The night of the baptism we decided it was time. For months we had been wrestling about when and where to move the kids' sleeping arrangements. So the night of Sunday, Sept. 27, we made our move.
At six months, Joshua was STILL sleeping in his bassinet. And not sleeping much, since he was too big for the bassinet. And WE weren't sleeping much either, since he was still in our room (though thankfully in our walk-in closet, which was much better than right next to our bed as he had been).
Katie wasn't trying to climb out of her crib, and she is VERY particular with her sleeping conditions, so we wrestled with whether or not to keep her in the crib in the gender-neutral nursery, or set up another crib in her pink "big-girl room", or move her up to the toddler bed already in her "big-girl room".
Or should we keep Katie in the nursery, and set up the second crib for Joshua in another room? And if we did that, should we set it up in the blue bedroom (thus taking over the guest room) or would it do irreparable damage to put him in Katie's pink "big-girl room" for the time being?
And with the two of them in rooms next to each other, would they constantly be waking each other up? You can see why we put off making a decision for six months. I was so anxious. I shouldn't have been.
Sept. 27 was the day. They were both exhausted from having truncated naps on Joshua's baptism day, so I figured we'd get minimal resistance from them as we moved their sleeping arrangements around.
While I was toddler-proofing Katie's "big-girl room", John put Joshua down to sleep in Katie's crib. No resistance there. But what if Katie refused her new bed? It's not like I could then put Katie in the bassinet. This had to work -- no going back now!
And yes, Katie did whine a bit when I first made it clear her toddler bed was not going to be just a toy this time, but rather her bed. But when I offered her the pillow, two blankets, and one stuffed puppy that she insisted on having in her crib every night (with nothing more), she didn't want any of them. She picked out two new stuffed things (an Elmo pillow and a giant frog that looks like Kermit) and put them in her new bed that was fitted with the cute new pink-and-brown-polka-dotted bedding I had bought.
My idea was to hang out with her for awhile so she wouldn't be scared to fall asleep in her new room. So I lay down on two couch pillows on the floor and waited. And waited. And waited. I tried to get up at one point and she sat up and pointed to the floor and ordered me: "Mommy, sleep! Sleep two pillows!" So like an obedient little mommy, I did that for a little while longer till it was clear she was content to sing and talk to herself and not go to sleep (I should probably mention here that I was the same way as a child -- my mom has always told stories of how I'd stay awake for hours singing to myself. I was a Broadway Baby from birth, I tell you!!). So after I realized Katie was going to be awake for awhile, I put up the baby gate and went downstairs for my nightly TV date night with John.
And yes, Katie did jump out of bed a lot that night. And the next day during naptime. And occasionally a week later. But really, it hasn't been all that bad. She knows she's in trouble if we catch her out of bed, and she usually stays put -- aside from an occasional bouncing on her bed or when she's not able to sleep unless her shoes are in a drawer and not on the floor (did I mention that she's FREAKISHLY particular about her sleeping environment?). And she still sleeps in a way that slowly kills the environment -- with a nightlight, fan, and CD player all on.
Joshua never likes being put down in general, but he seems to appreciate the space to stretch out a bit in his new crib. He now has room to flip over, but that's a double-edged sword because he can only fall asleep on his stomach, and he can only roll over from his stomach to back, not the other way. So in the middle of the night, if we hear a piercing yell, we know that one of us needs to go flip him back on his stomach.
In terms of waking each other up, it's actually been amazing. We've been letting Joshua cry it out when he wakes up in the middle of the night (unless he's flipped over, in which case we turn him over and then let him cry it out), and as far as we can tell (it's hard to hear much over the screams), Katie has been completely silent through the ordeal. I can't imagine that it DOESN'T wake her up, but she must be able to go back to sleep okay. Thank You, Lord!
The bigger beds symbolize big changes in our children. They are doing new things everyday which is so exciting to watch. Katie did her first poo-poo in the potty on Sept. 14 and Joshua is now flipping over regularly (although as I mentioned, in only one direction). I'm so proud of my growing kids! And we're so thankful to have our room back to ourselves!
At six months, Joshua was STILL sleeping in his bassinet. And not sleeping much, since he was too big for the bassinet. And WE weren't sleeping much either, since he was still in our room (though thankfully in our walk-in closet, which was much better than right next to our bed as he had been).
Katie wasn't trying to climb out of her crib, and she is VERY particular with her sleeping conditions, so we wrestled with whether or not to keep her in the crib in the gender-neutral nursery, or set up another crib in her pink "big-girl room", or move her up to the toddler bed already in her "big-girl room".
Or should we keep Katie in the nursery, and set up the second crib for Joshua in another room? And if we did that, should we set it up in the blue bedroom (thus taking over the guest room) or would it do irreparable damage to put him in Katie's pink "big-girl room" for the time being?
And with the two of them in rooms next to each other, would they constantly be waking each other up? You can see why we put off making a decision for six months. I was so anxious. I shouldn't have been.
Sept. 27 was the day. They were both exhausted from having truncated naps on Joshua's baptism day, so I figured we'd get minimal resistance from them as we moved their sleeping arrangements around.
While I was toddler-proofing Katie's "big-girl room", John put Joshua down to sleep in Katie's crib. No resistance there. But what if Katie refused her new bed? It's not like I could then put Katie in the bassinet. This had to work -- no going back now!
And yes, Katie did whine a bit when I first made it clear her toddler bed was not going to be just a toy this time, but rather her bed. But when I offered her the pillow, two blankets, and one stuffed puppy that she insisted on having in her crib every night (with nothing more), she didn't want any of them. She picked out two new stuffed things (an Elmo pillow and a giant frog that looks like Kermit) and put them in her new bed that was fitted with the cute new pink-and-brown-polka-dotted bedding I had bought.
My idea was to hang out with her for awhile so she wouldn't be scared to fall asleep in her new room. So I lay down on two couch pillows on the floor and waited. And waited. And waited. I tried to get up at one point and she sat up and pointed to the floor and ordered me: "Mommy, sleep! Sleep two pillows!" So like an obedient little mommy, I did that for a little while longer till it was clear she was content to sing and talk to herself and not go to sleep (I should probably mention here that I was the same way as a child -- my mom has always told stories of how I'd stay awake for hours singing to myself. I was a Broadway Baby from birth, I tell you!!). So after I realized Katie was going to be awake for awhile, I put up the baby gate and went downstairs for my nightly TV date night with John.
And yes, Katie did jump out of bed a lot that night. And the next day during naptime. And occasionally a week later. But really, it hasn't been all that bad. She knows she's in trouble if we catch her out of bed, and she usually stays put -- aside from an occasional bouncing on her bed or when she's not able to sleep unless her shoes are in a drawer and not on the floor (did I mention that she's FREAKISHLY particular about her sleeping environment?). And she still sleeps in a way that slowly kills the environment -- with a nightlight, fan, and CD player all on.
Joshua never likes being put down in general, but he seems to appreciate the space to stretch out a bit in his new crib. He now has room to flip over, but that's a double-edged sword because he can only fall asleep on his stomach, and he can only roll over from his stomach to back, not the other way. So in the middle of the night, if we hear a piercing yell, we know that one of us needs to go flip him back on his stomach.
In terms of waking each other up, it's actually been amazing. We've been letting Joshua cry it out when he wakes up in the middle of the night (unless he's flipped over, in which case we turn him over and then let him cry it out), and as far as we can tell (it's hard to hear much over the screams), Katie has been completely silent through the ordeal. I can't imagine that it DOESN'T wake her up, but she must be able to go back to sleep okay. Thank You, Lord!
The bigger beds symbolize big changes in our children. They are doing new things everyday which is so exciting to watch. Katie did her first poo-poo in the potty on Sept. 14 and Joshua is now flipping over regularly (although as I mentioned, in only one direction). I'm so proud of my growing kids! And we're so thankful to have our room back to ourselves!
So glad that the bed transition went well! I'm sure that is so strange...seeing your kids grow and change so fast. And this is only the beginning...
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