My little guy is TWO! Oh my goodness, the years are just zipping by!
Last night, to celebrate his graduation from the “months” system to years of age (does anyone still say 26 months old? Loser!) we took apart his crib and set up his toddler bed. Although we hyped it up to him, and he had a great time sitting and bouncing on it throughout the evening, I was prepared for a long night ahead.
After his bath, pjs and kiss goodnight, we placed Ryder in his bed and he seemed content to basically fall asleep right away. Time: 8:30pm.
At 11:00pm, both Mike and I were downstairs watching TV when we heard Ryder crying over the monitor. We bolted upstairs to find him kneeling on the floor beside his bed (where we had laid out a soft comforter). After gently reassuring him that he was fine, he promptly fell back asleep. Phew.
Time: 2:00am. We awoke to once again hear Ryder crying out in protest, and when Mike opened the door to his room, he actually found Ryder standing there, waiting to zip by him. He made a beeline into our room, where he proceeded to climb into our bed to sleep with us. We gave him 5 minutes to fall back asleep, and promptly dumped him back in his bed.
Finally, at 5:30am, we were yet again confronted by “Up! Open Door!” over the monitor (we placed a doorknob cover on the inside of his bedroom door to prevent him from wandering around in the middle of the night). So Mike groggily let him out, watched as he jumped right back into our bed, and we all just went to sleep.
In the battle of the toddler bed: Ryder 1, Parents 0.
The good news is that he actually does like the bed; he just has to learn to curb his new found freedom and stay put even if he wakes during the night. Unfortunately, this will be an uphill battle when dealing with a little imp who has endless energy. On the agenda for today: mommy researches tips for transitioning from crib to bed. I’d love any suggestions from readers who have been through this!
Anyhoo, I’ve droned on and on, but I should really loop this back to the fact that Ryder Roonie is a whole year older :) A very Happy Birthday to my gorgeous, feisty and curious little man!
Hi Lena:It's a transition period and one that has it's difficulties, but with gentle reminders, ie. "you are a big boy now, and can sleep in your own bed". Make sure that he has his favourite bear or stuffed animal is there in bed. Make an evening ritual, brushing teeth, reading bedtime story and then keep on course by saying now its "your time to sleep in your great or xxxx bed." We are close by.Then last resort make sure that you take him out during the day to get him tired! This is very important.A grandmother (soon to be) Vanda
Happy Birthday lovebug! infinite x's and o's!@Vanda O. – congratulations! Cesare must be so excited!
congrats! and that picture is awesome. did you take it?regards,chin, 377 months old.
Happy Birthday Ryder!!!You know, it was pretty easy for us to transition our oldest, not one problem. Not one little issue, complaint or sleepless night…odd, yet scary – becasue I'll be there with the Twins so – Karma's a you know what – and I think they'll give me their fair share of trouble – enough for all 3!!!Looking forward to reading tips from others, and updates on this from you!:)Tammi
@Vanda O. – First things first, CONGRATULATIONS Grandma-to-be! That's absolutely wonderful news! And thank you so much for the tips, it's wonderful to receive tried and true advice.@trola – x's and o's to you too babe!@chinwhat – lame (377 month old). I didn't take the pic – check out Ryder's Facebookk account, there's a whole album taken by my friend Sharon Navarro. She's amazing!@Tammi – ah, you are so blessed! I hope the twins are just as good to you :) I'll def keep you guys posted…
I'll preface this by saying I don't have kids, but I hear that putting the mattress on the floor works. This way if Ryder does fall out of bed, it's not very far. Once he gets used to sleeping in his big boy bed, you can move the mattress on top of the box spring. Seems like a good idea to me. :)Good luck Lena and happy birthday Ryder Roonie!
Ahhh so cute – good for you for sticking to your guns and ensuring his bed time routine in his new bed – you did not cave in! Le sigh – it was just yesterday that we were eagerly awaiting his arrival and now we are on baby watch #2! xoxo