It all started in Hawaii. When she and I were on vacation, we had to share a room. At home, we slept in separate rooms.
After our second night on vacation, I realized there were only two choices for bedtime:
1) We could replicate what we did at home as best as possible. She wouldn't be in a crib, however, she would be on an inflatable mattress. (Sleeping in one bed wasn't an option because I swear she breakdances in her sleep.) I played her bedtime music but because she knew I was in the room with her, she fidgeted and cried until I held her hand. She took more than an hour to go to sleep, though, because she knew I was in the room. If I left the room, she would just follow me. I ended up being bored out of my mind, lying in the dark. I inevitably dozed off and then woke up with a crick in my neck. Not fun times at 7:30 PM.
2) Say to hell with the bedtime routine and just accept that she would stay up until she fell asleep.
You know which way I went.
It was just a lot easier because there were a lot less tears. Despite The Bun being really tired towards the end of her night, she wasn't irritable or irritating. She was actually pleasant even when tuckered out. On the third night, she stayed up until 10:30 PM, closing down the joint with just me left. All the other grownups were knocked out by 10:) By the sixth and final night, she went to bed by 8:30 PM. Not bad.
Well, all hell broke loose when we got home and tried to go back to our regular schedule. By that I mean that the crib was no longer acceptable. The Bun got a taste of freedom that couldn't be squelched! The Man and I agreed along time ago that once she started trying to climb out of her crib, it was time to move her into a toddler bed.
Until this point, The Bun's bedtime routine was perfection. We were the envy of most parents! We put her to bed at 7:30 PM and she would quietly sooth herself to sleep. Often times I would have to wake her up in the morning because she was still out cold. If, by chance, she was awake, she usually laid quietly waiting for me to get her.
Gone are those days.
When we first moved her into a toddler bed, she would throw open her door just a few minutes after tucking her in. She would do this multiple times, always bee-lining for our bedroom. She did this over a couple of days and we knew we had to move her bedtime. It was so bright outside, even at 7:30 PM, that she could see the sunlight through her blackout curtains and both her blinds (yes, she has two sets of blinds in addition to blackout curtains because she's like a rooster!) When she would throw open the door, she could see the sunlight streaming in through the shaded windows in the hall and knew it was still bright out. So we moved her bedtime to 8:00 PM.
In addition, I looked on Amazon and almost bought a $40 clock specifically for toddlers. Like a regular alarm clock, the parent sets the clock at a certain time. But instead of an alarm or radio, the clock doesn't make a sound, rather, it glows green which signals your toddler he/she is allowed to get up and leave the room. It got good reviews but just felt like too much for a clock with its primary purpose of keeping a kid in his/her room until it was time for the parents to get up.
i also turned to social networks to see how other moms dealt with the move from crib to toddler bed. Some fared well. Other didn't. A few said they were still training their kids who were older than The Bun to not wake up in the middle of the night and crawl into bed with them. Oh now, would that be my life? I love cuddling with her but I think she does martial arts when she's asleep. Neither The Man or I can get a good night's sleep when The Bun is with us in bed:(
Then a mom from my sorority answered my question with a doable solution. She said she bought a plain digital clock, blocked out the minutes with paper and told her child to stay in his room until the clock said 6. Once that number came around, he could go to mommy and daddy's room. In our household, the magical number is 7:
Slowly but surely, she warmed up to it. We were and continue to be in the midst of also potty training so this is just one big summer project! While the bright sky, even at 8:30 PM, sometimes poses a challenge for us because she wants to stay up, The Bun is staying in her bedroom in the mornings until 7ish. Because the minutes are covered, her arrival at the baby gate and announcement of "Mama!" varies in the morning. Sometimes it's right at 7 AM, other times it's closer to 8 AM.
 |
| She is so darn cute when she's on the potty! I tried to post a photo that wouldn't get me into trouble with her when she's older. |
