Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The New Room

Finally! A post about the new room. I intended to make this post almost two weeks ago, but my hospital stay last week got a little in the way of that. Penelope and I are doing very well at home so far. I had one trip to the MEU this past Saturday night (courtesy of my dear friend Amanda so that Gary could stay with the kids). Thankfully, two shots of terbutaline knocked out the contractions this time, so I didn't get admitted and was able to go back home around 2:30 Sunday morning.

So, here we go. The weekend before last, Gary moved the kids from their old room to the new room. He had to take apart the cribs to get them into the new room, and then used furniture sliders for the rest. Then he had to move all the things in the bathroom, closet, etc. I was pretty shocked that he got it all moved as quickly as he did. The furniture was in and ready Saturday after lunch, just in time for naps.

To begin, here is a shot of the new room from the old hallway (in the "new hallway" the door to the bathroom is on the left and the two doors to the two new walk-in closets are to the right):



And here are pictures of the room from the "new hallway":




A shot of the bathroom from the new hallway, followed by a close-up pic (I just realized that I forgot to take a picture of the part of the bathroom with the tub and toilet -- it's not that exciting anyway):




After taking these pics, I sat down under the window at the end of the room to wait on the kids. I took a pic of their new (bigger) chairs:



And then I just waited for Gary to bring the kids up from their lunch. They have been dying to get into the new room since the construction began, but we rarely let them in there. I couldn't wait to see their reaction to the room itself, but I also couldn't wait to see if they could figure out what it meant that all of their furniture was in the new room. And I waited. . . .



Then the kids finally showed up. They were SO confused at first. . . .






Piper was definitely the first one to figure out what was going on and lose the confused expression on her face:



Rosemary took a little longer to figure it out:




There was a lot of exploration -- the new chairs, the bathroom, looking in the cribs to make sure they were their own cribs, etc.










Once the kids figured out that not only were they allowed in that room but that room was going to be their new bedroom, they got REALLY excited. They just ran. And ran and ran and ran. And then they would take a break and sit in their new chairs. Then they'd take off running again!


















Then, as they got more comfortable, the kids started pulling things out of the drawers of the dresser and armoire, and trying on what they could figure out. Then they would run a little more:











We have one small issue in that we don't have a full length shutter for the window in there due to the radius over the window. When Gary and I first moved in the house over 7 years ago and got the estimate on shutters for the house, we quickly decided to go the cheaper route of not having the shutters made to cover the radius and just to cut off the shutter at a certain point and let light come in. Once we decided to put the kids in that room, no amount of money seemed too much to keep the sunlight out of the room -- thus lead to more sleeping. So, we have ordered a radius made to fit the top of the window, but since it won't be in for a couple more weeks, we had to compromise:



So far the kids love the new room and are sleeping very well in there. It was an easy transition. We are going to be doing some work to our backyard, so that is the next big thing on our list. After that, Gary will paint Penelope's room and start getting everything ready for her. Lots of exciting things going on around here!!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice room but why not just put them in beds instead of cribs. You will have to move Henry into his own room at some time.

Heather said...

Hi, Anonymous. I have to admit that Gary and I literally laughed out loud when we read your comment. You must not have kids!! Our kids aren't even 2 years old, and if you put them in a bed, then they can get up and go wherever they want! From talking with many other parents of triplets, kids going to "big kid beds" is the end of productive night-time sleeping and good naps if done too early -- and everyone agrees that before 2 is way too early! Our kids will be in cribs for as long as they will stay in them! As far as Henry, we don't "have" to move him into his own room at some time, but we do plan on doing that when everyone is ready. Right now, the kids enjoy each other's company way too much to take that away from them -- not to mention the fact that we don't have unlimited space (thus the new room) and Penelope is going to need her own room to wake up every 2-3 hours to eat. . . .

MJ said...

Beautiful room! Lots of space! It looks great. I am with you on keeping them in cribs as long as possible. My twins are 18 months and it will be a while before they are out of their cribs. My older daughter was in a bed at 23months, but with 2, no way.

I hope Penelope stays put a while longer. I cannot imagine a newborn and toddler multiples. Yikes!

Melissa

Heather said...

Thanks, MJ! :)

The Grasshoppa:Triplets Plus Two Momma said...

oh my lands-----yes...moving to beds will be THE END to easy sleep. I am still sitting in the room at night with our 5 years old---otherwise it is ONE BIG PARTY. Not to mention---no more naps!

Good thinking Lee's!

Heather---I have been out of commission with everyone having the Plague for 2 weeks straight---oh my lord---and I just wanted you to know I am thinking of you and that little Penelope.

I also had the most issues with my post-triplet baby then with any of the pregnancies and believe it was absolutely due to the distention of the uterus, etc. while carrying the multiples.

You are doing great. I know you will both be just fine.

Hugs.

Heather said...

Thank you so much, Daune. I have felt so sorry for all of you being sick. That has had to be absolutely miserable. I hope you're all coming out the other side now!

Jennifer Crawley said...

Heather, I think that you have made the best decision for your family! I don't know what Anonymous was thinking!! Has he/she met your kids? Just kidding! I think Henry benefits from being in the room with his siblings and speaking as his speech therapist ... I feel that it is developmentally appropriate and the perfect environment to work on their language skills early in the morning while mommy and daddy are still sleeping!!
Great session today!!!

Heather said...

Thanks, Jennifer. We did have a great session! I can't believe how much the kids have improved!

Beth said...

Heather, You and Gary know what is best for your family and I say (pulling out my card like Jennifer did)as their Developmental Specialist, that they need to stay in their cribs until they figure out how to get out of them on their own. It would be detrimental to their emotional development to separate them any time soon. Oh and by the way God made them together so they can stay together! I am bummed that I won't be their "official" person with EI anymore but I will definitely have to drop by to check up on them. Especially now that they smile at me and want me to hold them. My heart was smiling today!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes I do have kids and both were out of cribs before 2 and sleeping in their own big boy/girl beds. They are not only triplets but individuals as well so need some time by themselves too. If you are so worried about space then why are you having another child. How do you expect to give the three older ones attention when the baby arrives.

Heather said...

Anonymous: When I read your first comment, I thought that you may be commenting to bait and stir up trouble. The first sign was that you posted anonymously, without signing your name. After reading your second commment, I am quite sure that your intent is to bait and stir up trouble. It is abundantly clear from the concerns that you have voiced that you do not know me, my husband, or my children. As such, I will not dignify your comment with a response, nor will I respond to any future comments you may make on my blog. I wish you the best -- obviously you are a bitter, unhappy person, but I hope you can find some consolation in your perception that you have superior childrearing skills. Bye bye now.

The Grasshoppa:Triplets Plus Two Momma said...

Lord have mercy.

I wonder if we will ever have "that" much free time on our hands---to you know..... be stupid.



And yes...we are all mostly on the mend now...thanks.

I forgot to mention how much I loved the photos of the new room (and the girls outfits) and I am thinking of finally moving Ella out of the triplet nursery to be with Mae when they start elementary school in a few months. We'll see. She is such a great sleeper. At this point, the boys are a distraction for her.

[I am also thinking of possibly letting the teenager out of her crib. She will be 17. Do you think I am being too hasty?] lol.

Hope the trolls stay away. Like you need all that nonsense.

Cathy said...

The room looks GREAT! You must be thrilled. It looks like the kids made it their own immediately!

NOT that you solicited your readers' opinions on when/where children should sleep, but I feel compelled to share my experiences on this front (I'm not a triplet mom, but a mother of three). J started jumping out of his crib at 17 months. Despite our desperate efforts to keep him in there (watching him on a video monitor and trying to intercept him before he jumped out, etc.) there was no hope - once he jumped out, he was out for good. Since he was still a baby, we did not feel comfortable with him roaming the house, or even roaming free in his own room - a 17 month old boy can find trouble even in a completely baby-proofed room. So he started sleeping on a fold out Elmo chair (don't ask- her refused the toddler bed or crib mattress on the floor) David and I took turns lying down with him to get him to sleep. And for the next 4 years, David and I took turns lying down with him to get him to sleep. Not a habit I suggest anyone start, unless that sounds like the way you want to spend your only free time of the day . . .

We moved E to a bed at 2.5, right when we moved to the new house and before C was born (the crib went to C). 2.5 was MUCH MUCH better than 17 months, but we still had to sit with her to keep her from roaming sometimes, which brings us to. . .

C will be 3 in August, and is still happily sleeping in her crib. She is my best sleeper, hands down. She can climb into her crib, but so far has shown no interest in climbing out. She is happy there, and I intend to leave her in her crib until college (or at least close to age 4) as long as she continues to sleep well and no other reason presents itself to move her sooner.

Heather said...

Thanks, Daune! I'm so glad you're almost better -- and I'm glad to read some blog posts from you again! And as far as your 17 year old, I say leave her in the crib as long as she doesn't know she can get out!!! LOL! :) Let me know how it goes with moving Mae. We plan on switching Henry and Penelope in a few years, and I wonder how that is going to go.

Cathy, thank you -- I completely agree with you that it just depends on the kids -- and it sounds like you've done everything you can do with the kids you have. I don't know why my children don't know that they could get out of their cribs, but I sure don't question it. I told someone the other day that they may be in cribs when they go to kindergarten! But I'm mostly joking about that. . . . Mostly.

Jenny Henderson said...

The comments of anonymous remind me of that creepy dude who left that comment on Gary's blog about circumcision reversal. Highly entertaining, but it makes you wonder what kind of person monitors strangers' blog posts and feels compelled to give unsolicited advice. Weird. Anyway, I love the new room! And, my guess is that Henry would be down right pissed if you tried to make him sleep in a room by himself. Glad your home and doing OK!

Jenny Henderson

Stephanie :) said...

Wow, Someone should surely give Anonymous the Parenting award of the year. ALL her kids were in big boy beds before 2, AND had their own space so at 24 months old, they could have their free time to... play with blocks and pick their noses?? Also she seems to be educated on exactly how many children each person should have. Must be nice to have so much knowledge. And She probably has so much free time because each of her children are busy jumping on their "big boy beds" in their own rooms bored out of their minds. :)

Cindy Lee Grant said...

Hi Heather -

Wow, I can't believe you have trolls on your blog! Keep them in the crib as long as they stay! Once they figure out how to front flip over the top rail then the rails come off :) I love the photos of the kids discovering their new room, it looks beautiful.

When I took Tyler (newborn) and Andrew (20 months) to visit my grandmother, this little old lady in the nursing home stopped me in the hall and said, in a VERY loud voice, "Honey! They have pills now you can take to keep from getting pregnant! Just ask your doctor and he'll give them to you!" Aren't strangers just precious, bless their hearts!

Love to everybody !!! Cindy

Cindy Lee Grant said...

Hi Heather -

Wow, I can't believe you have trolls on your blog! Keep them in the crib as long as they stay! Once they figure out how to front flip over the top rail then the rails come off :) I love the photos of the kids discovering their new room, it looks beautiful.

When I took Tyler (newborn) and Andrew (20 months) to visit my grandmother, this little old lady in the nursing home stopped me in the hall and said, in a VERY loud voice, "Honey! They have pills now you can take to keep from getting pregnant! Just ask your doctor and he'll give them to you!" Aren't strangers just precious, bless their hearts!

Love to everybody !!! Cindy

Heather said...

Thanks, everyone! It looks like Anonymous has disappeared for now. I checked on her, and she is from Canada and found us through a Mothers of Multiples blogroll. I sure am glad I use a program to monitor my blog traffic so that I have her IP address and other information!! You know, just in case she's really crazy.

Cindy -- that is hilarious! Strangers certainly are interesting, that's for sure.