cohen climbed out of his crib tonight. we were all sitting here quietly in the living room when we heard the thud. i knew right away what it was, i had been waiting for it. a few weeks ago i caught him trying to hoist one of his legs onto the railing, but he failed. then a few nights later i saw him try again only this time he managed to get his leg up and onto the bar, but then he didn't know what to do with it and he fell back, resigned to try another day. i wasn't sure if he was ready to make the leap yet, but i was bracing for it. so it wasn't a shock when i ran into the room to find him in front of the crib flat on his back screaming. not unlike the first time he fell off the bed, i was gripped with panic at the prospect of what i would i find when i bent down. now, as in then, as soon as i saw his eyes i knew he was ok though and he stopped crying as soon as we were there, a slight smirk appearing on his face.
i would like to think that it was a one time thing, that we have more time before we have to make changes, but i don't think that's true. now that he has had a taste of freedom and adventure (all at bedtime!) i am guessing that his mission will be to hone his skills silently in the night when we least expect it. given a few more weeks and an abundance of opportunity and he will likely be climbing out with ease. so what do we do? buy him his own big boy bed i guess, as sleeping with us in our queen size bed is no longer a viable option (especially with me 31 weeks pregnant), but then how does that work? do we ask him really nice to stay put and close his eyes, or do we spend the first several weeks lying next to him enduring his fidgeting and poking and prying for an hour or more until he eventually falls asleep and then pray he stays asleep until morning? i guess that wasn't much of a question since the answer is glaringly obvious. and where am i supposed to put this bed? i thought we had time, so much more time. thankfully, despite living in a one bedroom, we have enough room in there for a dresser, our bed, his crib and bookshelf and yes a toddler bed can somehow work it's way into the mix, maybe even a bassinet...sigh. now him and galena can both gang up on me at 3am (which seems to be the magical time for both of them) and secretly sneak over to my side of the bed where they will gently rub their whiskers against my cheek asking me to wake up, and i will because after all isn't that what being a mom is all about?
3 comments:
oh, see now you just totally made my day! I just did a complete happy dance to see you return. And I was all sluggish cause I woke up with a headache, and my baby is do up any minute.
The climbing out of the crib thing, you've got several choices there. You can do the big kid bed, assuming that him getting out of crib means he's ready for one. I tried that with Dylan and Alex when they mastered climbing out of their cribs and it was a total disaster. Bedtime became and extended version of playtime. I was taking them back to bed every 3seconds, it drove me insane. So Alex slept in his crib until he was three. Dylan was 6 months old then and needing it, and I made a big huge fuss over, wow Alley your such a big boy, and big boys stay in big boy beds, yada yada, yeah he fell for it.
Dylan started climbing out of his crib at an alarming 16 months old. He'd take his toes, no quackers and jam them into the bars and hoilst himself over that way, then land on his head. So, I immediately bought a crib tent. I know that seems so wrong and everything but it was for his safty, and my sanity.
Crib Tent
Wow space is really limited, I think in that situation I'd get the tent. You'll probably sleep with the babe like you did Cohen right? Cohen can comfortably sleep in the crib for a very long time, at least until the new baby needs a place to go. Anyway, you'll figure out what's right for your family.
Again it's great to hear from you.
Cohen looks like such a big guy in the photos, I'm not surprised he's decided it's time to jump the crib! I have no advice as to your dilemma, as you're the one I look to for guidance on these matters, so I'll wait & see what you figure out!
Stories I've heard from others - the crib tent solution & also, the hold the bedroom door closed & wait while toddler pulls on the knob, wailing & crying until toddler falls asleep out of exhaustion in front of the door solution. Later, push toddler aside when opening door & place toddler in toddler bed. Apparently it only took a week of that before toddler decided falling asleep in bed was the better option, but I don't know if I'd have the stamina for that!
Love Cohen's Baka-knit toque & his little hiking boots!
xol
We'll be moving D into a big kid bed in the next couple months and I'm thinking he's ready for it. (We're not co-sleepers because of our personal sleep habits so the new baby will need the crib). Friends of ours moved their daughter at 18 months without a problem too - but she's a bit less active than D, and probably Cohen.
We're planning on just putting him to bed and putting a baby gate in front of his door so he can't get out of the room and wander all over the house at night. If he wants to get up and play in the wee hours, that's fine with me. He already has toys in his crib and we do hear him playing with them sometimes...
(did you know that toys in bed can stop nightmares? My boss gave me that advice (father to three, grandfather to more) and he's been totally proved right).
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