caleb has been sleeping in his big boy bed for a week now. we had been thinking and talking about it for a while, because a) baby #2 was starting to make leaning over his rail uncomfortable, b) i wanted to know if i needed to i could reach in and get caleb out of his bed if he was laying down without putting too much pressure on baby #2 and c) though i initially thought i would want to wean him first (yes, i am still nursing) i decided maybe a change in bed would turn into a change in routine that would help facilitate the weaning easier.
i had the feeling at the time i was making a bit of a snap decision that i was going to seriously regret a couple weeks later after my child had gotten no sleep and i was exhausted as well. caleb typically sleeps well at night but had been waking up at 5am almost like clockwork, eventually falling back to sleep. naps were still variable. i braced myself for a rough few weeks even as caleb was realizing how fun this new bed was.
he could bring new toys in to play:
he could get in and out of bed all by himself:
and he loved his comfy new pillow that i added to help establish where the 'head' of the bed was:
well, let me tell you, caleb was so ready for this, i couldn't believe it, and actually waited a whole week to post about his success just so i wouldn't have to eat my overenthusiastic words.
he still wakes up in the middle of the night and during naps, and he may get out and get a stuffed animal or grab all of his 'clothies' (his transitional object(s) are the cloth diapers we used as burp rags) from his bottom drawer, but he goes back to bed and works his way back to sleep. even if i put him to bed awake, which i've been actively trying to do, he has a couple of times gotten out of bed and played for 10 or 15 minutes, but went to bed when he was ready. it is really great to know he knows to lay himself down and rest when he is tired, and it helps me out because when i hear him finally get out of bed and play after his nap or in the morning after hearing him try to go back to sleep, i know he's really done.
sweet dreams, kiddo!
2 comments:
That's very sweet.
Daniel has really taken to his big boy bed. There's something about the ability to get in and out on his own that is a powerful incentive for him to stay in bed when we ask him.
I like the half-rail on Caleb's bed. I wish we had something like that.
Wow, Caleb is such a little grown-up now! That's awesome!
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