Room with a view
I haven't had much chance to speak of the great Bedroom Remodeling Project of 2009 that began last week because, well, things are going (shhhh) well. No termites, no structural damage, no delays. Last week Sunday I had a crap-filled sunroom, Monday I had a shell of a former sunroom with no floor and by Tuesday, we had new floors and only studs for walls.
Just like that! No fuss, little muss. The rest of the week progressed apace and Monday, they blew some marshmallow topping into all the walls and under the floor and in the ceiling. It looked tasty, but I figured I should wait to stick my finger into it until it was dry. Today, they're hanging drywall.
There was one minor hiccup that involved three different trips to two different Home Depots for windows, but that was my fault and not that of my contractor. He told me to get new-construction windows, I didn't listen and just grabbed some that looked like they would work and were on sale, and they didn't work, so he got the right ones from Menards the next day. Yawn.
Wasn't it a lot more interesting when the termites were snacking on my timbers last summer? But I must say, hassle-free remodeling is quite delightful. Not as good for the creative juices, but very good for the pregnant lady's mental health.
Now that the completion of the new bedroom is near, we have a dilemma I will pose to you, my very smart readers.
This new bedroom set-up a little wonky in that you have to walk through Jack's room to access it. Annoying, but not a deal-breaker when it came down to it. Jack is, understandably, a little obsessed with the door leading to the new room. He runs into his room and throws it open and cackles. The other night he said to me, with a gleeful smile on his face, "Mommy? I can open that door when Emmie is sleeping in there?"
No! NO! Never. Oh my God, no.
Our original plan was to put Emmie in the new room, leave Jack in his current room and put the new baby in the nursery, which is Emmie's current room. Emmie will be in a crib for another year (I can assure you of that, even if I have to zip her in there in a crib tent) so she won't have any issues trying to get into Jack's room. But now it seems we're going to have an issue with Jack trying to get into her room. And since he is free to roam unencumbered because he's in a big-boy bed, this could present a dilemma.
We considered putting Jack in the nursery, which doesn't share a doorway with any other room, and putting Emmie in the big room and the baby in the new room, but then we have to bring a squalling baby through her room and disturb her several times per night. We could put Emmie in the new room and the baby in the big room, but that's just a waste of space since the baby doesn't need the big room. Plus, in another year, we'll be trying to contain Emmie the same way we have to contain Jack when he tries to get out of bed.
Let me also throw out there that Jack goes to bed at 6:45 p.m. and gets up at 5:45 a.m., but must read quietly in his bedroom until 7 a.m. He also goes to the bathroom at least once during the night. Emmie goes to bed at 6:45 p.m. and sleeps until 7 a.m. and does not wake up during the night. WeeBey will be going to bed god only knows when and waking up at least 25 times per night, based on the sleep schedules of my other two newborns.
So how would you configure the sleeping arrangements to best accommodate everyone?
Just like that! No fuss, little muss. The rest of the week progressed apace and Monday, they blew some marshmallow topping into all the walls and under the floor and in the ceiling. It looked tasty, but I figured I should wait to stick my finger into it until it was dry. Today, they're hanging drywall.
There was one minor hiccup that involved three different trips to two different Home Depots for windows, but that was my fault and not that of my contractor. He told me to get new-construction windows, I didn't listen and just grabbed some that looked like they would work and were on sale, and they didn't work, so he got the right ones from Menards the next day. Yawn.
Wasn't it a lot more interesting when the termites were snacking on my timbers last summer? But I must say, hassle-free remodeling is quite delightful. Not as good for the creative juices, but very good for the pregnant lady's mental health.
Now that the completion of the new bedroom is near, we have a dilemma I will pose to you, my very smart readers.
This new bedroom set-up a little wonky in that you have to walk through Jack's room to access it. Annoying, but not a deal-breaker when it came down to it. Jack is, understandably, a little obsessed with the door leading to the new room. He runs into his room and throws it open and cackles. The other night he said to me, with a gleeful smile on his face, "Mommy? I can open that door when Emmie is sleeping in there?"
No! NO! Never. Oh my God, no.
Our original plan was to put Emmie in the new room, leave Jack in his current room and put the new baby in the nursery, which is Emmie's current room. Emmie will be in a crib for another year (I can assure you of that, even if I have to zip her in there in a crib tent) so she won't have any issues trying to get into Jack's room. But now it seems we're going to have an issue with Jack trying to get into her room. And since he is free to roam unencumbered because he's in a big-boy bed, this could present a dilemma.
We considered putting Jack in the nursery, which doesn't share a doorway with any other room, and putting Emmie in the big room and the baby in the new room, but then we have to bring a squalling baby through her room and disturb her several times per night. We could put Emmie in the new room and the baby in the big room, but that's just a waste of space since the baby doesn't need the big room. Plus, in another year, we'll be trying to contain Emmie the same way we have to contain Jack when he tries to get out of bed.
Let me also throw out there that Jack goes to bed at 6:45 p.m. and gets up at 5:45 a.m., but must read quietly in his bedroom until 7 a.m. He also goes to the bathroom at least once during the night. Emmie goes to bed at 6:45 p.m. and sleeps until 7 a.m. and does not wake up during the night. WeeBey will be going to bed god only knows when and waking up at least 25 times per night, based on the sleep schedules of my other two newborns.
So how would you configure the sleeping arrangements to best accommodate everyone?
Labels: Remodeling
posted by Amy at
1:14 PM
4 Comments:
Has he figured out how to open a door with one of those childproof plastic thingys on it? You know - the cover that goes over the knob? That would keep him from opening the door to her room (though not necessarily away from the door).
Too bad they don't have bed tents like they have crib tents! We use the crib tent to keep our 2 year olds stuff in her crib - and now her!
Bet Jack can manage those door knob childproofers...
What about installing one of those hook-and-eye-type locks up high on the door? Like the kind you see on bathroom stalls when the regular lock is broken? It would require drilling into the molding fo the door...may be a dealbreaker for you. I guess it locks little sister in, but if she's still in a crib, there's no real difference to her.
Maybe for now you could install one of those doors with a top and a bottom and lock the bottom part from her room. It can easily be unlocked when the top is open...and Jack may not be able to reach the lock for the top part...
This seems like a dream. Set it up, just as you planned, but the NEW proviso, that Jack has to read quietly until 7 a.m. before he wakes up Emmie. My gosh, they could entertain each other for half an hour before getting you! More sleep! And won't Jack feel like a big boy?
Hmmmm. A complicated situation indeed. I'm not sure what I'd do. I think you should put Emmie in the new room, Jack in his current room and baby in nursery. I would think he's old enough to learn to leave her alone at night, eventually. And as they get older, it won't matter too much, they'll come and go as they please. Maybe they'll play better independently - which is always nice when you have a third. I should know.
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