the crib has been replaced….

with a toddler bed!  :)  We picked up the bed from my amazing Aunt Suzie and family in August and had it set up in Grey’s room along with the crib.  He didn’t want anything to do with the bed.  Ahhhh!  Somehow I thought he would be so excited to try out the “big boy bed”.  Nope….he was content in his cozy, familiar crib.  Whenever we would give him the choice to sleep in the bed or the crib, he chose the crib.  Always.  Soooo, we knew that the transition wouldn’t be successful (or even possible) until we took the crib out of the room.

We chose this past Friday (Sept. 17) as “big boy bed” day.  Don’t worry, I am fully aware that this is way cheesy and very “mom-ish”.  But, I’ve embraced the fact that I am, in fact, a mom….and I’ll do what it takes to motivate my 2 yr. old (however dorky it may be).  :)

Over pancakes that morning, we began talking to Grey about how lucky he was that he got to sleep in his big boy bed that night.

After playing at the park and an afternoon nap, Grey helped Craig take down his crib.  We thought it would be beneficial for Grey to help with the process.  He got his own tools and followed his Daddy’s lead.  After about 5 minutes, he got bored with the “manly work”.  But hey, at least he felt like he helped, right?!  :)

checking out the new room set up

After his bath, we told him that we had a special gift for him to celebrate his new “big boy bed”.  We gave it to him once he sat in his bed.  It was a card and a new stuffed owl….for those that don’t know, he’s oddly obsessed with owls.  It’s weird!  All that to say, he was happy with the gift.

Grey and his new owl

We told him that his new owl got to sleep in his new bed with him that night.  He started to get fussy when we told him it was time to read books.  He didn’t want to go to bed.  I was so afraid at this point.  I thought he was going to beg for his crib.  Finally we found a book that he was into (“Cars and Trucks and Things That Go” by Richard Scarry….but instead of looking for “Goldbug” on each page, he looks for owls…)  After the book, we talked to Grey about the bed.  We told him how proud of him we were and that he was so lucky to get to sleep in his new bed.  He got really excited when we told him that his cousins slept in that same bed when they were his age.  We told him that he needed to stay in his bed when we left and when he woke up in the morning, he needed to stay in bed until we came in to get him (but that he could call to us).  It was so weird because the whole time we were talking to him, he was really listening.  It was the first time we were talking to him that Craig and I really felt like he was “getting it”.  After prayers, we tucked him into bed.  We didn’t hear a peep out of him until 11 hrs. later when he woke up just before 8.  YAY!  Success!!!

Oh, and we snuck in his room before we went to bed and covered his floor with balloons.  We wanted him to wake up to a fun surprise (and have that be his reward for staying in his bed all night).  He was confused and excited to wake up to them!  So fun!

confused/excited/looking VERY sleepy

So now, 5 days into the transition, he’s doing great!  The second night was tough, but since then he’s gone to bed SO easy (easier than the crib).  My biggest worry was that he would stop napping….so far, so good on that too.  He’s napped in his bed every day so far.  He usually reads or plays for awhile and then climbs into bed and falls asleep.  By the way:  I’ve never been so thankful for my video monitor!

Oh, and one more thing:  we were careful to put pillows on the wood floor next to his bed in case he fell off the first few nights (even though there’s a rail too).  Well, last night we apparently forgot because I woke up to a loud bang.  Yup, he fell off the bed.  He was so sweet though….he said “owie Mommy” and climbed right back into bed.  I went in to check on him, gave him a hug and he went right back to sleep.  Funny!

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