A Big Boy Bed

The time has come for Vinners to say adios to his crib.  He started putting up a big fuss about napping and going to bed at night.  I remember this happening with Vera around this age, so I started having him nap in my bed.  That went well, so we made the decision around the beginning of August to paint the bedroom for Vince and buy him a twin bed.

My mom took the kids for a sleepover on a Friday evening, and we painted.  It was a fairly quick paining project, thank goodness.  Painting is quite a process sometimes; it doesn't make the list of my favorite things to do.

Even Vera said that the room was more gold-colored than we realized.

Annie slept in our bedroom (in her crib) for a day/night while the paint dried and the odor cleared.  In true Vince style, he made the most of his last night in the crib.  I went in to get him the next morning, and he was soaked.  His diaper was maxed out, his PJs, bedding, and stuffed animals were wet and smelly!  

We weren't exactly sure how Vince would handle sleeping in a room alone.  He got really used to having Vera as his "security blanket" in the room.  So, we decided to set up his crib in the "new" room for a few nights so the poor guy wouldn't have too many changes all at once.  

Cribs don't fit through doorways, so Adam became really efficient at assembling and disassembling them!

It was sort of nostalgic as I put him to bed in his crib for a few nights.  Last year at this time, I was putting him to bed in the same place.  He was much smaller, our house was much hotter, and my belly was much bigger! :)  We went through a phase last summer of fighting him to go to bed at night.  Funny how the pendulum swings back.  

Vince was totally thrilled about leaving the front off of his crib and climbing in and out.  But, when bedtime rolled around, it was a circus trying to get him to stay in the bed.  I laid on the floor next to the crib.  It went like this:  Vince climbs out, I put him back in.  Vince climbs out, I put him back in.  Climbs out, back in.  Climbs out, back in.  Out, in.  Out, in.  This was nonstop for 10 minutes.  He wouldn't lay down.  It was a game.  Unfortunately for Vince, he lost the game.  Adam put the front back on the crib 15 minutes after he went to bed.  

Annie didn't pull herself up.  I stood her next to him so she could be in on the action.  She was happy to be included in the excitement.

The real big boy bed was delivered several days later.  Adam put together the bed frame he had when he was a kid, and it didn't go without excitement.  

We bought some truck decals at Menards that matched the truck/tractor/airplane sheets I found.  I kept telling myself that we needed something exciting to sell this bed to Vince.  The decals turned out cute, and Vince likes the big boy bed.  Win win!

Sleeping is going fairly well.  I lay with him for naps, and he's asleep within 15 minutes, so that's very manageable.  At night, he is a lot more restless, so it takes longer for him to fall asleep.  I'm hoping that I won't have to lay with him for too long.  He stays in the bed all night, but wakes up earlier than he used to in the mornings.  His naps are also shorter.  Less sleep is very noticeable in his behavior.  I think he has trouble going back to sleep once he wakes up.  The freedom to get up is much more appealing to this 2 year-old.

Of course, Vera was disappointed because Vince's bedroom was cooler than hers.  We assured her that we would work on making her and Annie's room feel more girly sometime soon.  She was satisfied with that answer, and found Vince's bed to be a fun play place.