Toddler Bed Adventures

{3.10.2010}

I will never forget the first week of March 2010. Why? Because it was the week that our 21 month old daughter decided to prove to us that she could climb out of her crib. Not once. Not twice but over and over and over again!

At first, we were shocked. Then completely amazed at this new ability at such a young age. For the record, Ryan NEVER did this! And lastly, scared. Not only scared for her safety but the realization that we HAD to make the transition from crib to toddler bed. I am sure I can speak for most parents when I say that keeping your child in a crib as long as you can is ideal. The children are confined and your sanity is intact. Once they are "free" to roam around, well life as you know it is over.

Here's a video I took of Kara showing off her mad climbing skills. I was not able to catch her "monkey climb" up the side of the crib and our silly camera died before her grand finale of jumping (YES, I said jumping) from the top of the crib rail. She has NO FEAR!

After a crazy week of panic attacks at every thump, I begged Chris to convert the crib into a toddler bed. Like any mother, I didn't want Kara to get hurt and I was positive that her daredevil attempts would eventually lead to a broken arm or concussion.

On Wednesday, March 10th, we converted the crib. As the last screw came out, I couldn't help but cry. Why does she have to grow up so fast? Will she be scared to sleep in a "big girl bed"? Will we be getting any sleep tonight? Thankfully she LOVED her new bed and stayed in it.

By 8pm she was off in dreamland and we were thanking our lucky stars that she was still sleeping when we went to bed at 11pm.

Kara slept until about 3:30am....then the fun began.

The rest of March was a blur. We had a few nights where Kara didn't want to stay in bed. There was also the week where she was up by 4am ready for the day. It was like having a newborn all over again! Somehow we survived those tough weeks and Kara eventually learned that her toddler bed was where she was supposed go to sleep at nighttime.

Nap time is still a work in progress though.

We keep catching Kara napping in the strangest positions and in the oddest places!

Then there is this!

In case you were wondering, I am NOT a fan of this at.all.let.me.tell.you!

Lately, she finds the floor to be comfy for nap time. At first I felt bad and would scoop her up to put her back in the bed. But I quickly learned that it was smarter to just let her sleep wherever she landed. Surprisingly, on this day she slept over 2 hours on the floor!

Here's a video showing the mess that is created on a daily basis in Kara's room!

I keep reminding myself that "this too shall pass" and we will move onto the next phase.

We already have the "terrible twos" knocking on our door.

I know we will look back at this someday and laugh at the craziness of it all.