the pros & cons of life in the SAME bed...

CO Bedding has been on my mind a lot lately! I wonder if it has affected our children for the better or for the worse. I mean we still co-bed our little ones! OK not all 4 but 2 of the 4! The identicals which we sometimes refer to as the "twins" sleep together. They seem to be happy, healthy well adjusted children but are they really? I decided to write a post about it since we dealt with this arrangement on our last trip. Whenever you go away with little ones you always have to think of the sleeping arrangements. Our situation is a litle different since 2 of our 4 still sleep together. This may have started out as a necessity but has turned into something I think they crave. Don't get me wrong, we have an EXTRA crib in our garage but we have never had to set it up. The reason I know they want or need to be together has shone through or a few seperate occasions. You see whenever they go to bed, one of the "twins" will ALWAYS asks where the other is if she is not already in the crib. And once that other twin arrives they get a HUGE smile on their face & then lay down & get all comfy in their side of the crib. They actually have sides if you can believe that! Once they are asleep they are side by side. SO adorable! I bring up this co-bedding topic since we just got back from our latest adventure where sharing the same bed came in handy. I have to admit that we have co-bedded our quads since day one. Once they all got home from the hospital we had all 4 in the same crib for at least the first month or so. It was just easier in the beginning for me PLUS that is how they were in the NICU towards the end of their stay. On a few occasions they have even held "sleepovers" where another one of their siblings will get to sleep over in their crib. Then that ousted kid gets to sleep in the "invitees" crib. They like those rare moments but mostly they just like sleeping together. It is AMAZING to me how the "twins" just LOVE sleeping together! I myself like having a bed all to myself! LOL! When we went away for a family wedding in April they stayed with family& the "twins" cried the first night they were put in seperate pac n'plays. Once she put them in the same one they were fine. UH OH! Did co-bedding them cause that or are they actually so close that they WANT to sleep together? My hope is the latter & they WANT to be together. So after hearing that I knew that they would be ok when we brought them to GA and had just the one pac n'play for them. We actually brought a rather LARGE pac n'play, heck let's just call it a play YARD. The "twins" slept in there TOGETHER and my brother borrowed 2 other pac n'plays for Cam & Bren. There I was laying out liners in each of them & making sure they all had their snugglies. Everyone was happy & their "bed's" took up less room. Getting back to the whole co-bedding topic... We have discused this with our pediatrician several times & they say that the American Pediatrics Association condones co bedding. It helps with multiples especially, remember they were in the same sac in utero! I LOVE that I am actually doing something that is recommended! YAY! We are now getting close to the age that they will move on to their next stage of bed. I I SO WANT THEM TO STAY IN THEIR CRIBS AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Whether it be a toddler bed or a twin is up for discussion. I cannot see having the expense of buying 4 toddler beds. I'd rather buy BIG boy & girl bed's, the ones that will last them FOREVER. SO I ask you, Did you co bed? If so for how long? and When is it TOO long? Oh...

the pros & cons of life in the SAME bed...

indoor activities....

Since we are in the start of an ACTIVE Hurricane season I have decided to clean house & see what we really have stored away for a rainy day. We have been SO blessed by receiving so many hand me down clothes & toys! I have hoarded them away for just the right opportunity and it looks like the time is now! I discovered a ton of baby clothes, won't some new mommy be happy when I show up with that box!!, quite a few wooden puzzles & a "ride on" toy that they almost outgrew. I put it together yesterday when they napped. Boy you should have seen them when they saw it for the first time! I should have known better than to have only 1 new toy because all they did was fight over who was going to ride it. Luckily the horn, gear stick, center console thing came off so I could give that to one child, another could sit on it & one could push the child that was sitting on it. I had three of the four covered, oh to be the odd man out! I decided the one left out would get to spend some quality "mommy time". Whew! I escaped that trap! If a Hurricane comes what am I gonna do?? I need to get better prepared! So I am starting to organize all of their stuff. Not only do I have to organize the stuff we use but I also have to get rid of TONS! I have started a box of toys to give to Miss Janet, their former developmental therapist. We met her through "Healthy Start" where our little ones received developmental therapy from her in our home. She is truly one of a kind & works with mostly premature babies that qualify for her program. She brings a bag of "tricks", developmental toys, that she purchased on her own. SO whenever I have a developmental toy I try to pass it along to her. Then I have a box for a deserving family associated with the NICU full of clothes they have outgrown & then last but not least one for Goodwill. I always want to return the favor when we have been SO blessed. I never throw things away, I always find them a good home. Those last two boxes are the hardest on my hubby BECAUSE they never leave our house till they are full. He likes a CLEAN house full of no clutter! We have baby stuff EVERYWHERE! See what having four babies does to you? ha! I should have done this a LONG time ago! But I thrive under pressure! hehee! So I better get started while they are napping. I hope everyone enjoys their...

indoor activities....