Big Boy Bed

Jonah made the switch from a crib to a "big boy bed" almost a week ago - and he's doing great! A lot of people advised that if our child was not trying to climb out of the crib, we should wait as long as possible to make the switch. Jonah has never attempted to climb out of his crib. However, we (I) mostly pushed this switch now for two reasons: (1) the twin bed he now sleeps in was in the middle of our living room, because that's where Grandma slept when she stayed with us to help out after Cora was born - and I wanted that space back in the living room, and (2) Cora wasn't sleeping well in the pack-n-play, and I thought maybe she would do better in the crib (I was wrong on this point...but eventually, right??).

After Jonah's nap last Friday, I moved the twin bed into his room and got it all set up up. Then, when Brandon got home from work, he disassembled the crib and moved it to our room. We had been talking up the "big boy bed" for a while to get Jonah excited, and he had basically been playing on the bed for the past few weeks while it sat in our living room. The bed is pretty high up, but he can still get in and out by himself. This made me nervous that he would not actually stay in the bed - especially because all of his toys and books are in his room! But we explained to him that he needs to stay in his bed until Mama or Daddy come and tell him it's okay to get down. At night, Jonah basically sleeps in a pitch-black room. So when Brandon laid him down for the first time in his bed, I think he was a little scared - it is a pretty big, open space after sleeping in a crib for his whole life. He cried for about a minute after we shut the door, but then he was quiet and slept all night!

The next day at nap time, we went through the usual routine, and laid him down in his bed. Ten or fifteen minutes later, we heard him messing around and opened the door to find him on the floor surrounded by a pile of books. As soon as he heard the door open, he jumped up and scrambled up into his bed! He has not gotten out of the bed since then! I am shocked at how well this is going...but perfectly aware that things may change. Heaven help us when he figures out how to open doors.

Jonah usually takes a while to settle down and fall asleep, both for naps and bed time. Today, the commentary streaming from his room was cracking me up. When he's tired, he tends to get super hyper, almost as if he thinks if he stops moving he might fall asleep (which is probably true!). Here's what I heard today as he was fighting to stay awake:

Jonah, Daddy, Gamma Great. M - monkey. L - laughing...hahaha. Tiger say, "roar," monster say, "roar." Mouse say, "keek" [squeak].  A - apple. P - puppy. M - monkey. Elephant say....elephant say....I dunno either. Big. Boy. Bed. Lay down, close eyes, go sleep. .......A-H...'pells Jonah!  Walk-a 'no [walk in the snow].

And on and on and on. Until he was finally, suddenly quiet. Never a dull moment with this kid :)

He just can't help himself!