The Davis Family: Big Boy Bed!

Whoa! What a week we had! Last Monday I went to check on Drew before I went to bed like I do every night. I opened the door and much to my surprise I found him sound asleep in the rocking chair. Yep, that is right! I guess he came out of the crib and then couldn't get comfy anywhere else so figured the rocking chair was the best place. We are so fortunate he didn't injure himself! We put him back in the crib, busted out the video monitor that we haven't used since he was an infant and tried to fall asleep. No luck! George and I were both so worried and couldn't fall asleep for wondering how he got out? Why he got out? Would he do it again? Our questions were answered around 3:30am when he started crying and began to hoist himself onto the top. We jumped up immediately and got to him before he came out. We love our floor plan but were cursing the downstairs master as we skipped steps in the middle of the night. We ended up bringing Drew to our room but nobody got any rest. Sweet Drew is just not a good sleeping partner. He flails, sleeps sideways, and as soon as he opens his eyes in the morning he thinks it's playtime. I was awakened way too early by him jamming his finger in my eye socket screaming "Eye! eye! eye!" We attempted to put him in the crib for his nap Tuesday afternoon but that was a huge flop as well. I watched him pick out his biggest stuffed animal, place it at the front of the crib and step on it before trying to escape. Then I found myself annoyed at his intelligence! We were hoping it was all a phase or fluke and that he was still our baby that loved his crib. Nope! After two more nights of sleeplessness (for all of us), we were exhausted, frustrated and had to figure something else out. Seriously, we had not been that tired since Drew was a newborn. We didn't think he was ready to have free roam of his room (or were we not ready?) However, we couldn't take any more chances with him climbing out. Sooner or later he would get hurt. Friday afternoon I pulled his mattress out of the crib and he slept on the floor. It worked pretty well although he kept rolling off of it which would awaken him. So Saturday morning we got up and George converted his crib to a toddler bed and I went to Babies R Us and bought a bed rail and millions of baby proofing items. We had to get child proof door handle covers and such. For his nap Saturday afternoon we made a big deal about the new bed and explained to him that his older friends sleep in big boy beds and how cool it is! He seemed to understand and grinned from ear to ear. When we left the room he went to the door and cried for a bit but then turned around and got in the bed. He fell asleep within minutes! George and I were beaming while watching the monitor! Since then it's gotten even easier and easier. Last night he didn't even get out and he slept his normal 12 hours. We are so very proud of him for making the transition so easily! And George and I learned a big lesson as well...sometimes we just have to move on to the next stage even if we're not ready. We know there are many more changes in store for us as Drew grows up and we have to approach them with a positive attitude. He can't stay a baby forever. Well, that's party true... he will always be our baby!