The Big Boy Chronicles: The Big Boy Bed

As promised, I wanted to share how incredibly proud I am of Zane with his flawless transition to the big boy bed last week!

Tommy's been wanting to get him out of the crib for several months because he would occasionally act like he wanted to try to climb out. I was more hesitant. I just knew that putting him in a bed meant that I could no longer ensure that he would stay in bed when I wanted him there, regardless of how he felt about it.

With Taryn on her way, we knew it was time. I wanted to do it far enough ahead of time that he didn't think the baby took "his" bed. Our crib converts to a toddler bed but this didn't make any sense since we need the crib for the baby. We decided to skip the toddler bed and just spend our money on a twin bed that he can stay in long term. We figured we could start with the mattresses on the floor or buy one that is low to the ground.

I put a wanted ad on my online bulletin board at work and found someone looking to sell a used twin "captains" bed (box with drawers under the mattress instead of traditional off the floor frame) for a good deal. I liked the idea of the extra storage space and eliminating the abyss that "under the bed" can become for small objects (and dogs & kids). Plus, we wouldn't need a box spring and it would be low to the ground. We took the captains bed and ordered a memory foam mattress online. The mattress was pretty cool. It came in a fairly small box and you just roll it out and it plumps up to its advertised thickness.
So last Friday, we decided to set it up. We thought a weekend would be a good time to start, in case we didn't get much sleep. I took some pointers from friends on Facebook and we let him "help" set it up. We had to take the crib apart to get it out of his room so there was no going back.

We got it in his room and put the guard rail on it. Zane helped put the sheets on it and we put his "new blanket" on it that I had showed him the night before. It's sports themed and has different types of balls all over it. He likes talking about each type of ball as he points to them.

By the time we got it all set up, it was past his bedtime (all part of my plan), so we did our bedtime routine and he climbed right in. I got him a "big boy" pillow to lay his head on. He wanted us to pull the covers up over him like we have in our bed. After a quick talk from mommy & daddy about the need for him to stay in his bed while his bedside clock shines blue, we said good-night and my big boy went RIGHT to sleep.

I'm telling you. It was incredible! Every night since, he gets right in bed and stays there until we come get him in the morning. Even if he wakes up, he stays right there. I could not have asked for a better transition. He wakes up some mornings and says, "I sleeped good, Mommy. Mommy sleep good? Daddy sleep good?" Yes! When Zane sleeps good, mommy & daddy sleep good too!

Now for some pictures and video of Zane and his bed:




Figuring out the rail










Daddy tickling Zane on the bed

Zane playing and talking on the bed


















And finally, good night everybody!



I'm incredibly proud of my big boy! I'm feeling better and better about him being ready to be a big brother. I have every reason to believe he is going to handle it fantastically. Lately, he is talking more and more about his baby sister.

Please keep praying for all of us as we get closer to Taryn's grand entrance in a few months!

We love you all!

Crystal

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