We ordered Ashton a big boy bed. Not just because the baby is coming (although we felt it was beneficial to do it now so he's not perceiving her as stealing his crib) and not just because the kid is practically tearing off the bars to the crib. But we thought he was genuinely ready. We just thought it would be harder - and it might be once the novelty has worn off.
Let us first run down how Ashton sleeps. Once he gets to sleep, he's amazing but the going to bed part is something special. When we put Ashton to bed, he's immediately quiet for about 5 minutes or so and then the rumpus begins. On a good night, he just lays there for about 30 minutes sucking his thumb and gently tapping his feet on the wall. Most nights, he spends an hour chatting to himself, screaming happily and doing who-knows-what (what can a toddler confined to a crib really do?) So we were expecting to spend nights sitting by the door, putting him back in the bed every 2 minutes or less.
Two days ago (Thursday), the bed arrived. To be specific, a twin mattress and boxspring. It arrived during nap time and coincidentally, Ashton decided to not nap so the delivery guys were able to put it where I wanted it. To say he was excited as soon as he saw it would be an understatement. He was crawling all over it as I was making it. After it was made, he crawled right in and under the blankets. That night we went to prenatal classes, which we do in my hometown because that is where the baby is to be born. Ashton went to my parents. We stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home to get a bed rail. It was a late night so we put Ashton in his bed, where he sucked his thumb and tucked himself under the covers while I assembled the contraption. We took him out to install the bed rail and then tucked him in and said goodnight. Five minutes later, I made sure the monitor was still working (his room is not really in earshot of ours) and it wasn't so Jesse snuck in to fix it. Amazingly, Ashton was still in bed exactly where we left him. We both woke up at 2am to movement sounds. We were able to determine by his breathing that he was still asleep but just rolling over a bit. Normally I don't wake up to that but my mommy rader was on. After that, the alarm went off and he was still sleeping. Jesse and I showered and while the shower was on, he was definitely awake and still in the bed. Post shower, we checked on him and he was sleeping. When he woke up finally, an hour or two past usual time, he stayed in bed until I came in the room.
Friday afternoon, he had a nap. He had been looking forward to this all day. The question, "Ashton, would you like a nap?" was answered with a very definite nod "yes". So he had a nap with his usual pre-nap babbling but he didn't leave his bed. I know this. I listened very closely. Again, he woke up and waited for someone to come in before he got out of bed. That night, we thought that he wouldn't stay in bed. We figured that the last night was a fluke because he was tired. He won't possibly stay in bed after napping so late, would he? He did...and again, stayed in bed. He was awake for a little bit before falling asleep and this morning, was up close to 8 and didn't leave his bed again until we came to get him. Then he slid himself backwards off the bed in his usual style, ready to start the day. This morning (Saturday), Ashton has been obsessively piling almost all of his belongings on the bed and climbing on. He has indicated to me on several occasions that he wanted a nap. As he normally naps close to 2pm, I said "Ashton, are you sure you want a nap? It's only 10" and he nodded yes. So I figured it was worth a try anyway. So I put his stuff away and put him in bed, where he lay comfortably with a thumb in his mouth. Then I left. Soonafter, I heard a noise..."doiiiiing doiiing", the familiar sound of a doorstop. A sound that indicates that a toddler not in bed. When I entered the room, all the stuffed toys and extra blankets from the shelf in his room were in bed. He was not. I said "Ashton, are you sure you want a nap?" and got the usual answer. So I cleaned up his bed and he climbed in and tucked himself in, thumb in mouth. I left again, heard some noise and realized that the light was on again. I entered the room and as soon as he saw me, he quickly removed all the toys that he had piled on his bed and climbed back in, assuming the thumb sucking position. Five minutes later, the light was on again. I said "Ashton, I don't think you want a nap. It's early for your nap and if you don't want to nap right now, that's fine...do you want a nap?". This time he answered me by running out of his room and in to the playroom. Let's hope we have success when it is actually nap time.
Let us first run down how Ashton sleeps. Once he gets to sleep, he's amazing but the going to bed part is something special. When we put Ashton to bed, he's immediately quiet for about 5 minutes or so and then the rumpus begins. On a good night, he just lays there for about 30 minutes sucking his thumb and gently tapping his feet on the wall. Most nights, he spends an hour chatting to himself, screaming happily and doing who-knows-what (what can a toddler confined to a crib really do?) So we were expecting to spend nights sitting by the door, putting him back in the bed every 2 minutes or less.
Two days ago (Thursday), the bed arrived. To be specific, a twin mattress and boxspring. It arrived during nap time and coincidentally, Ashton decided to not nap so the delivery guys were able to put it where I wanted it. To say he was excited as soon as he saw it would be an understatement. He was crawling all over it as I was making it. After it was made, he crawled right in and under the blankets. That night we went to prenatal classes, which we do in my hometown because that is where the baby is to be born. Ashton went to my parents. We stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home to get a bed rail. It was a late night so we put Ashton in his bed, where he sucked his thumb and tucked himself under the covers while I assembled the contraption. We took him out to install the bed rail and then tucked him in and said goodnight. Five minutes later, I made sure the monitor was still working (his room is not really in earshot of ours) and it wasn't so Jesse snuck in to fix it. Amazingly, Ashton was still in bed exactly where we left him. We both woke up at 2am to movement sounds. We were able to determine by his breathing that he was still asleep but just rolling over a bit. Normally I don't wake up to that but my mommy rader was on. After that, the alarm went off and he was still sleeping. Jesse and I showered and while the shower was on, he was definitely awake and still in the bed. Post shower, we checked on him and he was sleeping. When he woke up finally, an hour or two past usual time, he stayed in bed until I came in the room.
Friday afternoon, he had a nap. He had been looking forward to this all day. The question, "Ashton, would you like a nap?" was answered with a very definite nod "yes". So he had a nap with his usual pre-nap babbling but he didn't leave his bed. I know this. I listened very closely. Again, he woke up and waited for someone to come in before he got out of bed. That night, we thought that he wouldn't stay in bed. We figured that the last night was a fluke because he was tired. He won't possibly stay in bed after napping so late, would he? He did...and again, stayed in bed. He was awake for a little bit before falling asleep and this morning, was up close to 8 and didn't leave his bed again until we came to get him. Then he slid himself backwards off the bed in his usual style, ready to start the day. This morning (Saturday), Ashton has been obsessively piling almost all of his belongings on the bed and climbing on. He has indicated to me on several occasions that he wanted a nap. As he normally naps close to 2pm, I said "Ashton, are you sure you want a nap? It's only 10" and he nodded yes. So I figured it was worth a try anyway. So I put his stuff away and put him in bed, where he lay comfortably with a thumb in his mouth. Then I left. Soonafter, I heard a noise..."doiiiiing doiiing", the familiar sound of a doorstop. A sound that indicates that a toddler not in bed. When I entered the room, all the stuffed toys and extra blankets from the shelf in his room were in bed. He was not. I said "Ashton, are you sure you want a nap?" and got the usual answer. So I cleaned up his bed and he climbed in and tucked himself in, thumb in mouth. I left again, heard some noise and realized that the light was on again. I entered the room and as soon as he saw me, he quickly removed all the toys that he had piled on his bed and climbed back in, assuming the thumb sucking position. Five minutes later, the light was on again. I said "Ashton, I don't think you want a nap. It's early for your nap and if you don't want to nap right now, that's fine...do you want a nap?". This time he answered me by running out of his room and in to the playroom. Let's hope we have success when it is actually nap time.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment