I’m not really clear on when you’re supposed to know that your mini-person is ready to upgrade from a crib. The usual baby websites have lots of vague generalizations about the topic with the conclusion usually amounting to, “you’re child will let you know when the time is right.” I hate advice like that. I mean, how’s he supposed to do that? Is he going to climb out of his bed one day, open two doors (Nico’s an active sleeper, and I’m attuned to every little sound he makes, so I get absolutely no sleep unless we keep as many doors closed as possibly to muffle the sound–it’s like “the princess and the pea”), march into our bedroom, and announce, “Hey, mom! Now that I’m eighteen, don’t you think it’s time I start using an actual bed instead of that Pack ‘n Play? It’s kinda cramped.”
What drove the matter home for us ultimately was a period of two weeks wherein our usual system for getting Nico settled down during middle-of-the-night wake ups broke down (we suspected he would sleep better if someone was able to lay down next to him for a few minutes until he calmed down). Plus we now had a local Ikea at which we’d been very, very good about not spending money. Thus 14 month old Nico has been awarded with his very own “big boy” bed.
The bed itself is a toddler mattress tossed on the tatami platform in Nico’s room. Christian blocked off most of the platform with a board so Nico can’t accidentally roll off the platform while asleep or groggy (normally Nico has amazing spatial awareness, especially when it concerns steps and drop offs) then he built a step at the far end of the platform so that Nico could easily get down (the platform is just a tad too high for the little guy). Since Nico like to move around and wedge himself into corners during the night, we’ve padded the walls with stuffed animals.
In general, Nico is sleeping much better in his new bed than he ever did in his crib (or during the first few months when he co-slept with us). I think a lot of it has to do with the new mattress being considerably more comfortable than the pitiful excuse that was the pad that belonged to the crib. Having more freedom may play into it, too, though. For naps, his bedroom door stays shut, but during the night, we leave all doors open, so that the little monster can come padding into our room in the morning.
In the past week, Christian has only threatened to go back to using the crib twice (during a 6:00am and 6:30am wake up respectively), so I’m think the new bed is a general success.
One Comment
Wow – I can’t imagine Moira in a big girl bed yet. I’m afriad (with good reason) that she would be constantly getting out of it and shoving electrical cords in her mouth while I slept (not that I would be getting any sleep).