Adventures of a Modern Farm Family: Random places and ways we all sleep in this house....

The sleeping situation in our house is fluid at best. It is a miracle if no one wakes up in the middle of the night crying and everyone spends the whole night in their own bed.

Some things I just can't explain

Vincent usually sleeps in his own bed, but is known to say "I can't fall asleep" after a few minutes and beg to sleep in our room. It doesn't seem to matter what I say because if I say no I sometimes find him sleeping in my bed when I go to bed. Usually laying the normal way in the bed, sometimes taking up the entire bed, and lately at the foot of the bed.

J and C cuddling each other in our bed.

Joel has always been good about just staying in bed even if he can't fall asleep. He will lay there for hours wide awake because he knows he shouldn't get out of bed. Once in a very great while he will come out to the couch and beg me to cuddle him because he can't sleep and I usually give in and cuddle him. The last 6 months he has been ending up in our room in the morning. I have no idea what time he comes up but I am guessing he gets up to use the bathroom and decides he wants to come cuddle. Honestly I usually don't notice him until I wake up. The funny thing about Joel is no matter where I am sleeping he finds me. I can be in Cecilia's room, or in Vincent's bed or the couch and he finds me in the middle of the night. I am then scolded for not being in my room.

They trickled in our bed in the middle of the night. How we all fit I will never know.

Cecilia no longer screams and cries when we attempt to put her to bed (90% of the time) which is wonderful and her night terrors only happen once every few weeks. It used to be nightly, so we are thrilled with the progress! She doesn't end up in our bed as much as she used to and if we are lucky she only brings 1 or 2 babies with. Sometimes it is 10 or more and she gets mad if they can't all share my pillow with her. My pillow is never big enough!

Sometimes the kids ask us to lay with them at night. We say yes once in awhile and usually end up asleep in just a few minutes.

And sometimes you fall asleep cuddling a kid on the couch and your husband comes home and is nice enough to document it.

Dean ends up in our bed once in awhile, but only once a week or less. If you get him a milk sippy cup and change his diaper he will go right back to sleep, but it has to be in our bed. Returning him to his bed results in a very upset toddler who suddenly realizes he can escape from his crib. He did this to me a few months ago and climbed right out of the crib and came down the steep stairs in the dark and made it to our room. I need him in a crib still, he won't fall asleep unless he thinks he is trapped. He has tried to crawl out 1 other time but I yelled at him when he tried and we have been fine since, but I haven't pushed my luck by returning him to his crib in the middle of the night.

Somebody loves that the bottom bunk is currently only for the stuffed animals

Then there are nights where the stars align and 3-4 kids end up in our bed all at once. Pete hates those nights because he likes to sneak to the end of our bed at night and when all the kids show up there is no room for him. A kind sized bed is never big enough. We have had nights where 3 kids and Brad sleep normally in the bed and I sleep across the bottom because it is the only way to fit. Or if Vincent's bed is free Dean and I will sleep there and leave everyone else in my bed. Other times when Cecilia is screaming I will just go and sleep with her in her bed. It is musical beds around here. The other night the three big kids decided they were all sleeping in our bed and Brad and I were too tired to fight it. We wanted them asleep and we didn't care where they landed. Cecilia moved the dog bed and slept on the floor in our room, Vince and Joel took over the bed, Brad went to Vincent's bed and I squeezed in our bed with the boys who were sleeping with their heads at the foot of the bed. It wasn't long before Cecilia stood up screaming and saying in a panicked voice that she needed water. She was dreaming and I pulled her into bed with me and she went back to sleep.

This was naptime but most nights I find him sleeping with his hands behind his head.

When there are 3-4 kids in our bed multiple nights in a row I do get frustrated, but honestly I don't really mind it. They won't be little forever and if they want to cuddle Brad and I then so be it. Someday, sooner than I like, they will be too cool to cuddle us so for now I will cherish musical beds. The different positions they fall asleep in make me laugh so I take pictures. The angelic look they have when they sleep mesmerizes me, so I take pictures. One day when they find out I have all these pictures they probably won't love them as much as I do.