I'm Calling B-2 in Bedtime Bingo

Sleeping arrangements here have always been a game of bingo. Back in the days of the single wide trailer with 4 kids and a labrador retriever, Becky had her own room, Luke and Josh shared a room, and Micah was in a crib in our room. Until he was 2. Because there was no room for a crib elsewhere. We were all thankful when we built the house and had oodles of space to rattle around in.

We asked the contractor to slap 5 bedroom on the upstairs of our blueprints because we could. Not that the rooms are any too roomy, mind you, but the smallest room is still bigger than the trailer bedrooms, so that's a win. Each kid had a place to call their own when we moved in here. And it wasn't until we moved in here that we realized that Luke was afraid to sleep on his own, because he'd never done that before. And that started the sleeping arrangement bingo.

Luke and Josh continued sleeping in the same room for a while, and then when we finally graduated Micah out of his crib and into his own bed, and then finalllllly got him to sleep in his own room all by himself without a 3 hour fight (I wish I were kidding), I then took over Micah's room as a sewing studio. Josh was liberated to sleep in his own room all by himself and Luke had to sleep with Micah. That's pretty much been the way things are here for a while.

We had bunk beds for the boys when we moved in, and when we moved Micah into Luke's room, we switched his set to one that had a double bed on the bottom. Turns out, Micah likes sleeping with someone. As in, he needs to touch someone while he sleeps. Or use them as a full body pillow. It's all subjective. So we tried giving Luke a little more room to get away while also ensuring that Micah slept as soundly as that boy can sleep. Which, a lot of nights, isn't all that sound. From that, we just traded those bunks for a double bed because nobody slept on the top.

Today, we switched things up a bit yet again. A friend donated a bunk bed set that came apart, so Luke and Micah each get their own separate single beds. Still sharing a room, but sleeping in separate beds. Luke is beside himself with glee at the thought of not being kicked in the spleen every night. Micah, too, is a bit proud of his very own big boy bed.

Here's hoping that he still thinks that in the morning and doesn't bridge the gap in the night and end up in Luke's bed. One small step toward future independence. For both the boys.