Bed Time Adventures

Friday night I was hating toddler beds and the new freedom my children had. This morning I'm happy to report I no longer hate them. I'm still not totally in love with them, as we'll have to see how nap time goes today but at least I don't despise the things anymore. Here's a quick recap of how the transition went...

Friday Night: Friday night we revealed the finished rooms and new beds to the boys right at bed time. In hindsight this probably wasn't the best move. Why on earth did we think the boys would calm right down and lay in bed when they just had been shown their new room and beds? Silly parents! And so began two hours of fun....

The boys would all jump out of bed.
The boys would come running out of their room and down the hall in a line, all giggling like maniacs.
Nick and I would try our best to not laugh or smile at them and would instead quietly march them back to their beds.
Repeat. About 100 times.

Then we changed tactics and just held their door closed. This made them very unhappy, because who wants to play in a totally dark room? Eventually Nick and I took shifts monitoring the door and listening for signs of trouble (we heard "no bitey, no bitey" a couple of times and had to intervene). At one point, while sitting in the chair outside their room I heard Tyler start to sing. At first I thought "no, surely he's not singing what I think he is... where would he have learned that?", but by the 3rd time through the song I was sure I was hearing right. Tyler was singing Smelly Cat. You know, the song Pheobe on Friends sings? Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you? I cracked up! The teacher of this wonderful song? Aunt Laura of course.

Saturday nap: Nap time is a little tougher we're learning. Even with room darkening curtains the boys can still see plenty in their room, which means it's harder for them to just chill out. Saturday's nap time antics included Jackson suddenly deciding he no longer wanted the robots blankets but instead wanted the cars and trucks that Chase had. At one point Chase was laying quietly in his bed, about to fall asleep, when Jackson got out of bed, walked over and yanked the blanket off of Chase and brought it back to his own bed. Obviously Chase was not a fan of this move.

We also heard more "no bitey, no bitey!" from the boys and I had to tell them several times to stop bugging each other. We continued to take away blankies and hold the door shut, but the lack of darkness really hurt our cause. Finally, after 2 hours, I peeked in to see Jackson and Chase both asleep and Tyler sitting on the floor between their beds. I beckoned for Tyler to come out and I put on a movie for him. After sitting on the couch with him for about 10 minutes he was out like a light.

Saturday night: Bed time chaos only lasted about 40 minutes this night, which was a huge improvement. I think the fact that they were sleep deprived from the night before and from short naps that afternoon probably helped a great deal. Jackson was ready to go to sleep right away, but Chase and Tyler wanted to explore. Chase is having freedom issues and Tyler, well once you get Tyler going he doesn't want to stop. This night involved me again sitting in a tiny chair outside their bedroom door.

Sunday nap: It took them an hour and 40 minutes this time to all fall asleep. Tyler was the biggest hold out and trouble maker in the room. Eventually it got quiet and I tip toed back to take a peek and this is what I saw...

Jackson and Chase were sound asleep in their beds, while Tyler was asleep in the corner of the room. Totally made me laugh!

Sunday night: We had ZERO issues last night! They went to bed and all stayed in bed! We heard chatting for about 30 minutes, but at least they were in their beds. Woohoo! 

Our New Routine: With the toddler beds we decided to implement a new routine at bed time. We used to put away toys, go potty, get dressed, brush teeth and then watch 10 minutes of  a movie. Now instead of a movie each of the boys gets to pick a book out and we read in their beds. They seem to really like the new routine and it gives them a little chance to lay in bed for a bit and just relax.We also have set up a clock in their room. They know when the clock says 7 in the morning they can get out of bed and during nap time they can get up when it says 3. When they keep the clock plugged in it works beautifully.

All in all? Not too terrible so far. Now we just need to get nap time figured out and I'll be one happy momma!