 4 year old will share when our baby moves out of our room. Our oldest boys shared a room starting when they were 2 and 3 and they did fine. They usually woke up at the same time in the morning, which was kind of a bummer, but it wasn’t really that big of a deal. My 4 year old is super excited to be sharing with my 2 year old soon!
i have NO idea. sorry!
but i had to just say that you look absolutely LOVELY.
.-= kat´s last blog ..GPOYW =-.
It’s an infant. It’s helpless, it needs to be near you in the night. Having your baby sleep in your bed or in a co-sleeper does not mean your child will be in high school still unable to sleep without mommy! If you want a successful breastfeeding relationship, your child needs to be close. Forming a secure bond with your baby fosters independence, because she will know that you are there when she needs you – not left to cry alone and hungry in another room.
We ended up co-sleeping a bit with our second because he was the worst sleeper in the world… Actually I think he’s just unbelievably social and refused to be alone. He didn’t start sleeping through the night until he was19 months old and we heard him calling for his brother at night – moved them into the same room and phew! No more night time waking! It does sometimes mean they wake each other in the morning, but only if it’s almost waking time, else they are happy to go back to sleep and they don’t wake each other in the middle of the night if one of them is up. I think it’s brought them closer together and I’m thrilled… However my plans for the third bedroom (sewing room) have been derailed… it’s now my husband’s junk room.
.-= trish´s last blog ..concentration =-.
We also used the bassinet in the pack and play. That seemed to work the best and it’s not a waste of money since you use them for so much. I loved our Chicco Pack and Play since it seemed to have a sturdier and more cushiony bassinet mattress than anything else out there.
For the baby~I’ve seen it done where the parents put an actual twin size bed right next to one side of the bed and from there mama can come and go in the night and then when baby is ready, baby can do the climbing.
Happy last couple of months! And sorry about the pillow. I did the same thing myself…
shit woman! you look how i looked when i was 4 months pregnant! YOU ARE TINY.
many heartfelt congrats!
My nieces share a room (3-year age difference) and they love it. Now they cannot sleep without one another. It’s pretty cute.
We put our moses basket in the stand that newMOM linked too. It worked out great until our nearly 10 pounder outgrew it (that only took a month or so.) The he was in his crib.
Co-Sleeper. All the way. that way, they aren’t in your bed, but they are in an extension of your bed, because you can make it so that the co-sleeper is at the level of your bed. It’s awesome! They are god awful ugly, but I always recommend them to my friends that are new moms or have never used them!
If someone would promise me I’d look as cute as you at 7 months pregnant, I wouldn’t fear it nearly so much!!
.-= Mrs. Smith´s last blog ..Best (and Worst) of Menu Monday. =-.
A friend of mine used a rocking cradle next to her bed-from Target I think. it was bed height so she could just reach over and get the baby.
I want to be an organization goddess! I do try! Ahhh. Adorable closets though.
I have to ask, why did you get rid of the body pillow at this point of your pregnancy?! Silly!
.-= Rose´s last blog ..Tonight… =-.
this has gotten good reviews…and only $50.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3739296
Fisher-Price Newborn Rock & Play Sleeper
i also love organizing, especially baby clothes
I vote Wita. And you are hot.
.-= Aimee Greeblemonkey´s last blog ..April Greeblemix Winners! =-.
For some reason I thought this baby was going to be Whoorlina, and you could call her Lina. I don’t know why I thought that.
First off, you look awesome for seven months! My girls share a room even though we have two other empty ones. Couldn’t imagine them not although did have a nursery when the youngest was a baby.
Good luck! Oh yeah, and I used the bugaboo.
Sadie at heyMamas
.-= heyMamas´s last blog ..Amazing =-.
I nursed my youngest until he was 12 months, so he was in our room in a bassinet for two months, then a pack and play. He woke up at least once or twice a night until I quit breastfeeding, so I knew if we tried putting him with his big brother neither of them would sleep well. We had a few rough nights at first, as the oldest found it to be such a novelty to have a playmate with him. Eventually they adjusted really well and even though they have their own rooms now, they get very excited when we go out of town and they share a room/bed. I think it’s a great thing for kids to experience.
We only have 2 bedrooms and two children. My son is 10 1/2 months and my daughter is almost 3. My sons been in our room in a crib since he was born. We attempted to move my daughter into the room and ourselves out into the small room. It was terrible. My daughter is at the age where she wants to go potty after shes been put to bed, and then a drink of water, and then sings and talks herself to sleep, many times on the floor by the bottom of her door. My son is in bed before her so we quietly took her to bed and she came out once to pee, then was running around the room or something and woke him up, first he was all chatty and happy then i went in and told her to go to bed and he cried and cried and she just sat up in her bed. (we have a video monitor) After alot of crying I very quickly just gave in and like a maniac starting moving beds back, etc. Were just gonna wait till hes older. Im dying for my own room back. Well…….thats my 2 kids in a room experience. :)
Have you seen these bassinets made out of cardboard? http://babystyle.com.au/2008/01/cardboard-bassinet.html
I haven’t used one, but they look cool and are inexpensive.
My son was 2 yrs, 8 mo old when my daughter was born. We planned on them sharing a room, but kept her in our room until she was sleeping through the night (unfortunately that took 9 months). We used a bassinet first, then a crib when she got bigger. My son really liked having her in his room and we’ve never had any problems with them sharing. They’re now 3 and 5, and still like sharing. The two beds makes it a bit crowded, but we’ll transition to bunk beds sometime soon.
Only piece of advice I would have is to make sure they’re both on the same bedtime (when the baby is old enough). It makes it easier because they have the company, and also because they see the other one going to bed also. The only problem we’ve had has only come up in the last few months — they will NOT stop talking. Bedtime is 8, but some nights they’re still talking at 9. We’re still working on that one….
Good luck and congratulations!
We have also used a Moses Basket for the first few months with both of our girls. I have loved it and used this stand with it: http://www.babyongrand.com/jollyjumper/rockingmosesbasketstand
I don’t know if you have one, but it gets the Moses Basket off the ground, rocks – if the baby is fussy… I could reach over and just gently rock it in the night if I needed too. It worked perfect for us!
We have a 10 day old, and absolutely LOVE our in bed co-sleeper! Makes night time feeding a breeze.
http://www.toysrus.ca/product/index.jsp?productId=2689253
Hope that helps!
.-= Kait´s last blog ..Day 104 =-.