Keeping them in bed...

... is also much more difficult now, than it ever was before.

I don't know why I never thought about our babies growing in to toddlers that would be capable of climbing in and out of their cribs whenever they want. But, this whole escape, "Hey I'm FREE!" thing has taken some time to sink in.

I've already mentioned that the kids have been climbing out of their cribs ... consistently ... for the past several months.

Infact, I can't recall the last time that I had to physically lift someone out of their crib. When they wake up from their nap, or for the day, they'll climb out of their crib and call for me. While the girls are stuck behind the baby gate that separates their room from the rest of the house, William will walk out of his room and come find me - wherever I may be.

Every single morning, for the past two weeks, he'll come cruising in to our room at 6:30 AM, sharp, with his blankets and stuffed animals in hand, and cheerily call out "Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy! Wake Up!!"

Last night, Charlie and I were up late finishing some work, and didn't get to bed until almost 1 AM. When William came strolling in this morning, I saw Charlie groggily patting around the top of his head and asking "Where's the snooze button?!"

For the most part, William is content to crawl in to bed and lie with us for another 30 minutes before we get up for the day. But quite often, this morning for example, he'll climb across our faces for the remote control so that he can flip on The Disney Channel and then, in a piercing toddler octave with his mouth pressed against my ear, ask for "JUICE!!"

We've been really struggling with the whole sleeping arrangement, in part because I've been in denial that our children are, in fact, growing up. Yet they remain incredibly disinterested in potty training.

Although the cribs have no moveable parts (i.e. railings that go up or down), watching the kids escape from - and return to - their beds with such ease, has us convinced that it's time for a change. Even though I'd like them to stay in cribs until they are four, at least they're consistent.

I'm noticing that very rarely are they doing things that I'd "like" for them to do.

I've heard some good things about crib tents, but they were never really an option for us. Not just because I didn't want to fork out the $80.00 per crib tent, but because I don't think they would have worked very well with the style crib that we have.

Putting the mattress on the floor and flipping the crib over on top of them, was something that I have seriously considered - but Charlie vetoed my suggestion.

We contemplated selling all of the cribs and purchasing big beds for everyone. But since we already own the cribs - and the matching dresser, hutch and changing table - it makes the most economic sense to stick with what we have and buy the kids bona fide "big" beds when they are a little older.

Suffice to say, this has been a challenge trying to figure out what would work best for the kids - best for us - and work well with our itsy bitsy teeny tiny house.

And now ... we've got a new baby coming.

A new baby that will require a crib.

And if there is one thing I don't want to do ... it's buy another crib.

When we learned that we were expecting triplets, we rushed out and bought three of the same exact cribs, with the matching dresser, hutch and changing table. It's a pretty collection and the crib converts to a toddler bed, or a full size bed, with the appropriate conversion kit(s).

Within the past few days, we've decided to convert one of the cribs to a toddler bed for William. One of the cribs will be converted to a full bed for the girls because most mornings, we find the two of them sleeping together, anyway. And the third crib - will remain a crib for the new baby.

When we bought these cribs, we settled on them because they were visually appealing, constructed well, would grow for the next several years with our children, and most importantly - we were told by the sales representative that this beautiful style would be around for years to come.

In hindsight, I should have asked them to define "years".

When we called to order the conversion kits today, we were told that they stopped making this style crib several months ago.

And, no one in San Diego does business with the manufacturer anymore.

And, we can only buy from an authorized distributor.

And, the only authorized distributor we could locate is in Cleveland, Ohio.

And, they can't ship the parts.

Thanks to Google and a small amount of cursing ... we found a company in Southern California (a mere 2.5-hours north) that has one toddler bed conversion kit in stock. And, they ordered one of the full bed conversion kits, immediately after the crib was discontinued and the shipment is expected in 6-8 weeks.

Or, right about the time we'll need another bed at the inn.

We've determined that although William does remarkably well sleeping on his own, he will be moved back in with the girls, behind the baby gate ... because as much as he loves having his own room, we love - even more - having an extra 30 minutes of undisturbed sleep, every morning.

The third crib will be moved in to our room, where the new baby will sleep for the first few months. This will free up William's bedroom, which will be a guestroom for all the anxious volunteers that will soon be lining up to come help us.

Eventually, William will be moved back in to his bedroom ... with his little brother.

Or, we'll move in to a larger house.

Where William will share a room ... with his little brother.

When that time comes to buy more bedroom furniture, I've decided that we're going to spend the extra money for a quality line that I know will be around. Infact, this is what I have in mind for the girls room and this is for the boys. Although, their bedding will have to be something other than airplanes.

As for now, we've got it figured out.

And if anyone thinks that it's a bad idea to have two toddler girls sleep in a full-sized bed together, please don't tell me.

Self-doubt will send me in to a frenzy of talking to realtors and trying to sell our house, buy a new one and move ... before July 4th.

Besides, we've already paid for the conversion kit.