So, a month or so ago I posted about Ben's attempt to climb out of his crib. With how tangled up he'd gotten in the process, we sensed that he was too timid to make another attempt. We decided we'd buy ourselves a little more time to figure out what our next step would be for him. Today we suddenly ran out of time.
Nap time came and everything was going just like normal. Both boys in their cribs, babbling away, which usually ends up in both eventually settling down and falling fast asleep. After about 15 minutes Ben was the only one still babbling, so I guessed that Hugh must zonked out and Ben would soon be on his way.
And, it was right about then that I heard his bedroom door open. I immediately covered my mouth in shock and to stifle the laughter as he came running out, with a huge grin on his face clearly pleased with his accomplishment. Then he turned right back around and ran back into his room and shut the door. A minute or so passed and then Hugh was awake and crying. Ben had gone back in and turned the light on and done something to arouse Hugh.
I took Hugh to my bed to get him back to sleep while Marc worked on getting Ben settled. Since he still takes 2-3 hour naps consistently we know he isn't quite ready to give up his naps completely. Anyway, to make a long story short, after getting Hugh back to sleep I spent the next two hours trying everything I could think of to get Ben to fall asleep, eventually leaving him in there alone, only to have him climb out at least a dozen times before I finally gave up.
By late afternoon, I think we had both morphed partially into monsters. Lucky for us both that my parents got back home today and were kind enough to take both boys to the playground down the street for a little while. In the meantime, I rearranged the boys' room and set up a temporary bed with one of our camping pads and brand new monkey sheets I bought a few weeks ago. I tried to make it look fun and inviting, but was totally dreading our bedtime routine tonight.
We did everything like normal, but Ben was so tired and was clearly having a slightly harder time than normal getting settled down. And, since we put Hugh's crib away and moved him into Ben's, there was some confusion about who was sleeping where and why. Ben kept trying to climb into the crib with Hugh, so we laid down next to Ben to help him with the transition. He was so tired that within 10 minutes or so he was totally out. Hugh was still wide-eyed, but seemed content to settle himself to fall asleep on his own.
That was two and a half hours ago and we haven't heard a peep out of either of them at all. But, I'm very cautious in my optimism! Not sure exactly how the rest of the night will go... if either one will wake up disoriented and scared, or how much sleep we'll all end up getting tonight. But, this marks the beginning of the transition I've been putting off. And, just to be prepared, I'm heading to bed early tonight!
3 comments:
Hope last night went well! Can't wait for an update. Good job falling asleep in a new bed ben!
Right after our son started sleeping in his toddler bed we had to switch the lock on the door so it locks from the outside! He is an escape artist :) Hope things go well!
You will have to share all of your tips and tricks as you go along. :)
Gage has been in his toddler bed for almost two weeks. The first week was fine. No problems at all. In fact, it was better. The past week? Not so much. He has come in to our room between 12-6 a.m. every night. He won't fall asleep unless one of us has our head on his pillow. He's never had problems falling asleep or staying asleep all night, until now. :) Naps have been non-existent this week. Luckily it hasn't been too bad because I haven't fought it. Eventually I will have to teach him how to sleep in his own bed all night though.
I can't wait to hear how things go for you. :)
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