The thing you least expect...

My children have been undeniably good sleepers, so it just might be a crime to complain about any sleeping situation at the McHill home. But, I had some complaints anyways! Since Faith learned the art of stalling, getting her to bed had been a bit of a challenge. At first a bribe of sorts about the excitement of the following day was enough. "The faster you go to sleep, THE FASTER YOU CAN HAVE PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST!!!!" She'd giggle and dramatically close her eyes in anticipation of sleep. This didn't last long of course. Soon, she was thirsty. Or had to go potty. Or needed one more snuggle (hey, you try to say no to that!). And then, she gave up on stalling entirely and would just stay up till all hours of the night playing quietly in her room. And then there was Ethan. On a whim, we moved him to a toddler bed at 14 months. He was stoked. I mean, a race care bed is the coolest thing in the world, after all. Apparently it was too cool to sleep in though. As soon as you were out of his room, he would crawl out of bed, park his little bum behind his door and kick his door until he fell asleep. He slept on the floor. All night. Every night. You couldn't get in his room to check on him without scooting a jumbled pile of baby boy and his blankies out of the way. Despite these challenges, we had considered getting bunkbeds for the kids to share a sleeping room, so they could have a dedicated play room. We of course saw the obvious problem was to get both of them to break their sleeping habits to be able to sleep in the same room. There were also little things like Faith needing a night light and Ethan liking to sleep with the fan. We decided we would move their toddler beds into the same room to 'test it out' before splurging on bunkbeds. As we tucked them into their respective beds...just 5 feet apart....Matt and I gave each other the "It's going to be a really long night" look. And then...it wasn't! They did a little giggling for about 20 minutes and then - silence. I was worried. Something obviously wasn't right. But when I cracked the door, not only did I find two happily passed-out kids...but Ethan was IN his bed! I smirked. Total flook. But, here we are about 3 weeks later and going strong! Getting them to bed is 10 times easier than it used to be, and I think Ethan has only slept behind his door once. He didn't do his ritual kicking though. They seem so comforted by each other's company and I think it's the sweetest thing. They also wake up together at a respectable 8 o'clock. Faith got sick a few times soon after the switch, and Ethan had a bad dream (or something) and woke up crying one night, and it was still a breeze to get everyone back to sleep right away. They have surprised me so much. I was sure that Faith would despise sharing a room with her baby brother and I just couldn't picture Ethan falling asleep with the distraction of another person in his room. But they both run into their room at bedtime and don't give any fuss. Looks like it's bunkbeds for Christmas!