Bye Bye Crib

I apologize for not posting anything the past week. As the blog header says, things are constantly changing in our household, and the changes this past week have left me tired and unexcited about writing. Things are looking up, though, so I wanted to share some of what's been going on.

Here is Riley sleeping in his crib for the first time at the age of 6 weeks. Since then he has loved his crib and we've never had problems getting him to sleep in it. Sure, there were nights when he was teething or sick and didn't sleep well, but he's never just refused to sleep in it. That is until this past Saturday night. At the ripe old age of 19 months, Riley decided it was time to say goodbye to the crib and hello to a big boy bed. Was mama ready for this?? Absolutely not! In fact, I didn't even know it was happening until I returned late Saturday night from a youth girls' conference I had gone to with some girls from our church. Daniel took Riley to Hope to visit his dad Friday night, and the whole time they were there he refused to sleep in the crib. When they returned to our house Saturday night, he refused to get in his own crib. So, now we've had a fun week of adjusting to a "new" normal. Now that Riley is 'free' to move about the room, he does not want to stay in his bed when it's nap time or bed time. The first couple of days I just sat in his room until he fell asleep, but that took at least 45 minutes and was exhausting! I knew there must be a better way.

I love babycenter.com! I searched this website Wednesday afternoon and found a solution I thought might work. Just about every mother that posted about this topic said to go through the normal bed time routine, put them in bed and then walk out and close the door. If they get out of bed, put them back in without making eye contact or saying a word. Do this as many times as is needed until they stay in the bed. They'll realize (hopefully!) before too long that you're not going to give in and they're not going to win. Daniel was the lucky one who got to try this for the first time Wednesday night because I was at choir. :) When I got home at 8:45, Riley had just fallen asleep after getting out of his bed 46 times. Yes, you read that right. 46 times! Can you say "strong-willed child"?! I'm so thankful for his personality because I know the Lord created him that way for a reason, but good grief! Thankfully, nap times and bed time since then (2 naps and 1 bed time) have been much better! I think he's starting to catch on to what we expect of him. I'm really looking forward to the day when I can put him in bed and not have to worry if he's going to get back out or not!

Needless to say, it's been quite a week (on top of everything else, I think he's teething his 2-year molars...might as well work on those too while we're at it!) and we're all pretty exhausted. Here's to hoping and praying (feel free to join me in prayer!) for a restful weekend!