Sharing a Room. Sharing a Memory.

Someone once told me that it was against the law for a brother and sister to share a room. I don’t know if there is any truth to that, but I love having both of my babies in the same room together. Maya always goes to bed first. Then Jayden goes. He whispers so he doesn’t wake his sister. I get him his milk, his blanket and his Blue’s Clues plush. Then he asks for the night light and his music. I give him a hug and a kiss and say night-night. And just as I walk out of the door, he asks, “Daddy’s coming soon?” I always reassure him, put up the baby gate and leave. His version of whispering is pretty loud, but he’s so cute and Maya usually doesn’t stir very much.

I always go back to check on them and they look like two little angels. Maya is usually asleep on her tummy with her bum in the air and her arms and legs tucked under her. Other times she’s sleeping on top of her plushes and lovies. I wonder how she could possibly be comfortable and move the toys, but then she starts to scramble all over trying to find her comfy spot again. I lay the blanket on her. Then I take Jayden’s toys away. Lately, he goes to sleep with Blue and his handy dandy notebook. I give him a kiss and caress his cheek. I lay his blanket on him and when I turn around, Maya has already rolled all over and the covers have fallen off.

In the mornings, Maya wakes up first. She immediately starts to chatter and sing to herself. Sometimes she starts to whine. I usually go get her so she doesn’t wake her brother, but sometimes it’s too late. They are both awake, playing, and laughing. I wonder what they could both find so amusing, since neither of them is talking to each other. Sometimes when I get there, Jayden is still sleeping but Maya is trying to wake him. I see her standing up on the far side of the crib looking down at Jayden and making baby sounds. She doesn’t always hear me coming and the look on her face when she realizes that I’m there is just priceless. She has the widest smile and I could swear her eyes are shining.

I can’t wait to put them both to sleep at the same time so that we can do story time together. Right now, story time is very inconsistent and I rarely get to read to them both at the same time. Plus, they are both at different stages. Maya just listens and squeals. Jayden wants to interact with the book. He wants to turn the pages and point at the pictures on the pages and ask about their color or shape. Sometimes, the story morphs into a completely different story. The only time I get them both for story time is whenever we bathe them together, maybe once a week. I’ll be happy to have a more consistent bedtime ritual.

When I was growing up, my sisters and I all slept in the same room and I always had the fondest memories of our late night chats. I couldn’t possibly remember what we talked about but I remember getting shushed and threatened many times. I know Jayden and Maya can’t share a room forever, but my sisters and I enjoyed sharing rooms and I want the kids to have fond memories too.