Yesterday afternoon during the only time (daylight time, that is) that I have to do grown up things like admin work for DH's business, pay bills, tidy the house or as I was doing yesterday, buying a new washer & dryer over the phone (don't ask!), I heard the most horrible noise. Thump, pitter patter. And before I had time to go see if my suspicions were right, I heard the "Mommy, I awake!" as my 2 1/2 year old son rounded the corner into our family room. Big sigh..... Crap...... He figured out how to climb out of his crib. I knew it was going to happen at some point but I guess it's hard to be ready for it when it's not your decision! Another big sigh. Ok, time to find the nomadic allen key that I'll need to remove the front of his crib and convert it into a toddler bed.
There's nothing like trying to get things done with a toddler. Balancing their desire to 'help' with keeping them safe while actually completing the task and making sure they felt empowered and indepent with the role they played is a multitasking feat! So anyhow, as we worked together on his bed I started to think about how he's going to fall out while he's sleeping . How do we learn not to roll off the bed? I have NO idea.
So my first attempt at introducing the idea was to put him in his new big boy bed and physically show him how it happens. I'm not sure if it was my method, he seemed to think I was trying to put him back to bed for his nap which made him a little agitated, or the fact that he's only 2 and it was too difficult a concept, but I think it did more harm than good as I found out later when I tried to put him to sleep for the night. Hysterical, top of his lungs screaming teamed with repeated escapes from his bed... then Daddy came home and this new audience gave him even more fuel for his fire. Yikes. Luckily I'd seen a Super Nanny episode a month or two ago that dealt with a similar situation and thankfully it worked like a charm. Phew. I then got a huge duvet out of storage and put that down on the floor.... just in case. Lucky thing I did because sure enough I found him sleeping awkwardly on top of the duvet a couple hours later. Then at 3 am he was screaming again. Clearly this was not working so I brought him to bed with me where he slept soundly until 6am.
Tonight, he's sleeping with one of those safety bedrail net things that stretches the length of his mattress. We both feel much better. But I still haven't figured out how he's going to learn not to fall out! Oh well, we'll tackle that another day.
- Jacs
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