A little while ago I mentioned all the goals/milestones I had coming up with Violet before Baby Sister makes her debut. Well, with one, possibly two out the window (binkie and potty training) there remains one that MUST be accomplished, and quick!
I decided not to get rid of her binkie just yet because she only has it in bed. My thought is that if I let her keep it until she is used to being in a big girl bed, it might make the transition a little easier. Is that silly of me? I'm thinking if she knows she can only have nigh-night in bed, then maybe it will keep her in bed.
SO. Starting Sunday night we are going to take the front off of Violet's crib. AH! (thought, should we try and sneak in there in the middle of the night and take it off without her realizing it?! could be tricky)
Kind of freaking out a little. I'm so nervous because she takes 3.5 hour naps everyday, and I don't know what I'll do if she stops taking those naps. I'd rather keep her in a crib and buy a new one if it meant she'd still nap.
So, I need some advice
#1 Do I get the guardrails? I saw on Pinterest that people used water noodles under the sheets, or should I just use a pillow on the one side?
#2 How long do I allow her to not take a nap (heaven forbid that happen) until I go back to a crib, because believe you me, I will!
#3 She's understanding what we are telling her pretty well now, but I'm still nervous about explaining to her that she needs to stay in bed, any advice on how to make sure she's not playing with toys while she should be trying to sleep?
#4 Do I have a reward system? Or is she too little to understand that?
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, so give me all the advice you've got!
As for potty training, we bought a little toilet for her, she'll sit on it with clothes on, but anytime I notice she's going #2 I will try to get her to go sit on it and she refuses. I think she's too busy concentrating. She really doesn't show any interest in it, other than to briefly sit there or put her babies or animals on it and say "Potty too huh. Potty too huh."
So for now (well, starting in less than 6 weeks) I will be changing 2 pairs of cheeks a day and paying an arm and a leg on diapers, but I'd rather do that than be potty training right now. I just don't have the energy or the patience.
Wish us luck!
6 comments:
My only advice would to be that you make it a really big deal that she is now a big girl who "gets" to sleep in a big girl bed. I would keep doing naps as usual and if you have a problem with her getting up, just go and lay her back each time. My kids have always thought it is super cool to "graduate" to being one of the big kids:)
I agree with Janineg! I had the same goals before our second kiddo got here, and we simply had to put potty training on hold. We moved her right to a big bed and made a huge deal about it. She got to help pick out bedding (but was little enough that anything I got excited about, she got excited about). We did guard rails, but didn't leave them up too long because it was a pain to make the bed. Anyway, I just did my best to keep her routine the same. If she happened to get out of bed, I just ushered her back without making a big deal about it. We actually didn't have any problems until after she turned 3 and cranked up the whole defiance thing. But by then, a reward system seemed to work. Sorry, this got kind of long. Good luck to you! Hope all goes well!
We just put him to bet and left him in there, toys an' all. The first few days were a bit rough. He wanted to stay up and play with his toys, and he did. If he ever came out of his room, we would promptly put him back in. The goal was to keep him in his room for "Quiet Time" or "Naps" for at least an hour per session. Sometimes, he'd fall asleep 30 minutes into his quiet time. To be honest though, sometimes he didn't sleep at all, but even then, he did learn to play and entertain himself, which is a useful skill. Eventually though, he got so tired from the lack of sleeping, that he began to understand that being tired can be solved by taking naps when he's supposed to. I figured my boy would learn from natural consequences. If he doesn't sleep, he'll be tired and miserable. Seemed to work okay for him. He's three and half now, so he only takes naps 3-4 days or so out of the week (he's transitioning out of naps...sad), but he still gets put in his room for quiet time every day for about 30 minutes.
I say leave her in as long as possible. You don't need more chaos with another one on the way. Just my opinion.
I've only had one experience to draw from, but it was a surprisingly pleasant one.
Hazel was 21 months old. It was right after christmas and I was re-doing her room to make it more play-friendly which meant that there was no room in our lives (or the room) for a crib anymore. We talked to Hazel a lot about how she was getting a big girl bed and how exciting it was going to be, but that she couldn't get out of bed to play. She had to make good choices, etc... When the time came for her to sleep in it, she went right to bed and didn't have any problems at all. She fell off the bed once, which was no big deal, she just got up and got back in. She also got out of bed once to play with her kitchen. Taylor went in and told her she could not play with toys when it was bedtime, so she went back to bed.
And that was it. No transition beds, no water noodles, no crib tents, no nothing.
I really think that it will be easier than you think it will be. I think she's at an age where she can understand and you can explain to her what's going on. It was not traumatic at all and way easier than expected.
P.S. It needs to be said that she couldn't open doors yet, so I never had to worry about her getting out of her room. Also, she took naps like a champion after the transition.
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