Monday, April 27, 2009

The trials of the new toddler bed

The past week has been a doozy. Last weekend, CJ and I spent Saturday rearranging the furniture in Keifer's room, to make room for the new toddler bed. We are planning on having Kyla eventually in the crib, and wanted to give Keifer some time to adjust to the new big girl bed. Keifer was beyond excited to get that bed up-she knew it was for her! **and the reason that they will be sharing a room: our 3rd bedroom is downstairs- as in the basement, which is not just a split level away, but an additional 3rd stairway away- so 3 long stair cases away = too far away from mama and daddy for our girl**

Here she is, happy and thrilled that we are putting her bed together (and she insisted on wearing her jacket around inside, not sure why! LOL)
Ahhh, bliss in the new bed?
Our girl even went downstairs and attempted to drag her little vacuum up the stairs all by herself so SHE could help vacuum, just like her main man, Daddy!
Well, the first day (a week ago Sunday) of napping in the bed. This was saying goodbye to her pre-nap. Yah, it doesn't show the hour after this of fighting with her to stay in the bed, keep the light off, or stop crying/screaming at the gate that we put up on the other side of her door to keep her in the room
This was the first night: last Sunday. She has decided on her own, that the pillow/her head will go on the other end of the bed (than vice versa, as mommy and daddy had planned). This -well, this was a good night in the bed!
From here on out, each night is a new night for us at home with that bed and our girl. Some nights, she goes to bed fine for us. Other nights, we fight with her for almost an hour a night- between lights on and off, CD player on and off (we've since moved it out of her reach, which she got very pissy with me about), and just simply staying in bed. We've tried silence, ignoring, and having her repeat after me "I stay in bed, mama". The mornings are the same way. Some mornings, she wakes up at her usual 6:45 -7:00 AM time, other mornings she's up at 5AM and wanting to go downstairs. We've encouraged her to play in her room, as she can turn her light on, but our girl refuses, and instead, will stand at the gate and scream and cry for one of us to come and "take her downstairs". Ahhh, such fun.

Yesterday, we also fought for nap time- she cried and screamed for a little over a 1/2 hour before I found her passed out ON HER BED. That night, again, 45 minutes of duking it out. *sigh*. Mama is tired, and it's impossible for me to lift her with my PG and keep sticking her back in bed. Between mama and daddy, we just want our girl to get used to this and stick with the idea-- I know, I know. Time. It'll take time.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Have you tried the power of stickers? We finally transitioned our 2 year old from our bed into his own bed and I was shocked at how well a sticker chart worked. If he goes to bed nicely, he gets a sticker on his chart in the morning. When he gets 5 stickers, we let him go to the Dollar Store to pick out a prize. It caught on right away and only took a few weeks before we didn't even need the sticker chart anymore. Good luck!

Unknown said...

Just wanted to pop in and reassure you that it really DOES get better with time. The first week was pretty much hell for us but now even if she throws a fit, she crawls into her bed to continue crying and go to sleep. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We also keep a stack of books on the foot of her bed and she knows she can look at them to help her settle down. I often find her sleeping and holding a book :)

And those Gymboree pants- I just bought Bailey undies in that pattern today! All their Happy Rainbow is marked down super low and the undies were ringing up less than $1 a pair so I decided that at least when she finally potty trains she can have some underwear that coordinate with her outfits ;) So silly I know.

Tara @ www.twolinesonastick.com

Lynanne said...

We are fighting a similar battle with our son who just turned two. I remember it took a week or so with his sister too. Except now when she wakes during the night, she won't get out of the bed and come to us - she just lays there and screams. One extreme to the other - ugh. Anyhow, hang in there!

Wendy and Karen said...

Sigh. That sounds tough. It makes me crazy when they won't do what's good for them. It's when I REALLY wish they could understand logic. Hang in there Mom. I'm sending you a hug.

Kir said...

No A&&vice,just love her new bed and soon she will too.
I can't get over how big and grown up she is. *hugs*

Jeni said...

Oh man, we are gearing up to start this in the next two weeks and these are all the things I am afraid of occurring. Take some reassurance in knowing that I will likely be posting soon about our trials. Hang in there!

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