The Toddler Bed Transition

I could probably write a book on this subject alone... after just one weekend. But I'll try to keep it minimal for your sake. Truth be told, the transition has actually gone better than I expected... which means that it's better than a nightmare. haha.

We put Braedyn's toddler bed in his room Friday evening to kick off Night #1. This is a picture of him trying out his new bed. Considering how much Braedyn moves around at night, the part of the bed not covered by a bed rail really had me concerned. The good news is that the bed is only about 12" off the ground, so Braedyn doesn't have far to fall - which is inevitable, right?

So when bedtime came around, we got Braedyn ready for bed, read him a book, then said "night-night". I can tell you that after the first time of putting him to bed, we probably said "night-night" about 15 more times. The neat thing about it all though, was that Braedyn knew it was time to go to bed and didn't try to wander around the house or play with toys. He stood in the hallway or poked his head out from behind the couch just watching mommy and daddy, and he finally was tired enough that he just couldn't stay up any longer after the 15th time of being walked back to bed.

Just when you think the easy part's over with... next comes the nonstop worrying that Braedyn is going to fall out of bed at some point. My saving grace, if you will, is the fact that Baby Chase is willing to bounce on my bladder enough times to ensure that I'm up every two hours at night to use the bathroom. So I checked on Braedyn every two hours, and he amazingly stayed in the middle of the bed, or he layed sideways like this... with one foot stuck in the bedrail and the other foot on top of the bedrail. Lovely, huh?

See those pillows on the floor - I put three pillows on the floor just in case the inevitable happened. At 4:30 am, Night #1, Braedyn was sleeping solidly on his bed. At 6:15 am, Night #1, Braedyn was sleeping solidly on the pillows on the floor. I rushed in and scooped him up, which was probably a mistake, because then he decided to just wake up for the day (did I mention it was 6:15 am?).

Night #2 improved alot... I think we only had to walk Braedyn back to bed about 5 times. Again, checked on him several times at night and he was sleeping well. Then, at 6:30 am, he was sleeping comfortably on the floor pillows again. Except this time, I learned my lesson, and just went back to bed and let him sleep. =)~

Tonight was Night #3 and we only had to walk him back to bed a couple times before he finally gave in. So the process is definitely improving, even though his bed time is now an hour later than normal. But hey, gotta pick your battles, right? Oh, and don't worry, when I find out the mystery of what happens between 4:30 am and 6:30 am that ends with Braedyn sleeping on the floor, I'll be sure to fill you in!