On the subject of moving Caleb out of a crib and into a toddler bed, I myself have been planning to wait until we move back to Washington and get settled into our house/apartment in Bellingham, so we can deal with all the transitions at the same time. Instead or drawing them out and having several difficult weeks, maybe we'd only have a few while he was getting used to all the new stuff.
However, since Michael was gone for all of Caleb's other major milestones (first haircut, first words, self-feeding, sign language, sleep training, walking), he was excited to go ahead with this one. So we bought our 18-month-old a "big kid's bed" and tried it out.
However, since Michael was gone for all of Caleb's other major milestones (first haircut, first words, self-feeding, sign language, sleep training, walking), he was excited to go ahead with this one. So we bought our 18-month-old a "big kid's bed" and tried it out.
The first nap was a disaster, mostly because he just didn't want to sleep. And I don't think he liked the mattress on his new bed; the one in his crib was much firmer. Any other day he would've just stayed it his crib, contently talking or singing until he decided he wanted out, or to take a snooze afterall. This time he could get out of his bed and cry at the door, and he did so, even after a few visits from me and Michael, putting him back down and reminding him it was time to go "night-night." Needless to say, he never slept, and we went on with our day debating whether to switch back to his crib, or stick it out.
That night, however, he was so tuckered out that after a proper bedtime routine (and swapping mattresses), he layed right down and passed out. We were so happily surprised that we decideded it might be for the best afterall, and slept through the night without any incident.
Our thoughts on the benefit of a toddler bed are that he can sit down in it with us to read his books for bedtime, then lay right down and go to sleep. Then when he wakes up, he can hop out of bed (without injury) and entertain himself for as long as he wants, giving me and Michael a more gradual start to the morning. We definitely wanted to beat him to the punch before he could climb out of his crib by himself (or attempt to), which seemed an eminent danger.
Sometimes he'll stay in his room for up to an hour before wanting out. We know he's at his limit when he tries to open the door, and if we don't respond to that, he'll throw books at it! One night he decided he didn't want to go to sleep yet, so he attempted, and succeeded in escaping from his room three times in a matter of five minutes, even after we made sure the door was all the way closed, and he didn't just pull on it. That means he's capable of opening doors now, and a child-proof handle was definitely going on his!
The final problem we've run into is getting him to actually stay in bed when he's supposed to. He still tosses around a bit in the night, so he's often in some pretty goofy positions when we go to check on him. Then there are the nights when he gets out of bed, plays around for a while (or screams in angst), then eventually decides he's tired... but he doesn't quite make it to the bed. The first time it happened was hilarious (picture below), but the recurring theme requres us to peek in after these episodes so we can move him.
Our thoughts on the benefit of a toddler bed are that he can sit down in it with us to read his books for bedtime, then lay right down and go to sleep. Then when he wakes up, he can hop out of bed (without injury) and entertain himself for as long as he wants, giving me and Michael a more gradual start to the morning. We definitely wanted to beat him to the punch before he could climb out of his crib by himself (or attempt to), which seemed an eminent danger.
Sometimes he'll stay in his room for up to an hour before wanting out. We know he's at his limit when he tries to open the door, and if we don't respond to that, he'll throw books at it! One night he decided he didn't want to go to sleep yet, so he attempted, and succeeded in escaping from his room three times in a matter of five minutes, even after we made sure the door was all the way closed, and he didn't just pull on it. That means he's capable of opening doors now, and a child-proof handle was definitely going on his!
The final problem we've run into is getting him to actually stay in bed when he's supposed to. He still tosses around a bit in the night, so he's often in some pretty goofy positions when we go to check on him. Then there are the nights when he gets out of bed, plays around for a while (or screams in angst), then eventually decides he's tired... but he doesn't quite make it to the bed. The first time it happened was hilarious (picture below), but the recurring theme requres us to peek in after these episodes so we can move him.
A couple times we found him asleep on the floor, and one time he was right in front of the door! Not sure how we solved that problem... Let's just say Caleb in his big boy bed, is a work in progress.
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