There is an old adage, "let sleeping dogs lie." Or maybe that's not the way it goes, but whatever.
Last night Appa and I got another reality check of "You're Still Novice Parents and Are Idiots Sometimes."
Yesterday we switched Little Bug over to his "big boy" bed, which is really just his crib converted to a toddler bed with a railing. To be honest, he probably isn't exactly 100% ready (as evidenced by his two swan dives right over the side rail less than 3 minutes into his exploration), but he will need to be completely comfortable in his real big boy bed in his big boy room in a year, so we decided to take things one step at a time and start now with the transition. Plus, Little Bug thrives on challenge, so without being pushed, he would probably happily stay in his crib for the next few years.
He loves the new bed. Loves it. He finds being able to declare "out" and then get out himself to be one of the funniest things. Ever. That's a good thing.
But just to really ease into this transition, I rocked him to sleep last night and then placed him in his bed. A few hours later, I heard a soft thump and went to check on him. Sure enough, he was on the ground, facing the opposite way, slumbering peacefully.
STEP AWAY FROM THE SLEEPING CHILD. STEP AWAY FROM THE SLEEPING CHILD. DO NOT TOUCH THE SLEEPING CHILD.
Oh, but I did.
Appa and I thought we should put our peacefully sleeping child back in his bed. Why, because we are idiots. Of course he woke up and spent the next 4 hours (did I mention this all went down around midnight to start with) alternating between crying and demanding to be rocked in the chair and having a grand old time in his new bed while laughing his head off. The cry-it-out method was a big fat joke, although I secretly thought the little pitter patter of his determined feet running toward the door each time I shut it was adorable.
It's less adorable now that I am sitting at my desk at work, double fisting DDP and wondering how I am going to make it through today. Even worse, Little Bug slept through his diaper and clothing change this morning...something I have never in my life seen him do. I don't think today is going to rock for him, either.
So the moral of this story: let a sleeping child lie.
Since Andy is in our bed, our 1st toddler bed experience has been w/Aidan. Oh my. We've found him sleeping in all sorts of crazy places - his closet, his floor, next to his overturned laundry basket on a pillow of dirty clothes. Luckily for me, Chris is a non-idiot and physically restrains me from moving him.
ReplyDeleteyikes - that sounds like a very long night (and now day) for all. I'm sorry. We've never had that particular experience but I've had many "I'm an idiot" moments. I guess motherhood is all about living and learning. Keep drinking the DDP - I hope everyone sleeps better tonight!
ReplyDeleteOh, no! Not a good situation...but it was funny how you described it. I'm sure Little Bug will get more and more comfortable with his big boy bed. Oh, and I totally would have put Joel back in bed, too. :) Hang in there today--I hope tonight is better!
ReplyDeleteObviously so not funny for you today as you double fist it, but it's pretty funny for me thinking about you finding Little Bug sleeping on the floor ...
ReplyDeleteI will keep this in mind when we switch Doyle into a big boy bed. So far he has been quite content in the crib & has not attempted to climb out during the night. (even though he tries to climb everything else!) I hope you have a better night's sleep tonight!
ReplyDeleteI like this line... "Oh, but I did." Ha! I would have done the same thing! Lesson learned.
ReplyDeletethanks for being the guinea pig for all of us! i'm making a mental note of this for future use - if only i can remember it!
ReplyDeleteps. i can just imagine little bug laughing his head off. . . in the middle of the day it would have been adorable. i can only imagine what it was like in the middle of the night :).