Pickles Need Sleep Too!

It’s the end of October and somehow the Pickle has hit the 19 month mark. When did that happen? And when did she decide that she wanted to be a big girl? I was just getting used to the “monkey see, monkey do” stage…she copies EVERYTHING. From bum wiping, to taking out the trash…she wants to do it. She won’t sit in her high chair, because she can climb onto a bar stool. I’ve decided to pick my battles…it’s fun. Can’t wait for potty training to commence.

I thought maybe I shouldn’t get too excited about it, since I’m sure I’ll jinx it…but Pickle has officially slept in her big girl bed for the last couple nights. This is a big deal in our household! Mommy couldn’t take another night of being edged off the bed and Daddy was really sick of being kicked in the ribs all night. She is one of those kids that would NOT ever sleep in her crib. She hated it and would scream for a few hours to get out. When she was tiny and we were super paranoid new parents, she slept in the “taco” next to our bed. It was a dream come true, that taco. Apparently it works, because my sister just packed it all the way to Ohio this week for Lucky to enjoy on vacation.

We tried the crib several times…even going as far as gently placing her in while she was in a dead sleep. She would immediately pop up and make the face…the “I’m about to scream my lungs out” face. I would immediately grab her and stick her in our bed. I knew that I needed sleep, much more than I needed an obedient sleeper. Mommy can’t function at work with only two hours of sleep. She loved our bed and would snuggle right in and pass out. On those nights when she had too much energy and wouldn’t snuggle in, I would say “you need to lay down or you’ll have to sleep in your kennel”. Her head would immediately pop down and snoring would commence. Oh, yes…we call our Pediatrician, the “vet” and the crib/playpen, the “kennel”. We’re those weirdos. It worked and she seemed to sleep just fine in the bed. So, I got an idea…what if she just had her own big bed in her room? Why not? I started googling and realized that (obviously) I was not alone…there were lots of kiddos that had no interest in cribs. Then a search of my friendly Pinterest app yielded amazing results for toddler bedrooms – lots of them referred to as a “Montessori Toddler Room”. I was sold! Here are some of my favorite pins and the inspiration of what has become a “big girl” room. The main motivation behind the new bedroom was a new school schedule, requiring a much earlier sleep/rise time. 

Source: Montessori Style

Sunday Night – Big girl mattress set on floor, complete with cozy bedding and stuffed animals. After bath time, tooth brushing, books, and relaxation time; we venture up to her room. I shut the door and we check out her new bed. She jumps on it and giggles…then turns into Ricochet Rabbit and touches every single square inch of her room. Every once in a while, there’s a door knob escape-attempt, with toddler style “ouuuut”. I shake my head no and she eventually she understands that she’s not leaving…and neither am I. We snuggle into bed with milk and I sing to her (thank goodness she doesn’t know that I’m the worst singer ever). Twenty minutes into it – OUT. She woke up twice during the night, once she walked out of her room and held onto the balcony and cried…I think she thought we were downstairs having fun without her. At 6:45AM, she moseyed into our bedroom yawning and smiling. Success.

Monday and Tuesday Night – Mommy realized that she may have fallen out of bed on one occasion, so I found the LAST pool noodle in the city of Anchorage (a la pinspiration). It had seahorse parts on it, but nothing a hacksaw wouldn’t fix. After several meltdowns, stemming from the new school routine…we finally called it a night at 7:30. Same routine, but it took a whopping five minutes for her to pass out. I may have gotten a little cocky and pulled out some mommy-juice to enjoy the quiet. She woke up once while I was downstairs chugging wine and making her Halloween costume. I could hear her on the balcony with the gasping-crying “mommmammma”. I walked her back to her bed and out again. Ahhh…peaceful sleep. In fact, I had enough quiet and time to read a book each night. Pure awesomeness!

Wednesday Night – Holy meltdown mode. I found myself speaking in a super-calm-annoying-mommy voice, “I know you’ve had a really long day, Pickle, but I need you to hold it together for another hour.” We tried some books, coloring, more books, and soccer kicks around the living room. Finally, I looked at her and asked if she was ready for bath and night-night and received the sweet little head nod. In bed by 7:45 and she had her own little routine she wanted…the “pillow pet” stars on the ceiling and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” singing. Then, she was out…and so was Mommy. I wasn’t feeling so hot (thanks to daddy’s ebola outbreak) and must’ve been comfy. Then I screwed up…at midnight, she woke up and came running into our room crying. Yes, I should’ve walked her back. But, I didn’t…I threw her in our bed and she passed out.

It’s now Thursday afternoon and I’m dreading the after school melt-down, fit-throwing, refusing to eat, just want to snuggle routine…but then again, I might be looking forward to it. J I was explaining to el husbando that I wage an internal battle during these times. I feel guilty because I don’t get to spend all day with her, but then I only have a few hours to get laundry/cooking/cleaning/etc done every night. And between trying to keep her on schedule…and just letting her be a silly little snuggle-bug, who only wants to eat peanuts for dinner. Then it hits me - that in a few short years she’ll probably have no interest in snuggling with us…and damn, we will miss that. 

 Mommies...any other suggestions for keeping the toddler in her own bed?!