Daddy and I finished up with work a few hours early in order to get the room ready for the BIG REVEAL! We still have to paint, hang wall coverings, purchase new window treatments and a new chair...but the bones are in place. Take a look.
BEFORE
AFTER
So, what did Jack think? Here's the vid from THE REVEAL.
Clearly Jack loves it. But I know what you are thinking...at least what my mom is thinking...what happened at bedtime. Here's our first good sign. It is 10:32pm and I am with all of you at the computer. Surprised? Well, I didn't say I was here without battle scars. It was a mixture of cunning parental strategy, sheer perseverance and a stroke of good luck. All was looking real good until Jack actually confronted the bed. Our first hurdle was to figure out what "THE BED IS RUINED...GET IT OFF!" meant. We finally figured out that Jack loves his quilt so much (did you notice in the video how he called earth home...HAHAHAHA!) that the sheet, blanket and comforter were all in the way of a cuddle session with the quilt. So after removing the ever-so-tedious sheet, blanket and comforter Jack snuggled up for his bedtime stories and all looked good again. After four books, bedtime prayer, a prince Jack story and two lullabies (yes, I indulged a bit) we kissed, turned out the lights and I ran like he** in hopes of avoiding any last minute negotiations. HA! How long do you think it took before Jack was out of bed and in our bedroom...
How long is an actual Nano Second???
We had heard the war stories from the front line of those that have gone before us...we anticipated some bedtime wrangling. If you know me, you know I researched every "expert" opinion on "transitioning" to the big bed. Our strategy was "Do Not Engage". The theory is that he will become bored by our lack of engagement and quit getting out of bed and go to sleep. So, when he ran out of his room we picked him up without words or even eye contact...and placed him lovingly back into bed. We are not completely stupid. We have seen Super Nanny. We didn't think it would work right away. We took bets. Gary bet that after repeating this 17 times Jack would be asleep. My optimistic husband...I love him so. I bet 35 times. I don't know how many it actually was but somewhere close to 50 we decided this wasn't working. Maybe we are stupid. HA! It seemed we had created some sort of Jack Ping Pong game and he was now as hyped up as a kid on candy at Disney World the day before Christmas. Plan B. I scooped him up, sat in the old rocker, sang another lullaby and waited until he calmed down...put him in bed and left. He chatted to himself for a few and then drifted of to sleep! EUREKA!!!
Now...will he stay in bed all night? Bets?
Hey Nora! I am enjoying the new blog,thanks for sharing! Although my advice is quite old, thought it might be helpful in getting Jack to stay in his "big boy" bed, we did this for Brandi when she moved into her "big girl" bed---we did the whole routine also, (stories, stuffed animals, snuggle, etc) but we then let her pick a few books and a flashlight to keep in bed with her. She would read her books and end up falling asleep on her own. We put her in a big bed at 18 months-mainly because we had the opportunity at the time to get a twin for her, so even though she was quite young, she did very well and stayed put. Good luck and keep the updates coming! Love, Mary
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary we will give it a try. Glad you like the blog and I can take all the advice I need. He isn't going down so well tonight...but as Gary just said...the night is still young.
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