our move from crib to bed at 15 months
Like I had told you here, my next goal was to get rid of the crib completely and I did! That night. I didn’t think too much about it. I just went for it figuring if it works, wonderful. If not, I’ll revisit it in a few weeks. No biggie. Well I’m not sure what I was worried about because the whole process went off without a hitch.
I decided not to sleep with C the first night so I could get a feel for how he would do alone. I did however, lay with him until he fell asleep which I normally don’t do. He’s never needed me to and if you read the comments here you now know that my child likes to go to bed around 5:30 pm give or take so it’s nowhere near my bedtime,although some nights I wish it were! If only I didn’t have to pump! Grrrr….I’m getting distracted, back to the subject, he went about our regular bedtime routine, laid down, he rolled around awhile, feel asleep and I was outta there! Around 2 am he woke up, cried and I slept with him for the rest of night. I wasn’t much surprised by that considering he was waking up in a somewhat unfamiliar place. He was scared, rightfully so.
Fast forward to morning nap. Now certainly this was not going to go over well… I thought for sure he would cry, cry, cry. But I was pleasantly surprised by a cry, whine, moan and then out for the count! I normally never let him cry it out. I always just give it a minute or 2, literally and if the cry is escalating then I know to go in. If the cry tapers off quickly I’m not too worried about it. He’s not stressing himself out in that situation. He took great naps -both morning and afternoon and I was more than siked! I was a proud Momma, for sure. Honestly, I think I was more proud of him in this situation than I have been about anything else thus far. He has since slept through the night seamlessly and has yet to even get out of the bed!
Now, I am not naive enough to think it will always be this easy. I’m sure we’ll come to bumps in the road in terms of him staying in the bed, leaving the room, etc but we’ll just cross that bridge when we get there!
Now to all those Mommas who are frightened to let your little munchkin be alone in the room by themselves let me tell you how I made the room super safe…
- Use a mattress on the floor,no bed frame. You don’t have to worry about a serious fall. Sure, it may startle them if they roll off the mattress but you won’t have to worry that it’s that serious especially if you’re not in there to see how exactly they fell.
- To discourage some of those rolls off the mattress since I have a roly poly sleeper I put his crib bumpers underneath the fitted sheet. Similar devices are sold for this specific reason but if you know me, I won’t buy it if I can find a way to do it myself with something I already have.
- I also chose to just use a fitted sheet, no comforter or blankets for him to rustle up in until he’s a bit older besides his smaller “lovey” blankie.
- Secure all blind strings. I have low windows and C likes to look out them so I just went ahead and pulled them half up, wrapped and tied the strings along one of the top blinds.And then he just has his curtains to block light.
- Take out or secure all bookshelves or dressers to the wall. If it’s not in a stud it’s not going to do you any good by the way. In attempt to “Montessori” C’s room I moved his bookshelf into his closet for right now and am using it for storage.
- Use low shelving or none if you don’t have any at the moment and put a few books, stuffed animals, and safe toys out for play.
- You know those doorstop that stick out so your door won’t slam against the wall? Make sure to take that rubber piece at the end off. They pull right off and into baby’s mouth they go!
Generally, everyone has their nursery set up pretty safely anyway so just take a 2nd and 3rd look around and I’m sure everything will be just fine! Make sure to get on their level and look. Try to see what they see.
So, some of you are probably thinking why, why, why? What’s wrong with keeping him in his crib? And this is what I say…
Aside from the fact that about 50 babies die each year from crib related deaths and another 9,000 injured in crib related accidents in the U.S.; I think that having the opportunity to be in openly exposed surroundings will assist C in developing independence, movement, focus,self-esteem, and decision-making skills, leading to a happy, healthy, well-adjusted person later on in life.
Sometimes we think too much. Is a crib really necessary or is just easier for us as parents to use it? Do we get it because we think that’s what we’re supposed to do.. ? It’s a personal preference but it’s one that should be carefully thought about.
If I could go back in time I wouldn’t have used one at all.
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21/52
buckwheat waffles {vegan + gluten free}
20/52
my mother’s day
18/52 & 19/52
i had it coming. my daughter hates sleeping…
{DIY} faux roman shade – no sewing required!
{recipe} ayurvedic curry powder
I DID IT!! NOOOOOO….WE DID IT!!!!
You motivated me to go out, buy low shelving and rearrange my lil man's room into his own child world. Mattress is on the floor, pictures are eye level, everything is baby proof and I'm loving it! I was worried the first night, wondering how long it would take for him to actually sleep or how long it would take for me to go in and put him in his crib- but it worked out great! I laid him down on the bed after reading our stories and I said the normal “night night, I love you, sweet dreams!” and closed the door. I thought ok…here we go! A couple minutes later I heard him at the door (that I was standing on the other side of, listening intently, wishing I now had registered for that video monitor) but he laid back down and 5 minutes later no sound…opened the door and he was past out on the bed. I of course checked on him about 5 times throughout the night and surprisingly he did not roll off the mattress one time! He woke up like normal in the AM, very content I left him his cup of water next to his bed- thanks for the idea Aunt Igi 
Tonight he went down great again! I am so excited about this!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!
Ah:) I feel so proud! Thank you, thank you for trying it out and hopefully motivating more Mommas to do that same. Children are capable of a lot more than we initially give them credit for. We just have to give them the opportunity to show us what they can do! Tell him Aunt Igi is more than proud of him! XOXO