Back in late April, we took the front off Z's crib. We were getting ready to re-re-re-sleep train the kid, since moving had her all kinds of wrong. She's never been a champion sleeper, and the Hubs and I both agreed that bedtime had become a total effing nightmare-not to mention multiple night wakings. None of us was getting enough sleep. Things needed to change.
The Hubs thought that we should give the toddler bed a go (we just had to take the front off the crib to make it happen). I was certain that Z wasn't ready. I was wrong.
The Hubs thought that we should give the toddler bed a go (we just had to take the front off the crib to make it happen). I was certain that Z wasn't ready. I was wrong.
It took a few nights of screaming and crying, and talking each other out of just bringing her into our room. It also took a few very early mornings, but after about a week, bedtime was locked down and after another week, the 5am wake up calls turned into 6:30 or 7am. Hallelujah! (And I'm not too worried about jinxing her sleep habits. We're headed to Florida in a couple of days to visit our folks. We'll be re-re-re-re-sleep training when we get back, I'm sure!) And once we had the great idea of leaving a snack and water in bed with her (something my mom did with me), Z was sleeping through the night, and the terrible two behavior during the day dwindled down to almost nothing. (Let's be real...she's still two...we still get cranky crying fits of undetermined causes. Good sleep can't fix everything!)
So how'd it all shake down? Well, the front came off the crib after nap time, so we spent the afternoon playing in the "new" bed and practicing sleeping. "I seep. I seep."
She kept grabbing pillows from the sofa and piling them in the crib. "My pil-ows."
The first few nights were no picnic. We let her cry and fuss for a bit, then one of us would go in for a couple of minutes. For a few nights, we did that for 45 minutes or so. I had envisioned her slamming her body dramatically against the bedroom door while screaming her face off, but she didn't. So in that respect, I guess it was a win from the get-go. Luckily, she can't work the doorknobs yet, so we didn't have to use any tricks to keep her in her room. Actually, the worst Z pulled off, was running in and out of view of the monitor, piling every single stuffed animal and blanket she could get her hands on in her bed, all while screaming her face off. Eventually, she'd crash out on top of the pile of animals.
Since then, the screaming has been replaced by a quiet and endless stream of "Da-ddy. Da-ddy. Da-ddy. Da-ddy.", getting more sing-songy as time goes on. (Daddy is in charge of bedtime most nights. When he's away for work, "Mom-my. Mom-my. Mom-my." takes over.)
Over the last month, we've seen her reading in bed (in the dark!), playing with blocks, she even ended up sleeping on the floor one night!
In another couple of months or so, we'll be switching Z to either a twin or a full sized mattress. I'm anxious to get her room decorated and looking cute again, but we can't decide which sized bed to go with. (Any recommendations?) She's kind of all over the place when she sleeps, so we're thinking bigger might be better, but who knows?! In typical fashion, the Hubs and I will overthink and over research until we can't make a single decision. She'll be 4 before we ever get it done, I'm sure!!
She kept grabbing pillows from the sofa and piling them in the crib. "My pil-ows."
The first few nights were no picnic. We let her cry and fuss for a bit, then one of us would go in for a couple of minutes. For a few nights, we did that for 45 minutes or so. I had envisioned her slamming her body dramatically against the bedroom door while screaming her face off, but she didn't. So in that respect, I guess it was a win from the get-go. Luckily, she can't work the doorknobs yet, so we didn't have to use any tricks to keep her in her room. Actually, the worst Z pulled off, was running in and out of view of the monitor, piling every single stuffed animal and blanket she could get her hands on in her bed, all while screaming her face off. Eventually, she'd crash out on top of the pile of animals.
Since then, the screaming has been replaced by a quiet and endless stream of "Da-ddy. Da-ddy. Da-ddy. Da-ddy.", getting more sing-songy as time goes on. (Daddy is in charge of bedtime most nights. When he's away for work, "Mom-my. Mom-my. Mom-my." takes over.)
Over the last month, we've seen her reading in bed (in the dark!), playing with blocks, she even ended up sleeping on the floor one night!
In another couple of months or so, we'll be switching Z to either a twin or a full sized mattress. I'm anxious to get her room decorated and looking cute again, but we can't decide which sized bed to go with. (Any recommendations?) She's kind of all over the place when she sleeps, so we're thinking bigger might be better, but who knows?! In typical fashion, the Hubs and I will overthink and over research until we can't make a single decision. She'll be 4 before we ever get it done, I'm sure!!
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