The Sliding Door and a New Generation

One of the most common questions we get about bringing our new baby home is "Where is everybody going to sleep?" Our social worker even had to submit a report to the Alabama Department of Human Resources as part of our home study addressing that very issue.

It hasn't been as cut and dry a decision as you might imagine, though. Part of deciding on the sleeping arrangements for our four little ones depends on the bed to crib ratio we have at the time our baby comes home (and the timing depends on a million and one circumstances that are completely out of our control). In the last three years for our children, we've had one crib, then one crib plus one bed, and finally, two cribs plus one bed.

Take the DHR requirement for only same-gendered children to share a room, mix it with a splattering of cohabiting siblings (one of whom is spilling out the sides of his baby crib), and throw in the strong recommendation of nearly all adoption professionals that you keep your newest little one in the room with you at night for at least the first few weeks -- and you've got a recipe for one confusing bedroom equation!

So after about fifty different arrangement ideas, we think we've finally got it -- the whole plan boils down to Jack getting a big boy bed.

Not only does that give Jack some much-needed leg room (although he loves his crib and would probably stay in there until he starts kindergarten), but it also frees up a baby bed for the next Lewis little man.

Josh immediately knew where he wanted to go to get Jack's first big boy bed. It's a little place called Pam's Attic. It was a bit dark, and they keep it really hot in there -- but hey, the goodies are free, so I'm not complaining!!

Okay, okay -- Pam is Josh's mom, and yes, we literally got the bed out of the attic in her house. It was Josh's bed when he was a little boy, and he was thrilled to be able to pass it along to Jack! We picked the bed up while we were in Marietta last weekend, and we decided today that we just couldn't wait any longer to set it up. And it's certainly safe to say that Jack was lost in a bit of Boyhood Wonderland when we got it ready for him this morning.

You can barely see it in the picture above, but the headboard of the bed has a little sliding door that covers a cubbyhole in the center of the bed. Jack's not exactly known for his subtle movements, which explains how he kept yanking the door off whenever he tried to open and close it. I mentioned to Josh the possibility of just leaving the door off, and with an expression that greatly resembled a mix of shock and pity over my girly lack of understanding, Josh replied, "But Al, you can't do that. It's a secret compartment!"

Needless to say, the door stayed. (I'm now imagining all the early mornings I get to wake up with Jack standing half an inch from my face wanting me to come fix the door on his secret compartment so his cars and trucks can go back inside.) :-)

Once my ticket to Eternal Early Mornings was full, Jack took to stacking some of his favorite books on the shelves. He worked with an attention to detail that I'm not sure I've ever seen in our sweet ball of energetic chaos.

And when he was done, he had quite the little setup...

...and he was ecstatic over getting to take a nap in his new big boy bed.

Even Izzy thought it was a grand idea!

I would love to show you the final product, but Jack's getting some fun firetruck bedding for his birthday at the end of the month (shhhhh, it's a secret)...

...so I'm going to make you wait to see the new setup.

Happy Labor Day!!!!