Nina and I got a new king mattress from Purple on Tuesday, July 30th. And, our old king mattress will be Niko’s new crib. Yes, my 3 year old is going to have a king sized bed! Yes, this is is going to be a new experience for all of us as he will no longer have rails. To prepare for it, I moved and secured his dresser and bookcase and took his crib apart.
I was planning on doing the bed switch on Saturday after nap, but Niko really wanted it to be done on Friday night. Who am I to tell my son no? So, we each got a wrench and took the IKEA crib apart; well, he tried but couldn’t unscrew the screws. I did let him unscrew once they could be done by hand. Afterwards, Nina and I dragged our old huge heavy mattress in his room.
Everything was normal that Friday evening as I started nighttime with Niko around 6:30 pm. Around 7:30 pm, Nina came in and gives Niko a final cuddle. Then, about 7:45 or 8:00 pm, it’s time to put him in the crib; I mean his new bed! I kept telling him that I was going to sleep with him to make sure he is OK with the new surroundings. Well, that didn’t work as he didn’t fall asleep until almost midnight. He kept talking and jumping on me. I think he was excited to have somebody sleeping with him. Once he did fall asleep, it was really nice to be in the same bed with him; that hasn’t happened in a very long time.
On Saturday, I was planning on letting him take a nap by himself, but he really wanted me to sleep with him again. Well, no nap as he talked and jumped on me for an hour! I should’ve learned my lesson from Friday or just said no.
For nighttime on Saturday, I told him he will be sleeping by himself and when we put him in the bed, he fell asleep immediately. He was a tired baby. He didn’t get up in the middle of the night to roam around his room; yet! I have seen so many videos of kids doing that and I know eventually it will happen. But, his dresser and bookcase are secured safely to the walls; the worst he can do is throw clothes and books on the floor or the bed! He can open his closet door, but we just have a few things in it and nothing can hurt him. His door is baby proofed so he can’t open it. And, we have a baby video monitor so I can see and hear what he is doing.
So, he has now been in his big boy bed for since last Friday and he is still doing great. No roaming yet as he likes to sleep. One of the funny things is that despite being in a king sized bed, he sleeps on the very edge of the mattress with a long pillow next to him; maybe it is comforting to him and feels secure. One of the nicest things is when he cuddle for nap or nighttime, we do it in his bed. Not ours. I like that because my pillows aren’t thrown on the floor and my night-table remains intact.
In addition to his new bed, I have also been waking him up for a midnight pee and diaper change. Yes, he is potty trained, but he still wears one for nap and nighttime. Before we dissembled the crib, he had several days in a row with wet pajamas and sheets. When I told him about our midnight pee and diaper change, he was excited. I told him it would be quick and so far, that is going very well. Except for Friday when he didn’t get to sleep until midnight. He is so sleepy that I have to make sure he doesn’t fall down when he is peeing. I get some nice hugs and kisses and I LOVE YOU DAD from him. And, he goes right back to sleep and 5 minutes later, I am back asleep.
We are still several weeks away from no diapers and a long time before we open his bedroom door and let him out.
