Bed-lam

Among many other things happening in recent weeks (potty training, a trip to Colorado, frequent nervous breakdowns over the impending end of our lease) we have decided to finally get new beds for the girls.  I know I have mentioned it here in the past, and I am proud to say that after much deliberation and teary sad mama reflection (I was sure that if I kept them in small beds, they'd stay small forever, but alas, they continue to grow), the blonde and brunette each have their very own twin bed, complete with box spring and metal frame of death.  The blonde informed me that while she was pleased with the new furniture, it was really unnecessary, as she does not sleep.  No, she just lays awake in her bed all night while her sisters sleep - she just waits for it to be morning and occasionally rests her eyes, which is not to be mistaken with falling asleep.  Yes.  This is not the first time she has mentioned this little tid bit of information, and I have even heard her tell other people, which of course leads to a judgemental "you let your child stay awake all night?" raised eye brow face of disdain.  No, she does not really stay awake all night, and if she did, it would not be because I am "letting" her.  It would be because she is too sneaky about it for me to find out.  Either way, sleeping or not, as long as there is quiet, I won't complain.  Now, if they are getting out of their beds, that is another story, and it is proving to be quite a problem for the baby.  Since her sisters got new beds, it is only fair that she would also get an upgrade, so the crib came down and she moved into one of the toddler beds.  At first I was very excited for this, because typically in the mornings, all of the girls would wake up and leave the baby in the room alone, crying in her crib until my husband or I came in to free her from crib prison, since she, or her sisters, for that matter, never ventured to attempt climbing out of the crib on their own.  In a toddler bed, she could easily get out of bed in the morning with her sisters, and maybe I could get an extra minute or two in my own bed while they play quietly before breakfast.  Apparently I had failed to connect that getting out of bed in the morning goes hand in hand with getting out of bed at nap time, bed time, in the middle of the night, and any other time the baby gets an urge to be up exploring.  And by exploring, I mean cleaning out the dressers.  In the first day alone, every time she came out of her room when she should have been sleeping, she had a different combination of clothing on, none of it her own, and flittle of it on the right body part.  After light scolding and reminding her that even though she can get out of bed, she must stay in it to sleep, she eventually got tired enough to give up, albeit only half in the bed.  The next day, I was a bit more prepared and started nap time with a firm reminder that she must not get out of bed.  Success!  She didn't come out one time, and the room was so quiet, there was no way she could be up to trouble.  Fast forward a couple of hours, and I decide I can't contain it, I have to see for myself that my tiny baby is sleeping in her big bed, so I gently open the door and look to the bed, but there is no baby.  Instead, there is a fountain of clothing streaming from the dresser drawers down to a pile on the floor, in the midst of which lies the baby, sleeping, with her sister's shirt on, an exposed little behind, and one leg in some pajama pants.  Naturally, I tell my husband to come see, and we stand in the room quietly cracking up, and trying to find the video camera to document the shenanigans for future blackmail purposes.  We leave her on the floor, not willing to risk moving her to the bed, and close the door so she can finish her nap.  As is expected at this point, the spends the remainder of the week falling asleep on the floor mid-mischief, and her sisters ignore her as they enjoy the novelty of their own new beds, sleeping, or not sleeping, growing all the while.