Baby in the Hallway part 2

I wish I had a third bedroom upstairs sometimes. I'm too worried about Max's sleep to put Ben in with him, so he's still in his bassinet next to my bed. Maybe I should be more worried about my sleep and JB's sleep. Most of the time Ben is fine -- he's just about 4 months old now, so I'm still fine with a middle-of-the-night feeding or two. But occasionally he's just awake and talking to himself in the wee hours, and it keeps us up. I put the bassinet out in the hallway twice. Maybe I should do it everynight. But friends tell me their older child adapted and slept fine when the baby moved in to their room.

So is Max over-energetic or are other toddlers just like him? Some evenings when JB and I are tired after long days and drape ourselves on the couch, Max is still eager to play. JB says he wishes he could bottle some of that energy and sell it. It seems like we tell Max not to jump on the couch every day around 6 PM. I'll tell him, "If you want to jump, you can jump on the lovesak downstairs." He'll say, "Want to come too Momma?" I think it will be great once it's finally dry and warm outside and our swingset is hammered back together. He can get out some energy in the backyard.

Also, I'm finding other toddlers like to carry around little things too, and even take them to bed. I thought it was odd until I asked my mom and she said my younger brother would carry around small cars in his hands. Other moms say their toddlers take toys to bed, and I read in Parenting Magazine that this is normal -- it helps in a child's transition from play to bed or something like that. So I guess Max's empty containers (chapstick, floss, mints) or whatever he's loving at the moment are his comfort objects instead of a blankie or stuffed animal.