This
last week I took both of my boys to visit their grandparents for spring
break. When we visit my parents I
usually sleep in one room and I set up my youngest in another room right next
door. He sleeps in a pack and play with a video monitor so that I can keep an
eye on him. My oldest usually sleeps in the rooms with me or camps out on
Grammy and Poppy’s floor. This is the
typical arrangement and has been for the last couple of years.
This
trip was a little different. On the very first night there my youngest woke up
in the middle of the night, climbed out of his pack and play, and headed for
Grammy and Poppy’s room. He has never
climbed out of a crib or pack and play before… His brother never climbed out
either. I was at a bit of a loss as to what brought this on and what this would
mean for the future. One thing was for sure; there would be no more sleeping in
separate rooms at my parent’s house with my little escape artist.
The pack
and play was moved to my room and for the remainder of our spring break the
little guy and I were roommates. Nap times brought on more escapes from the
pack and play and our routine for sleeping was slowly changing. YIKES! I was so
not ready for this as my first born never tried to climb out of anything.
Once
home I quickly realized that this whole climbing out of things was not being restricted
to just the pack and play at my parents home. Oh no. Little man was climbing
out of his crib every time I turned around. How he went about it was quite
comical, as he took everything out of his crib to create a soft landing pad.
Pillow, blanket, and Moo Cow were all tossed overboard so that he would not
hurt himself when he landed rump first on the other side. Then he wanders the
room for a minute {just in case anyone heard him drop} and then he makes a
break for the door.
This
fabulous {note the sarcasm} new talent of his means that we are changing up our
bedtime routine while we wait for his new big boy bed to come. We ordered his
big boy bed almost 7 weeks ago and were told it would take 4-8 weeks to receive
it. Now that little man is climbing out of his crib we are more than ready to
make the transition to the new bed! Can you tell that I am on pins and needles
waiting for my son’s new bedroom set? We have had the sheets and bedding
ordered and in house for a couple weeks now just waiting for the new bed.
So what
am I doing differently now that he can climb out? Well… My husband who is so
much better at being the disciplinarian has set up an action/consequences
routine where my little guy gets items taken away each time he climbs out. It
starts with Moo Cow and ends with the pacifier {yeah I know… we need to get rid
of the pacifier anyways!}. If everything is taken away and he has nothing left
my husband has a talk and tells him that he means business and if he wants
everything back he needs to lie down and sleep in his room. I am terrible at
this. All I want to do is cuddle and snuggle until he is sleepy and then tuck
him in. My hubby tells me that this is not a good habit to get into. I am
trying really hard to not give in and just lie down with the kids… it doesn’t
help that I am crazy hormonal and suffering from pregnancy exhaustion. I am a
work in progress.
Until
the new bed arrives I guess we will just try to establish this new routine in
the hopes that he will stop climbing out of his crib. I have full faith that it
will work, it is just difficult for all parties involved.
Did your kids ever
climb out of their crib?
