The first night in a big boy bed is wonderful and exciting, to be sure. However, it can also be a little difficult, since the temptation to get out of bed and wander into the hallway to get books off the shelves and find a balloon that's floated into the corner, to stand on the mattress and reach the doorknob and twist it back and forth again and again, to go over to the antique trunk in the corner of the bedroom and visit the stuffed animals that live on the trunk's top and choose another one to take to bed with you, etc...well, with all those distractions, no wonder it can be tough to fall asleep!
Tonight was The Night for Tobin: his first night sleeping in his new bed. Jeff had gotten a mattress for him today (secondhand), and we decided to go ahead with the transition. With Tobin graduating to sleeping in his new bunk bed, Shav was now able to sleep in the crib which Jeff moved back into our nursery this evening. I wasn't sure how Shav would do when I put him to bed in the crib since that was a brand new experience for him, but he didn't fuss a bit. I think he's really going to like the extra space that he has in the crib. I did notice how little he looked in it! Recently, he had been looking so big in the cradle; but when I laid him in the crib, I couldn't help but think how small he still seemed.
While I was getting the crib ready for Shav, giving him his last feeding of the day, tucking him in bed, cleaning and organizing Tobin's newly-rearranged room, putting new sheets on the bed, and all of those fun little projects, Jeff was at our local mall with the three oldest boys, hoping to tire Tobin out with all the activity so that he would fall asleep quickly, even in a new environment. They walked and walked and walked, all over the mall--so much good exercise for Tobin's little legs! When they got home, Tobin was delighted to see his new bed made up for him...
...so delighted, in fact, that it took him nearly two hours to fall asleep! Finally, after numerous reminders and interventions from me, a few minutes before 11:00 PM, he couldn't resist sleep's allure any longer; and he gave in, feet on his pillow, head toward the foot of the bed, a teddy bear on one side of him, books on the other, eyes sweetly closed, breathing steady and peaceful. Finally, success!
7 comments:
Oh, that's so neat! I remember Paul's & Hannah's transitions to the big mattress. They both did so much better than ever we expected. I don't know why, except perhaps that we did it when they were really young, like just over a year old. I'm sure Tobin is going to do great in his new big bed.
Sounds like a successful night! We are still working on keeping Aiden in his bed all night. He likes to come in and snuggle in the middle of the night.
Thanks for recommending the movie March of the Penguins. The whole family enjoyed watching it!
Oh how sweet--love the bed! I'm in the midst of trying to determine when to move our little guy to the *big boy bed.* I envision a lot of 'up and down' as well!!
Yeah Tobin! What a sweet picture I have in my head imagining him falling asleep that way. Getting so big!
Such a big step -- they grow up so quickly! I love the bed by the way -- there's nothing nicer or more sensible tha drawers placed just there.
hehe...just giggling at how our best intentions somehow go awry. One would think it would have worn little Tobin out...but he had other plans! :)
Yeah for the big boy bed!
Wonderful! I love this story.
Post a Comment