We had been trying to move her out of her crib and into her "big girl bed" for months now, but to no avail and now we were going to have a trial by fire.
Neither of the girls napped on the drive down, needless to say they were exhausted and cranky by the time bedtime rolled around. We had no idea what to do to make sure R stayed put, so we ended up surrounding the queen size bed with pretty much everything tall and sturdy enough to keep her contained.
We failed.
She screamed and cried herself to sleep, even though my mom and I stayed with her for what seemed like hours. And at approximately 1:45 AM, I heard a blood curdling scream and my mom and I made it to her room at the same moment. She was upside down in a small space between the bed and the night stand. Now have no fear, she was completely fine, just shaken up. Mom and I decided that she faired better than we did. We were mortified.
So I had a sleeping buddy the rest of the night, one who needed a constant reminder that I was, in fact, still there. I cannot even recall how many times she slapped me in the face, just to make sure I hadn't left.
Yea, I didn't get much sleep. But at least I knew she was ok.
Night one- epic fail.
I went into day two without any expectations. We borrowed some bed rails and had a little more assurance that even if she didn't sleep, she shouldn't roll off the bed this time.
At nap time I "bribed" her with milk and an iPad (don't judge) and it worked! Not only did she get some rest while watching her movie (without tears), but she fell asleep! I was beyond thrilled- I was now one for two.
The real test came that night. All I could do was hold my breath and pray for no tears, no injuries and no sleeping buddy. I knew I was pushing my luck with my wish list, but that's exactly what I got! Now this time I did I few things differently. We left the light on in her bathroom, gave her "bug bug" her light up lady bug and put her to bed in a much better mood than night before. She slept like a dream, not so much as a peep out of her until her normal wake-up time of 6:45am. Even when she woke-up she just called for me a few times and waited until I came to get her. The rail only went around the top part of the bed and she could have easily "escaped" on her own. I was one proud mama, and I made sure to tell her that over and over again.
We managed a full 10 nights there without any more episodes or issues and I was simply amazed. She slept through the night, took naps and never once tried to get out of the bed! I'm wondering if my trial by fire might have been a lucky stroke of genius? - Allow them to be in unfamiliar surroundings where they have no preconceived ideas of how things should be and then make the needed adjustments.
I have no idea if this would work for any other child, but for me it worked like a dream (as long as you forget that whole first night fiasco).
So when we were heading back home to Oklahoma, I let R know that she would be sleeping in her big girl bed. We had already gone through the hard part of adjusting and I definitely didn't want to take steps backwards. She fought me and insisted that she wanted to sleep in her crib, however when nighttime time, she did just fine. We have given her lots of praise and encouragement and she just lights up every time we tell her what a good job she is doing.
Now I will admit that since returning home, nap time hasn't gone quite as smoothly. I think it's mainly because she's just gone back to not napping, so the temptation to get out of a bed only inches from the floor it too much. However, even when she gets out it is only to get toys or books and take them back to her bed.
Overall, I am one very proud mama. I hate seeing them grow up so quickly, but love cheering them on as they do. And I am very grateful that what I see as an accidental blessing, God planned far in advance.
We managed a full 10 nights there without any more episodes or issues and I was simply amazed. She slept through the night, took naps and never once tried to get out of the bed! I'm wondering if my trial by fire might have been a lucky stroke of genius? - Allow them to be in unfamiliar surroundings where they have no preconceived ideas of how things should be and then make the needed adjustments.
I have no idea if this would work for any other child, but for me it worked like a dream (as long as you forget that whole first night fiasco).
So when we were heading back home to Oklahoma, I let R know that she would be sleeping in her big girl bed. We had already gone through the hard part of adjusting and I definitely didn't want to take steps backwards. She fought me and insisted that she wanted to sleep in her crib, however when nighttime time, she did just fine. We have given her lots of praise and encouragement and she just lights up every time we tell her what a good job she is doing.
Now I will admit that since returning home, nap time hasn't gone quite as smoothly. I think it's mainly because she's just gone back to not napping, so the temptation to get out of a bed only inches from the floor it too much. However, even when she gets out it is only to get toys or books and take them back to her bed.
Overall, I am one very proud mama. I hate seeing them grow up so quickly, but love cheering them on as they do. And I am very grateful that what I see as an accidental blessing, God planned far in advance.
It's the little things in life, that aren't so little.
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