Big Girl Transition

When we decided it was time to move Kyson from a crib to a bed, it was a nightmare. Strike one - we put him in a toddler bed and he fell out all through the night and cried through the night. The first night, we brought him in bed with us and you know how kids slowly turn horizontal and leave no room for the parents whose bed it really is. We went back to the crib. Strike two - something extremely similar but we tried it out longer. He wouldn't fall out, he'd get out and sleep in front of the door. We'd put him back in bed, and he'd cry and go back to the door. We tried this for about a week - no go - and back to the crib. On the third try, we decided to go straight to a big bed and put the mattress on the floor. That was successful and we decided to try the same approach with Kodi - skip the toddler bed.

Last night I made the switch, but I didn't make the mistake of taking down the crib l

ike I did with Kyson. I decided to move the crib and make room for a mattress on the floor. She was SO excited as I was putting everything together, but when it came time to go to bed, I put her in her bed and she ran to the door and cried. I left to go walking and Kris put in earplugs. An hour later, I got back and all was quiet. So I went into her room, picked her up off the floor and put her in bed. She slept through the entire night and didn't wake up until 8!

Nap time was going to be a challenge. She still takes two naps a day and when I put her down for her first nap, she didn't cry, she went into her bed without any conflict, but for a few hours I heard her playing around and running

around in her room. She emptied some of her drawers and did some other interesting things, but nothing a 2-year-old wouldn't do. Her second nap was the beginning of a miracle. She went into her bed, didn't fight me, and went to sleep. Even tonight when I put her down, she stayed in bed, didn't cry, and went to sleep. I've heard that girls are easier than boys (as children anyway) and so far, that statement has been true about everything. I hope potty training will follow the same pattern.