Our little Huck was finally getting to a point where he could climb out of his crib, so we introduced the toddler bed this past weekend. Frankly he’s not a fan, and we are struggling with keeping him in bed or even in his room for that matter. The first night was rough. The second night was better and gave me hope. Last night he really fought it. Here is the play by play…
7:15: I tuck him in and we say goodnight
7:25 I hear him moving around and he comes out to say he’s done with his nap and wants to play
7:26 I tuck him in and we say goodnight. Before I am even out of the room he is up and following me.
7:28 I put up a gate at his bedroom door and tuck him in. We say goodnight.
7: 55 I hear a crash as he uses brute force to knock down the gate. He of course, came crashing down with it and is startled/upset. We rock for a little while in the rocking chair while he calms down. Meanwhile, Hubby tucks Tom into bed (the boys share a room).
8:10 I tuck him in and we say goodnight (Tom is now asleep)
8:20 Another crash and “Mommy, I fell out of my room again!!”
8:22 I tuck him in and we say goodnight
8:35 I hear him talking and suspect he’s looking at a book. Sure enough when I go to his room, he has turned on all his lights and is sitting on the floor between the two beds, “reading” a book about trains. Tom? Still sleeping.
8:36 I turn out all the lights. I tuck him in and say goodnight.
8: 50 He starts yelling for me to come to his room. I don’t want him to wake his brother so I go. He has moved all of his blankets, stuffed animals and his pillow to the floor and states that he’s having a sleepover. He wants me to join him. I decline.
8:52 I remake his little bed, tuck him in and we say goodnight
9:15 I hear giggling. A lot of giggling. I go to see what’s happened. He is grinning and points to his brother’s bed. “See Mommy, I covered Tom with animals! It’s funny!” Sure enough, my first born is now buried under a pile of plush animals. He is still sleeping soundly, oblivious to it all.
9:16 Huck helps me remove all the stuffed animals from on top of his brother
9:18 I tuck him in and we say goodnight
9:30 He wanders out (I’ve given up on the gate at this point) and states that he’s ready to watch some Handy Manny and maybe have a snack. I say no to both.
9:32 I tuck him in and we say goodnight. After a while, all is quiet and I start to think he’s fallen asleep. I tiptoe down the hall to check. I open his door and there he is, standing perfectly still in the middle of his dark room. “Hi Mommy.”
9:35 I tuck him in and we say goodnight
9: 45 He starts to cry because he can’t find his blanket. I go back and find it for him. I tuck him in and we say goodnight.
10:00 Out he comes again. This time I find him in front of our Christmas tree. “Isn’t it lovely, Mommy?”
10: 02 I tuck him in and we say goodnight
10: 30 He’s out of his room again. The Christmas tree is like a toddler magnet. The lights are off now and that makes him mad.
10:32 I give up. I take him to the couch and we lay down together. He hates this, but I no longer have faith that he’ll go to sleep solo – maybe ever again. After maybe ten minutes of whining/crying, he is out like a light.
In sleep he is all innocence and sweetness, and in the morning he wakes up his usual happy go lucky self. Tonight was a little better, but not by much. We are hatching plans to keep him in his room, but aren't super confident in any of them. We shall see. What we do know, is that even though we are tired - we wouldn’t give up these fun little adventures for anything. I am very thankful for boys who don't sleep and for boys who can sleep through anything! They are both an amazing blessing.
