Roomies

It is official, Charlotte has a new roomie! Her best friend & baby sis, Elo has moved in to occupy the crib that has been empty since May.  Two weeks have passed since night number one & it has been an unbelievably smooth transition.

Let's back track a bit....

Our number one concern with putting the girls in the same room was Eloise's life. I frequently answer the question "What does Charlotte think of Eloise?" with "she loves her with a dangerous kind of love." Let me explain, Charlotte is more attentive than I am to her baby sister.  When Elo would be on the floor or in a bed, Charlotte would cover her with every blanket in the house, throw book after book into the crib or try to lay on top of her.  This was all slightly humorous while being observed by a responsible adult that could put an end to things when necessary to sustain a normal breathing pattern or protect that cute little face from being smushed by a large book.  About a week before they moved in together, Eloise was in her crib with the mobile on, Char was sitting on her bed reading & I thought that Char seemed calm enough that I could vacuum the living room.  Three minutes into vacuuming I hear screaming so I go into the room.  Charlotte is smiling at me & Eloise has Charlotte's blankie over her face while screaming & flailing.  I pull the blanket off with one hand and reach the other direction to catch the toddler by the arm who is trying to escape.  I get her to look at my eyes (which can be so difficult some days) while I sternly tell her that she cannot throw ANYTHING into Elo's bed  that she could hurt her very badly.  I must have sounded more stern than I thought because Charlotte went bonkers!  She is screaming & saying "no spanking mommy!! no spanking!"  I calmed her down & told her that she was not getting a spanking this time but if she chose to do it again, she would receive a spanking.  We review the "rules" for having Eloise in the bed with mommy out of the room & I get back to vacuuming.  My goal is to allow her the opportunity to obey & get lots of praise for leaving Eloise alone, or disobey & receive the previously stated consequence.  After 5 minutes, I hear no screaming so I tip toe over to the door & peer in.  I can see Charlotte pulled up on the side of the crib & she is whispering to Eloise. I have to listen closely to hear "I hate spankings Eh-wheese! I hate them!" I think I may have gotten the point across ; )

So, fast forward a week, we decide that we should give it a whirl. They are both great sleepers going down around 7:30 & usually sleeping till 6:30 or 7. So, the first night, we do the bedtime routine, review the "rules" once more (maybe for the 100th time that day) kisses for them both & head out to the living room. We don't hear a thing so we continue on with our evening.  30 minutes later, Rob decides he will go check on them.  He opens the door to their room & can see Charlotte completely passed out in her bed.  The light comes across Elo's face in her crib. She is on her back, eyes WIDE open with her fists covering her mouth & nose, looking terrified to say the least.  He comes out to get me so I can see....oh my we laughed SO hard.  It was like she was thinking "Sleep with one eye open? I would rather sleep with both eyes open so I can be ready for that blanket!"  She survived the first night...and each since then.

Here they are one morning in their jammers 

The rest of the two weeks have been so much better than anticipated.  They usually go down at the same time but a few nights, one has gone to bed before the other & it has been no problem!  We added a video camera to the room that we can check the feed on our iphones to make sure Elo is safe & sound!  



She can only climb in if the gate is down...thankfully : )

 

Elo didn't mind having a guest I just pray that I never walk into this in the morning!

Many people ask how many bedrooms we have.  We have 4, the master, the home office, the girls room &  a guest room so yes, we have the space for them to each have their own room.  We really wanted them to share a room & have even thought that if there is a girl #3, we would keep on with the room sharing.  We are really hoping to foster a close friendship between siblings & encourage sharing instead of selfishness.

Two nights ago, I put Eloise down in the guest room because Matilda was over & they were playing in the girls room.  In the morning, Charlotte came running out screaming "Mommy! Where Eh-wheese go?" So I think we are safe to say that the big sis is used to the new set up!

Last thought, the little whispering I overheard completely confirmed our decision to have them be roomies.  I can't wait for all those funny little conversations that will be shared between two sisters that we get to eavesdrop on  : )