Day 942 - The One Where Ellie and Ethan Finally Share a Room

Big moment incoming! 

 

I don't mean to alarm anyone but we are in the midst of unpecedented times here at #DaddyWrite headquarters. It's official; Ethan and Ellie now share a room. This has long been a part of our plan but we struggled with bringing it to fruition until last week. Fortunately for us, that time is over and the kids share a room for at least the time being.

We had several reasons for wanting Ethan and Ellie to share a room but the most pressing was that we really needed the use of our guest room over Thanksgiving. Keeping that in mind, we made the decision on Sunday the 22nd to move Ethan into Ellie's room for the night. Now, this was kind of a soft launch. Rather than completely deconstructing Ethan's crib and moving it (since it won't fit through the door), we instead just cleared out a space in the corner of Ellie's room and tossed Ethan's mattress on the floor. We had tried the exact same thing back in September or October but we had a trump card to work in our favor on this occasion: "This Old Man".

Last month, we made the decision to purchase a CD player for Ethan's room with the hope that it would help the little man to fall asleep much easier at night. At that point, I was spending nearly 30 minutes each night trying to get Ethan to fall asleep. It generally ended in frustration for me and tears for Ethan. Not fun at all. For some reason though, once a constant stream of music (starting with "This Old Man") was thrown into the mix, Ethan would fall asleep and stay asleep. Miraculous. And to think, it only took us close to two years to think of it.

In spite of our trump card, I still had my doubts about whether or not Ethan and Ellie would be able to successfully share a room. The reasons for me doubting Ethan are relatively obvious. Ellie, however, is another story. While she was initially excited to share a room with her brother, I couldn't help but remember what happened the last time we attempted this. In case anyone is wondering, on that occasion, Ellie burst forth from her room screaming and crying on night 2 that Ethan wouldn't let her sleep. Needless to say, we separated them on that night.

This time though, things couldn't have worked any better. Ellie, for her part, made a big sacrifice and gave up her bedtime routine of falling asleep while listening to the Moana soundtrack. Ethan, for his part, adjusted marvelously to his new surroundings and continues to do well a week and a half later. In fact, on Monday, we made the move official by finally taking apart Ethan's crib and relocating it to Ellie's bedroom.

Honestly, I have to say that I'm pretty excited for the next couple of years now that Ellie and Ethan are sharing a room. Obviously, as a boy and a girl, we know there is a small window where it is socially acceptable for them to share said room. That being said, I think the two are really going to build a cool bond as a result of this experiment. Either that or they'll end up growing to hate one another for years to come.

For the record, I'm rooting for option #1. #DaddyWrite