Three's A Crowd

     As the time for our new little mister to arrive gets closer and closer (4 weeks now!!) we're trying to work on getting our first little mister to develop some big boy habits. One of those is sleeping in a 'big boy bed.' We really didn't want to buy another crib, and we're thinking that getting this over with now will be easier than with a newborn added to the mix.

Doesn't this bed look so cute and comfy?

     Easier said than done....Cooper, who is a great sleeper at night and nap-time, has turned into a clingy little maniac when we try to put him in his big bed at night.  Naive us thought that it was going to be quite simple to transition, but boy were we wrong. The first week we tried it using just a mattress on the floor. He did great at falling asleep with one of us in the room, but then at night he'd wake up and if we were gone he'd cry until we came back. As the week progressed, he got to where he wouldn't stay asleep very well, constantly checking to see if we were still there, and after an hour and 1/2 one night wound up in our bed because that's the only way he would go to sleep. I know... we lost the battle...but oh we slept good that night.

"I've got what I need!"

     After our defeat we decided to put him back into his crib, get a bed frame and reboot the situation. That was over a week ago; as of now we have the bed up, but have lacked the courage to try again. I think we're a little scared....trying to put off the inevitable discomfort of the situation for as long as possible. And now, to exacerbate the problem, Cooper has begun to wake up during the night in his crib some...great.

     I have to include the other issue that makes this extra difficult for us. Cooper apparently has a very sensitive gag reflex, so if we let him cry it out for too long he throws up in his bed. I know...weird and so inconvenient. This can happen if he wakes up in the middle of the night, or even if we put him to bed 30 min before he's ready. He has to be ready or we're in trouble.

     The other night he woke up about midnight crying. I let him cry for about 5 min then heard a sound that didn't sound good. I went to check on him and sure enough he'd spit up a bit. So I wound up putting him in his big bed and slept with him until he drifted off. Then I left, and left the doors to his and our room open. A couple of hours later I heard 'Mama' and opened my eyes to see him at my bedside. So I pulled him up there with us and cuddled before we both drifted off. The rest of that night he'd sleep good for a little while and then start kicking rapidly and whining. The next morning Dalton said he thought he was having bad dreams. Poor little guy. : ( Results: I didn't feel bad bringing him to bed with us, we didn't get the greatest night's sleep, and both Dalton and I had to protect ourselves from little feet.

     This brings us to last night, but before I get there I have to tell another trick that Cooper uses to avoid going to bed. We just sit and laugh when he does this! Here's how it goes:

"Cooper it's bedtime," we say as we head to his room

"Uh oh," says Cooper and begins to look around the house for things out of place that he can clean up. Then he proceeds to walk around picking up toys and putting them away, finding dirty socks and taking them to the laundry room, putting books on shelves, etc.

It is the funniest thing!! We just sit and watch him work. Then we try again.

"Cooper, come give us a hug. It's time for bed," we call from the darkened bedroom where we are stifling giggles.

He starts our way, stops, and says "Uh oh," as he has somehow found something else out of place...sometimes a piece of trash the size of a quarter that needs to be thrown away.

This is really great in a way because we clean up the house before bed every night, but we all know the real purpose is delayed bedtime.

     Back to last night: After a couple of rounds of clean up, we put Cooper in his bed and headed out. He was quiet for a little while and then we heard the crying begin. Why? We'd put him to bed before he was ready. We listened on the monitor for that awful throw up sound, hoping it wouldn't come but somehow knowing that it would, until we heard it.

     Rolling our eyes at each other we headed to his room just in time to see him finish throwing up. Dalton grabbed Cooper and rinsed him in the tub while I gathered all the dirty things, including horsey and Pluto, and put them in the washer. This is the second time horsey has had a bath this week, by the way. Cooper's not too comfortable with him in the washer, but last night he had no choice.

     After the cleanup was finished we sat in his room planning our next move. Option 1: put him in the crib and risk throwup #2 Option 2: put him in the big bed and one of us sleep with him (this wasn't a great option because we don't have a box spring or many slats right now, so it's a backache waiting to happen) Option 3: take him to bed with us. So what did we choose? Well, per Dalton's request we tried Option 1, but after standing outside his door listening to the piercing screams, we knew he was a time bomb waiting to go off, so we went back in. I suggested option 2, with Dalton sleeping with him...I used my baby belly as a valid excuse for me not to sleep in the saggy bed... but he declined and off to bed the three of us went.

 "Yes, I won!"

"Come on Mama, I'll make room for you."

     I had the giggles by this time for several reasons.

One: When Cooper gets upset it helps to distract him by asking him if he hears something, but for some reason I always bring up the roosters. I say "Cooper be quiet and see if you can hear the roosters," while putting him down, or "Cooper you better be still or the roosters are going to get you," while changing his diaper. I really don't say it that much but Dalton happened to be there both times so last night he asked me "What is the deal with you and the roosters?" After that I couldn't stop the giggles. If Cooper had bad dreams last night I'm sure it was of roosters attacking him.

Two: The fact that we are being ruled by a not quite 2 year old. Just the look on Dalton's face (who is very anti Cooper sleeping with us) as he follows Cooper to our bed is enough to send me laughing. Especially when Cooper gets into bed, pulls the covers up to his neck and gives us this big "I've got you right where I want you" grin. Then Dalton and I crawl in and touch feet to show that we love each other.

Three: Dalton's comments when we got into bed. "Cooper, how come your feet always gravitate to places they shouldn't?" and "The next bed we get is going to be King sized...I'm not making fun of anyone else for having a King size again." Just picturing us in bed protecting ourselves (well, I'm actually protecting little brother from Coop's kicks) while Cooper thrashes in the middle...I'm cracking up again.

     I know that those things are probably not very funny to everyone else. but to us, at this point in our lives, they are giggle-starters for me.

     Question: Where do we go from here? Well, we're thinking that we must go cold turkey and get the crib out of his room. For one, it's really crowded in his room with all the beds. Also, the baby's room just won't be quite right until the crib is in there. And then, of course, as long as the crib is in his room we're going to use it as a crutch when we feel weak. (Which apparently is often)

     The Plan: After removing the crib, start putting Cooper in his big bed and slowly wean ourselves away from the bed and room until  he's ok sleeping alone. (I did read some material in support of this) We obviously can't use the 'cry it out' method but I'm thinking a little crying each time is fine. I'm also going to be ok with leaving the doors open so our little bed bug can come in with us if he sleeps most of the night in his bed.

     The Update: I'll post an update in a few weeks to let you know the progress of our plan. Hopefully I'll have good news to report....and not a picture of a new crib that we've bought for Cooper.

I've been trying to think of some scripture to put on the walls of the boys' rooms. I may have found one for Cooper......

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8