Bed transition

Of the major transitions/milestones in a young child's life, transitioning from a crib to a bed probably ranks right behind toilet training, getting rid of the pacifier and starting solids in the amount of anxiety and frustration created for parents. We were motivated though to transition Oliver from his crib to a bed because we need the crib for the new baby. I've been anxious about setting up the baby's room and now that it's finally be cleared out and the new area rug laid down, it's time to move the furniture in. So I disassembled the crib and moved it to the other room, and laid down a new twin mattress with sheets, comforters and for the first time, pillows!

After three nights and as many naps without the security of his crib, Oliver is doing well. Given that we had a successful trial run at the cabin a few weeks ago, I had a decent amount of confidence that the switch wasn't going to be a complete disaster. But still, this time we were making the switch for good and there was no going back. (Even if I had a pack 'n' play set up on stand-by, just in case...)

The first night Oliver cried when I put him to bed on his new mattress, but he settled down quickly, but then I heard him up and about a half an hour later. When I entered his room, he was standing by his bookcase and excitedly held up a book when he saw me. Clearly he had discovered the benefits of not being in a crib. He has free access to his toys and books!

The second night I peeked in his room before I went to bed and I was alarmed when I couldn't find him. My flashlight darted around his room until I finally noticed him on the very edge of his bed with his head and upper body resting on the mattress and his lower body splayed out on the floor in a jumble of blankets. I could hear him softly breathing and decided it was better to let him keep sleeping like that than risk waking him up.

Naps have been more difficult, because I don't think he sleeps as soundly, and once he wakes up, he's up. So naps have been half as long as usual, which means Oliver has been sleep-deprived (and relatively cranky) the past couple of days. I've been putting him to bed 30-45 minutes earlier at night to try to help him catch up on sleep and I'm hoping that he eventually gets over the excitement of the bed and starts napping longer again.