Friday, January 7, 2011

Toddler Bed Conversion

I've written a lot about milestones. After all raising a kid is an endless series of milestones, especially in the early years. I've marked the first food, the first steps, and even the first time we had to buy a gallon of milk. That last one was pretty popular so I think I'll give you the link.

On Sunday night I got my butt in gear and prepared our home for the next milestone. We were going to give it a try no matter the cost. It was time to convert Braden's crib into a toddler bed.

While I was making the conversion, Braden came in to watch. I told him I was fixing his bed because he is always asking me to "bix" something. He also has some toy tools that he plays with and will say, "Daddy. I bix" as he pokes and prods at whatever he has deemed broken. I also tried to explain I was making his bed into a big boy bed, but that didn't seem to resonate. Braden kept reading his books only to look up every few minutes and say, "Daddy bix my bed?"

When I was done Arica came on the scene to add the finishing touches. She brought in the Lightning McQueen sheets, bedspread, and pillow case to dress up the bed.

Braden's eyes absolutely lit up. He couldn't wait to get in the bed. We had to literally force him to wait until his Mommy was finished making the bed before he climbed aboard.

As soon as she was done he bounced into the bed and laid down all the while carrying on about his new bed and Lightning McQueen. He was so excited. Laying there he looked like such a big boy it was hard to believe. It's like you flip a switch when the crib is gone. Little boy bedspreads and pillows seem to make all the difference in the world as well. The whole room now looks that much more grown up.

Later that night Braden actually went to bed about 15 minutes early because he just couldn't wait. And he slept all night. We were pleasantly surprised. I was certainly dreading what he would do with his new found nighttime freedom.

Monday night came and he wasn't quite as excited about bedtime. It was like any other night, but eventually he begrudgingly got in bed.

We could hear him in his bed talking for quite a while. Then we heard his door shut followed by the sound of little footsteps. Hoping to nip this thing in the bud, I went back to have a talk with Braden about getting out of bed.

A few minutes later, as if I had never spoken to him, Braden gets up and shuts the door again. This time the footsteps are running, presumably back to the bed. Arica, being the far more successful disciplinarian, went to have a talk with our little nighttime doorman this time.

A few minutes later the door shuts and the footsteps scurry. This time we decide to just let it go. And wouldn't you know Braden went silent. He fell asleep and slept all night again.

Maybe we were too loud. Maybe the lights were too bright. Either way Braden just wanted to shut the door and get a good nights sleep.

10 comments:

Katherine said...

Haha! That's cute. I love the bed ensemble. We didn't do that, but I wanted to. Decided to wait until we transition to the next level.

Glad he seems to be taking to it well. Ethan sleeps with his door shut, too, but he always has. Love the pictures. Braden is definitely looking more like a boy in his new bed!

Sheila said...

Aww - that's awesome!!
Love the lightning mcqueen stuff too!

Brandy@YDK said...

at least you got 1 night out of him?

Brian Miller said...

nice. i remember this step and yours does not sound bad at all...hope the coming days are as easy...

seashore subjects said...

It is amazing the little changes that are actually huge milestones for growing children.

Braden is positively beaming in his pics! Glad he is loving his new bed.

Melisa Wells said...

That second picture cracks me up!

With our older son, we were thinking about putting him in a big boy bed when he was about 18 months (ish), and then he made the decision for us when he was trying to climb out of his crib and landed face first into the toybox.

SurprisedMom said...

I absolutely love the bed and the sheets. And yes, Braden does look like he adores his "big" bed! And you're right, it's like you flip a switch when they go from crib to toddler bed.

Braden is growing up. I think the shutting of the door is his way of controlling his bedtime situation. In a few years he'll be muttering something about privacy. :)

I hope Braden continues to sleep through the night.

James (SeattleDad) said...

Congrats! That is huge. Prepare yourself for many more sounds of footsteps over the next few months. You just have to let him get used to it and know that he needs to go to sleep when he is tired. It's an ongoing strugle, but really not so bad.

Good luck.

Anonymous said...

Nice! The transition to little man's toddler bed went better than expected. He only rolled out of bed twice (his doesn't have that little rail thing like Braden's). The biggest problem we had was the mornings when he'd empty the bureau on the floor and I'd have to play 52 pickup with all his previously clean clothes.

dining tables said...

Nice thing that you have converted the bed. Great transition.