Bunk Beds!

You might remember a few months back we tried moving Alex's crib into Ajay's room so they could share a room and have a playroom dedicated to toys.  (Hey! That post was exactly one year ago today!)  You might also remember that, although we tried for about 2 weeks, it just didn't work out and they were split back up into separate rooms. 

Well, with the baby coming in May we wanted to give sharing a room another shot.  A few things have changed since our first attempt.  Mainly, the boys are older.  Also, Alex was doing fine in his toddler bed and we figured he would do just as well in a twin sized bed.  He was still using a pacifier to sleep but we gave him plenty of warning that when he was moved to the bunk bed the binky would be no more.  He kept agreeing to this but we were still worried about what he would do when the night came to actually take the binky away. 

We've been researching bunk beds for a month or more now and with some of the end-of-year sales we thought we might as well dive on in and make the purchase.  The baby may not be here for awhile longer and he/she may not sleep in his/her crib for a couple of months after that but we wanted to get the boys used to their new sleeping arrangement before we introduced another human to the household.  Once the beds were paid for we were able to fit the bed slats (in their cardboard boxes) in the back of our van (back seat folded down, the long box resting between the boys' seats).  Biju then went back the next day with the boys' seats removed from the van to pick up the mattresses. 

This was right before Christmas plus we had other things crop up as well (like a nail in a tire) so we weren't able to put the beds together right away.  All the bunk making supplies were placed in Ajay's room for easy assembly.  Here we have the bunk beds still boxed up, Alex's old toddler bed that will be going back to my sister's house soon for Audrey, and Ajay's old twin that, for now, will be moved into the baby's room to be used as a guest bed.

We put the mattresses on the floor of Alex's room and used this as a tester to see how the boys would do together.  We also took this opportunity to take away the pacifier.  Alex wasn't in his bunk bed yet but he was on his big boy mattresses, which was close enough in our books.  And do you know that kid didn't make one squeak about it??  I figure it had to have been because we made such a big deal leading up to the event that he was okay with it.  He did get a little upset at naptime the next day but since then it has been smooth sailing.  So nice.

Here is Alex acting all goofy on his mattress before bed.

Both boys getting out some sillies before settling down for the night.

And both boys out cold for the night.  They're such angels when they're sleeping!

Since Ajay's room was filled with bunk bed materials and Alex's floor was covered in mattresses we all felt a little unorganized and cluttered for a few days.  The boys also felt that since we had put the mattresses on the floor we had issued an open invitation for them to jump on the mattresses freely.  There was no such invitation and I felt I was constantly barking at the jumping beans to cut it out!

When a free afternoon/evening finally presented itself Biju got to work and we were pleasantly surprised that it really didn't take that long to put together.  He was worried about having me help him and doing some heavy lifting, so we took it easy.  He got the bottom part assembled and then we only partially assembled the top part before we lifted it into place, this way I didn't to strain any muscles.  The rest of the top bed was assembled in the air (not as hard as it sounds).  In the end we wound up with a nice sturdy bed for the boys to sleep in - and the really nice part is that there isn't room for the boys to jump!  If they jump on the bottom bed they'll hit their heads on the slats above them.  If they jump on the top bunk they'll bonk their heads on the ceiling.  Fabulous - lesson learned!  (Alex is short and he still tries, so we keep repeating the rule "No standing on the top bunk" to him over and over.  He's a smart kid, surely he'll catch on quickly, right?)

They couldn't wait to get into bed that night!! 

We opted not to buy any stairs or ladders that would lead to the top bunk.  Isn't it a child's right of passage to have to figure out how to get to the top bunk by climbing up the end of the bed??

Alex visits Brother up top whenever he gets the chance.  Ajay usually doesn't mind the company.

Time to get a few more squirrelies out then settle in for some sleep.

They were disappointed they only got one night in their new beds before we headed to my families' for Christmas.  Since we've been back home they've done wonderfully.  I'm so glad this "rooming in" is working out much better than the first attempt - especially since there was some serious dough forked out this time!!