Please, just go to sleep!!

Here is some free parenting advice to all those mom and dad's out there who still have a child using a crib:  KEEP YOU LITTLE BOY OR GIRL IN THE CRIB FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!!!  Whatever you do, do not, and I repeat, do not be eager to get them into a toddler bed or big kid bed.

It is not worth it!  It is not worth the sleepless nights.  It is not worth the early-crack-of-dawn rising.  It is not worth the delayed falling asleep at night.  And, it is certainly not worth all three happening each and every night.

This past Sunday, Jeff went to retrieve Sam after her nap and discovered she was just about to catapult herself completely over the crib rail.  A quick decision was made on the spot to assemble Ian's old toddler bed and move her out of her crib and into a bed that would not cause a safety issue.

Let the fun begin!  Sam absolutely loves her new bed and of course, her new freedom.  She used to go to bed at 8:00pm; now she averages 9:30pm each night.  Her M.O. is to let us tuck her in bed, read her a few books, kiss her good-night and sing her a song.  We close the door to her room and within 5 minutes she is standing in her doorway either asking for another book to be read, a tissue for her nose, or to watch Elmo.  After about 6 of these stalling tactic episodes, she finally gets the idea that she has to stay in bed.

Then somewhere in the middle of the night, Sam wakes-up and all kinds of things happen.  One night she asked for a diaper change.  Okay.  Another night, I hear her opening and closing her bedroom door over and over again.  One night she announced loudly, "I'm awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake".  Another time, I caught Sam going into Ian's room to see what he was up to....um...hello, he was sleeping!!!

Each morning, a little before 5:00am, I'll turn over in my bed, look at the video monitor and notice she is not in her bed.  Not sure what she is up to, but I know she is in her room (a dark room too!) and hanging out in there.  One morning, about 5:30am, she crawled back in bed, covered herself very carefully and laid back down.  However, after about 10 minutes, she heard Jeff wake-up and ran to the door to let us know she was awake.

My little girl was averaging 11 to 12 hours of sleep each night.  Now, I am not so sure if she is even getting 5 hours a night.   Oh my!

Of course Jeff keeps mentioning that we went through the same exact thing with Ian.  And, of course, I've already blocked those long, sleepless nights from my memory.

My advice to you is this:  If you have the choice to keep your toddler contained in the crib, do it for as long as possible.  Learn from us and keep your sanity in the sleep department.  This is one milestone that is not worth jumping up and down with joy for.

Sweet dreams

No matter what time Ian wakes up in the morning (and usually it is early, very early), he'll hang out in his dark room and wait to hear or see some movement from our bedroom across the hallway. The minute he does, he grabs his lovey, Gymbo, and heads straight inside our room. We keep our door 3/4 of the way shut, but he can still get a bird's eye view to see if we are awake.

The other day, he woke up at 5:45am and proceeded to talk non-stop about how much he disliked his bed. Due to the hour it was in the morning, I laid very still in my bed and listened to him speak. And, yes, he was the only one in his room, talking to himself. He discussed how his bed is too small and very low to the ground. He said his pillow itched. He started listing all his friends who had bigger beds than him. He compared his bed to the one Papa Bear uses on the show "Bernenstain Bears". He spoke for more than an hour and didn't run out of things to say about his toddler bed.

Yes, we agree it is time for him to get a bigger big boy bed. Fortunately Jeff and I have a plan of action for upgrading Ian's toddler bed. The toddler bed has served him well and it would be nice to do something to reward all the magnificent behavioral changes we've been experiencing. We told Ian we would get him his new bed for Hanukkah. However, the mattress set is already in our shed (it used to be in the guest room before Sam took over this bedroom) and I ordered online the CARS bedding he has been requesting.

Ian thinks the bed transformation will not take place until December (when Hanukkah occurs this year), but Jeff and I have planned a surprise. As soon as the bedding arrives, we will keep him occupied and do a quick switch - out with the old, in with the new. We won't say anything to him about it and just wait for him to discover it on his own....mostly likely when it is time for him to go upstairs and get his bath. Or, the worst case scenario being (and I could see this being just the way it goes down), he is sent for a time-out in his room and discovers this wonderful treasure during a punishment. Ha! What kind of time-out is that going to be?!!?!?

I am looking forward to this surprise and will have our video camera ready to record his excitement. Who knows, maybe this will be just the trick to get him to sleep in a little later in the morning?