Saturday, September 13, 2008

Into the Closet


Isaiah is about six months old now and has been sleeping in our room since he was born. He still likes to check in with me every few hours to tell me how he's doing and ask for some warm milk. As much fun as these late-night to early-morning chats are, I started thinking I'd like to try sleeping through the night, or something close to that. 

When we talked about moving Isaiah out of the room, I couldn't think of anywhere to put him. The playroom and the kids' room wouldn't work because Isaiah naps during the day.  Our guest bedroom, or MDJ Development World Headquarters, was an obvious no-go.

Then Michael suggested putting him in my closet. To which I said, "Are you out of your mind?! What kind of person puts their baby in the closet?" Yeah, right! Absurd Michael.

But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. My closet is a decent- size little room that's very quiet and dark.  My closet is close enough for me to hear Isaiah at night, but far enough away so that I can get some sleep. And my closet is less likely to attract the notice of aspiring track stars (i.e., big brother) who like to hurdle cribs and land on top of sleeping infants. 

It turned out Michael's absurd idea wasn't quite so absurd after all. I just had to step back from all the cultural norm jazz. After all, just because he doesn't have his own beautiful nursery room doesn't mean I love him any less.

But I must admit, it does make me laugh whenever I see him in there. 

I'm hoping the clothes hanging over his head like a colorful, multi-textured mobile will get his creative juices flowing. Perhaps C.S. Lewis also spent his infant years in a closet too. Or did they call it a wardrobe?

9 comments:

Ashlee said...

Don't feel bad, I have put Mason in the closet on several occassions! It works great!!!

The James Family said...

are you saying that those of us that have never thought twice about putting our baby in the closet are bad??!! j/j The closets are the best, sound proof, dark, and small!! I bet he loves it in there:)

Mia said...

We always put one of the kids in the bathroom when we stay in hotels! Didn't Sam keep one of her kids in the closet until they moved?

Brooke said...

Kasey. I love it. I don't know how you got that crib in the closet in the first place. :-) It looks perfect for Isaiah.

Jamie Martin said...

Your post must be inspired- 7 month old Levi also enjoys several night time encounters with Mom, and I found myself contemplating the closet myself. Now I have some backup... Thanks also to everyone who responded, "Well, of course that's a fabulous idea!"

Kristi said...

Hee! I love it. He looks so cute in the closet with his colorful mobile. And Nolan and I have actually talked about doing this, too, with our next little one. I think it's a great idea!! Dude--you do what you have to do!

Katie said...

Okay thanks. Because recently we were staying at Luke's brother's house. They have these 5 perfectly perfect kids and when I told my sister-in-law (a.k.a. Mamasita of the Year) I wanted Felicity to sleep in the bathroom, there was a long. Long. Pause.

Wendy said...

Fabulous idea! We do it when we go to my mom's house or when someone comes here and the baby needs a good nap! It's usually really quiet, not many interuptions (you can still go into your room if you need to) and it's a lot cheaper than buying a bigger house with another room (to clean)! Bet you didn't know how many other people did this--it's actually not out of the norm (at least that's what I tell myself!)

Maren and Dustin said...

I think every master bedroom should have plenty of room for a "nursrey." It's dark, quiet, and I bet the clothes and other storage are great fun to look at. Thank goodness for hairbrained husbands!