Our three oldest boys were all moved to a big boy bed just before they turned two. We did this out of necessity. All of our boys are two years apart, which meant they automatically got booted out of the crib earlier than I would have liked.
We didn't have that issue with Ryland. I planned on keeping him in the crib as long as possible. When he hit age three, I thought about moving him but wasn't ready to tackle that battle just yet. And since he wasn't climbing out of the crib, why not! The issue we ran into was that he no longer fit very well in a pack 'n play when we stayed at hotels. In January (at 3 years, plus 4 months), I mustered up the courage to move him to a big boy bed.
Napping was virtually non-existent for the first month as he was having some fun with his new-found freedom. There are no toys in his room, but he found ways to amuse himself. He would pull all the Kleenex out of the box. He would take his pillows, stack them on his bed, then stand on them. I am sure jumping on the bed was involved. He continually changed his clock time and alarm time. Sometimes he inadvertently set the alarm and it would go off after bedtime and totally freak him out. He would pull out every diaper (he still wears them at night), open them, crumple them, open the tabs and stick them to other parts of the diaper and then he would shove them all back in the bin. Bit, by bit, everything not nailed to the floor was removed. He actually begged me to remove the alarm clock. Ha! I was dreading that this new bed was going to mean the end of napping, but he eventually chilled out and started sleeping again. He has some off days where he can't help but play, but most days he still gets in a nap.
Surprisingly, the night-time sleeping went remarkably well from the beginning. After I put him to bed each night, I always tell him that I love him and that I will come get him in the morning. The first night in his new bed, I made it as clear as I could that I would still come get him in the morning and that he was not to come out of his room before that time. I, honestly, didn't think our little chat would help, but he has yet to come out of his room on his own. He always waits for me to come get him!
Right now his room is pitch black at night, so there is no playing going on. I have a feeling things are going to be changing very soon with longer days coming and the time change that is less than a week away.
Here he is sleeping for real. I think this was his first night. This stomach sleeper does not like a pillow. Both blankets, the striped one on the left and the blue silky one on the right, have to be on those specific sides of him every single night. If they are reversed, he will switch them. And they have to be tucked into the blankets that cover him. Very particular, this one.
It looks like he loves his new digs, but he begged to have his "brown bed" back. I couldn't quite comprehend why on earth he would want the crib back after he had been granted all this freedom, but he asked for it religiously for the first few weeks.
Love his pretend sleep for the picture.
Napping was virtually non-existent for the first month as he was having some fun with his new-found freedom. There are no toys in his room, but he found ways to amuse himself. He would pull all the Kleenex out of the box. He would take his pillows, stack them on his bed, then stand on them. I am sure jumping on the bed was involved. He continually changed his clock time and alarm time. Sometimes he inadvertently set the alarm and it would go off after bedtime and totally freak him out. He would pull out every diaper (he still wears them at night), open them, crumple them, open the tabs and stick them to other parts of the diaper and then he would shove them all back in the bin. Bit, by bit, everything not nailed to the floor was removed. He actually begged me to remove the alarm clock. Ha! I was dreading that this new bed was going to mean the end of napping, but he eventually chilled out and started sleeping again. He has some off days where he can't help but play, but most days he still gets in a nap.
Surprisingly, the night-time sleeping went remarkably well from the beginning. After I put him to bed each night, I always tell him that I love him and that I will come get him in the morning. The first night in his new bed, I made it as clear as I could that I would still come get him in the morning and that he was not to come out of his room before that time. I, honestly, didn't think our little chat would help, but he has yet to come out of his room on his own. He always waits for me to come get him!
Right now his room is pitch black at night, so there is no playing going on. I have a feeling things are going to be changing very soon with longer days coming and the time change that is less than a week away.
Here he is sleeping for real. I think this was his first night. This stomach sleeper does not like a pillow. Both blankets, the striped one on the left and the blue silky one on the right, have to be on those specific sides of him every single night. If they are reversed, he will switch them. And they have to be tucked into the blankets that cover him. Very particular, this one.
We went on a temple trip the first weekend of February (a mere 3 weeks after starting to sleep in a bed). I was a little nervous about this boy in a sleeping bag at a hotel, surrounded by his brothers, but he did remarkably well. He talked for a little bit, while his brothers mostly ignored him, then went to sleep! We did hear the following morning that he walked around a bit and slept by Porter for awhile, but us parents were none the wiser (we were in a suite where there is a door that closes between our room and the boys room).
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