Big Boy Bed

Elijah's crib has recently made its' transition into a toddler bed. He LOVES being able to get in and out of it himself! When we purchased our cribs for the boys we bought the "convertible" kind that switch-o-change-o-rearrange-o into day-beds and eventually become headboards for full size beds. It was a rather easy to take down part of the crib and I think the mental transition for Elijah was easier too. He didn't have to get used to a new bed or anything; he can just crawl up into it now!

Overall he has done extremely well with the transition. He has no problem sleeping in it, although sometimes he gets up to turn back on his projector night light that automatically turns off after 15 min. Nap times, however, are a different story. I think the dark at night keeps him from playing with all his toys and reading his books in his room, but during the day all those distractions have proved to be too tempting. He has one of those safety knobs on the door so he can't get out of his room and run around, but he can still find plenty to get into in his own little space. At first Ian and I thought, "oh well, at least he is having some quiet time, even if he doesn't fall asleep for a nap." But, that quickly went out the door when his afternoon mood turned into T-Rex due to no nap.

A few days later I tried a new solution. After an hour and a half of "quiet-playing with my blocks-time" in his room, I went in, changed his diaper and said, "Why don't we take our nap in Bubba's crib today? Bubba can sleep in the pack and play downstairs, ok?" Elijah was ecstatic because it sounded like a new adventure to be in Bubba's bed...a place where he doesn't get to go very often. Within one minute of putting him down in Joaquin's room, he was fast asleep. We did this for a while then moved him back into his own bed. Now (well, at least for the past 3 days) he is able to take his naps in his own big boy bed in his room.

It has actually been a nice change because Elijah gets out of bed earlier in the morning than he used to but he plays contentedly by himself for about an hour till I've gotten Joaquin fed and dressed for the day. Then, since he has been up longer, he is even more tired for his afternoon nap, so he does go down pretty quickly now. All in all, this has been a great transition for both parent and child! YEAH!