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.
Melinda
April 6, 2010 at 11:07 amWe had a bassinet and found it to be a waste of money (used for a short time, and most are kind of rickety feeling). If you have room just put the crib in your bedroom for the first couple months. Since you already have the Moses basket you could put that inside the crib for a more cozy feel for Wita.
Kerri Anne
April 6, 2010 at 11:29 amI shared a room with my sister for years and really loved it. When space got too tight (and personalities too independent) in middle school, we could still say “goodnight” through the heating vents in my room and hers.
That made me grin, Kerr.
.-= Kerri Anne´s last blog ..Remembering =-.
Krista
April 6, 2010 at 11:32 amMy two girls ages 4 and 5 share a room….they love it and we love it. We had the baby in a crib in our room for about 6 months, I felt I had to get her really sleeping before I moved her in with her sister. In the end they really don’t wake each other up, they just get to used the noise :)
Good luck!
GirlsGoneChild
April 6, 2010 at 11:39 amFirst of all – thank you for the link and the kind words. Babes sharing a room is the greatest thing ever. Pretty sure Archer and Fable will share for years to come. They love love LOVE being close.
Second – I’m all for the bassinet – because, like you said, it isn’t attached to the bed. (Fable slept with us in our bed because I couldn’t handle not having her close BUT that backfired and it took months to get her to sleep on her own.) With Archer, he slept in the bassinet in our room (several feet away) and slept great. Don’t remember what kind of bassinet it was – just a standard one from Babies R Us I think?
Good luck!!! I’m so excited for you! The big brother/baby sister thing is… just… well… yeah.
xo
.-= GirlsGoneChild´s last blog ..42/100 =-.
Michelle
April 6, 2010 at 11:45 amSo happy for you, Whoorl! Hey, what about Li-Li emphasising the (li) in Whoorlita, or Lita? Congrats on everything!
Calee
April 6, 2010 at 11:46 amThe Bugaboo idea rocks. But if you don’t already have a pack n play, it’s really, really time to bite that bullet. Our house wasn’t done when Audrey was born (thank you William Lyon) so she slept in our room in our apartment for the first couple of months. The bassinet part of the pack and play, while ugly, is really, really functional. And, there weren’t any crib transitioning issues, other than the typical, I just learned how to roll over, why would I want to stay asleep stuff.
We’re doing separate rooms for now, but once baby brother is a little bigger, who knows. My sister and I went back and forth from sharing to not sharing. I just knew that if I didn’t task those two rooms as bedrooms, the kids would never get me to give up an office space…
Amy Smith
April 6, 2010 at 11:46 amI hope I don’t get blasted for this…but we had a co-sleeper for our first and it just wasn’t a great fit for us. He had a really, REALLY hard time adjusting to being away from my warmth and smell and it was a battle for 10 months to get him into his own crib. But I KNOW that all babies are different and that was just our experience. With our second, we opted for a moses basket on a stand (so we could move it around easily). I could still see him while he slept, but there was more separation (his own sheets, blankets, smells, warmth). Just wanted to toss our experience into the mix.
And BTW, you look gorgeous for 7 months. Gorgeous for any time, but especially 7 months pregnant :)
.-= Amy Smith´s last blog ..the mystery of female friendships [1] =-.
Valerie
April 6, 2010 at 11:59 amFirst things first – you look amazing! Second, the closets and organization skillz are very impressive. Third, I have no advice really but I do have fond memories of sharing a room with my brother when I was itty bitty. Here was the scene: me: Strawberry Shortcake sheets him: Sesame Street sheets that he called Snuf-fuck-up-olous sheets…(oops but hehe). We would wake up in the middle of the night and read books by flashlight to each other. Renegades we were.
Books by flashlight rule.
verdemama
April 6, 2010 at 12:01 pmFirst things first: You’re just about the cutest pregnant woman ever. I seriously looked like a deformed torpedo at 7 months. I’m feeling a blend of warm fuzzies and extreme jealousy for you right now.
Second, I’m totally with the pro-bassinet people. A borrowed one, preferably, because babies outgrow them so fast. A crib in your room will take up too much space, and you’ll be forever stubbing toes on it and cursing.
I also love the idea of them sharing a room — they’ll never feel alone! Plus kids have a way of taking over a house… the more adult space you maintain, the happier you’ll be!
Congrats on finally settling into your new abode!
am'ti b
April 6, 2010 at 12:01 pmour cariboo folding bass..is in cambridge, do you want it?
am'ti b
April 6, 2010 at 12:02 pmps i did not love it-that is why i did not hold on to it like everything else….
Angella
April 6, 2010 at 12:31 pmThe dudes have been sharing a room for years and it was the best thing we ever did. Before then, they seemed to tag team us and get up at night “needing a cuddle”. Now, we only hear from them in the night if they get up to pee.
Emily’s in her own room and so far, she’s pretty happy with her girly room.
.-= Angella´s last blog ..Scenes From A Weekend =-.
gorillabuns
April 6, 2010 at 12:32 pmi wouldn’t listen to any of my advice given my track record other than, my girls love sharing a room. The other bedroom is a full out playroom. It seems to help a bit with all the crap they can’t seem to part with daily.
Yes, it is crucial to get most of the toys out of Wito’s reach at night – otherwise, he just plays with them all night. IN THE PITCH DARK.
.-= gorillabuns´s last blog ..b-u-n-n-y, b-u-n-n-y….. =-.
Lori
April 6, 2010 at 12:34 pmI’m with Nicole. I RARELY co-slept with my daughter mainly b/c I was too nervous, but when I had my son 17 months later I was just too exhausted. We had a small pack and play/bassinet that we borrowed set up next to the bed, but Z spent a lot of time in bed with us so I didn’t have to get up to feed him (although my husband was far too nervous about the whole thing). Avery and Zachary share a room now and it is fine. They never wake each other up which was one of my concerns and it wasn’t that difficult to transition him out of our room (although now he is a big mama’s boy so maybe there is something there).
ps. you look FANtastic!
Sarah, Ohana Mama
April 6, 2010 at 12:38 pmJust get a cool pack n play or bassinet or pnp/basinett combo and put it in your room – you’ll get lots of use out of it!
And it’s bigger then the arms reach
.-= Sarah, Ohana Mama´s last blog ..Easter, Maui style =-.