Dannette Gora A month ago we decided to convert Rowan’s crib to the toddler bed; which means we basically removed the front rail from the crib. We wanted to give her a head start on trying out this “big girl bed” before her brother arrives…which is now only 3 short weeks away. Our plan is to move the new baby into the crib after he’s a month or so old and move Rowan into a regular twin bed at that point. I think it might have been a little early to start this process (she was 17 months old) but a lot of other mom’s I know have had to do it…and even earlier than us.
I’m proud to say that Rowan made the switch without any major issues. Her very 1st night in the new bed I woke up to find her crying at the back door…she was crying because it was locked (thankfully) and she couldn’t get it open. I think she was still asleep though because when I scooped her up her eyes were closed and she went right back to bed. ? Then about a week later she did the same thing with the back door — who knows! But that night she did not go back to bed quite as easy…that ended up being one of those loooong nights where all she wanted to do was play in the middle of the night. Thankfully, we only had two or three of those. One night I ended up sleeping (not really of course) out in the living room so I could stop her at her door in mid-escape. She would open her bedroom door and say “Cole” or “poo poo” or “owe” …she was trying all different tactics to get out of bed. Eventually I was even laughing because she was getting so creative. Then after so many spanks and me saying “no Rowan…it’s night night time”, she would just open her door and say NO NI-NIGHT and then slam it shut and cry! I think she finally got tired of the routine at 3:30 and decided to stay in bed.
Anyway, we had a few nights here and there of her crying and getting out of bed…but she figured it out and isn’t giving us any trouble anymore. I’m still considering putting a baby gate up at her bedroom door though to make it a little harder for her to get out if she decides to go on another nightly stroll.
Here’s a video of her playing in her new bed…which she absolutely loves to play in by the way. She goes in her room to play by herself a lot now and we’ll find her sitting in her bed playing baby dolls. So cute…
Oh and the chair is in front of her bed so she doesn’t fall out at night…