Toddler Bed!

Last Thursday, I blogged that I had received a text from Craig, saying that Jackson had CLIMBED out of his crib. Which changed our entire plans for New Years, which was that we were going to start taking away Jackson's paci.

Well, we let him sleep in his crib on Thursday night and were just very quick to respond when we started to hear him move around. He did fine.

Friday was New Years Eve, and Jackson spent it at his Honey and Papas house, because Craig and I had a wedding and dinner with friends planned. When we got home, we got his bedroom ready. We did not buy the toddler bed rails when we bought the crib, just the rails to turn his bed into a full sized bed. So we went to Walmart and bought a $20 rail. Then. We emptied his room of everything. Everything that could distract him. All of his toys were removed. The rocking chair was removed. The lamp off the changing table was removed. If he got out of his bed, there would be nothing for him to play with. And hopefully nothing that would hurt him.I was expecting the worst. Seriously. In fact, I had a bit of an emotional afternoon, Thursday. I really felt that overwhelming mom feeling.. where I felt like I had NO idea how to tackle this obstacle. I knew that parents went through this all the time. But I was not expecting it to come so quickly. AND, it meant my BABY was not going to be sleeping in a crib anymore. Just made me emotional.

This was the advice that I received before hand: just be firm with him. tell him to stay in his bed. tell him big boys stay in their big boy beds.

Ok, I dont know if you have met my son. But he rarely does not move. He has always been a great sleeper, but with that extra freedom, I, honestly did not know if he could handle it.

But, I took that advice friends gave me, and hoped for the best. But like I said, expected the worst.

First experience in the toddler bed was AWESOME! My parents left after eating snacks and hanging out on New Years Day, so Jackson got down for a late nap. I carried him back to his room, told him he was a big boy so he should take a nap in his big boy bed. And he did. He didnt even get out. Not even when he woke up. I was SO shocked. But wouldnt let myself get excited until we saw how he did that night.

And honestly, he exceeded my expectations. We laid him down. He stayed in bed for about 15 minutes, and then began knocking on his door. We had to go back in 3 times, but then he stayed. He woke up crying around midnight, when I went in, he was in the middle of his floor with his blanket wrapped around him. I have no idea when he started sleeping on the floor. I picked him up and put him back in bed. And he did not get back up until he called for us Sunday morning.

So after church, I took him to get a smoothie from McDonalds to celebrate him being such a big boy!
He really has done a GREAT job! I think the keys to being successful for us were: making sure we put him to bed when he was tired, clearing his room of all distractions, and having a blanket that covers his entire bed (this may seem silly, but Jackson had a few of his favorite blankets in with him in his crib, and they would cover him, but if he moved, they wouldnt.. we changed his blanket and he doesnt have to move around to stay covered).
I sure am proud of my BIG BOY!