On Beds and Kids and Sleep

March 7, 2011 - 2 Comments by Mishi - Sponsored Post

“The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late.”—Charles Caleb Colton

When Michael and I got married my parents bought us a bedroom suite. It’s beautiful; what’s even more beautiful about it is that we picked it out together. We knew we’d sleep together in it as husband and wife, and we knew that some day we would conceive our beautiful children in our bed. The bed, itself, is even more precious now since we lost Sadie in 2009, because in 1995 she, ever-so the rambunctious and chewing obsessed puppy, put her permanent marks on the headboard. At first it made me upset, but years later I appreciate the marks she left behind on our bed. The other day, while Michael and I were talking about it, we decided that we could never get rid of the bed. We decided that maybe one day, Livey would inherit our bed.

Right now Olivia has a wonderful daybed, complete with a trundle—perfect for sleepovers or when her room is transformed into our guest quarters.  Michael’s parents bought her that bed when she was three, and I can still remember how small she looked in it, in our first house, on Oehman Boulevard. She was so tiny that she needed a gate to ensure that she didn’t fall out onto the hardwood floor. Now? She fills the bed, both with her body, and all her favorite Webkinz, pillows, and comforters.  Thank goodness for multiple duvet sets. Girls like plenty of choices; you know, GIRLS!

During this time, across the hall, the boys’ bedroom housed a full sized bed and the crib. We actually got the full sized bed when we still lived in the apartment, honestly, because of the great deal, and we figured that someday our little “Irish Twins” could sleep together until we bought our own house. We didn’t know that the “Irish Twins” would turn into [almost] “Irish Triplets”.  And, it just worked out that, when we moved into our first home Livey would get her own bedroom while the boys began their journey of brothers—sharing a room. Years went by. Benny grew. The crib went into the basement, and then donated to charity.  We simply thought we were done having children.  When the factories aren’t permanently closed [you] should never think your done.   There’s a name for people that have sex:  PARENTS!

When we moved to Winchester we figured the boys would continue to share the full sized bed. That was until my parents came to visit and offered to buy the boys bunk beds. It was a welcomed gift. Not only were they jazzed about the kind of bed they were getting, they were jazzed about how much space they’d have on their floor. At the time they were infatuated with cars and trains. Along with the beds my mom picked up a car mat for them which they played on for countless hours. When we first moved to this house the beds were bunked, but here recently they decided to use them as individual twin beds. Sure they wouldn’t have as much floor space to play, but these boys have grown and play has changed as they have grown. This month Mikey will be thirteen. A TEEN!

I venture to say that someday in the near future the two younger brothers will get use the bunk beds again, allowing the eldest some teenaged privacy.  For now Davey sleeps in a really nice twin-sized bed. He never really slept soundly in the crib we had for him, so while the kids and I were on a trip to Buffalo, Michael surprised us buy taking the crib out and putting in the new big-boy bed. His sleep patterns leave something to be desired, but I will say that the bed was a saving grace for me on many nights.

I’m happy with the sleep/bedding choices we’ve made for ourselves and our children over the years.

I’d love to hear how and where your children sleep, and how you came to those decisions!

[Disclosure: I was contacted to write a sponsored post about choosing beds for children. The thoughts and feelings in this post are genuine and purely mine.]

Tagged: bunk beds, choosing beds for kids, day bed, dogs and beds, duvet sets, full sized bed, sleeping arrangements for kids, sleigh bed, trundle

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