New Found Freedom

I've mentioned before that Judah is now sleeping in his "big boy bed." What this big boy bed consists of is his crib with one side taken off. Don't worry, it's made to do that. It's a 3 in 1 crib, which converts into a toddler bed, which converts into a twin size headboard and footboard. It had little pieces that go on the sides, so it's not just a blunt end, but nice and rounded.





Since moving into the big boy bed, Judah has some new found freedom and he just doesn't know what to do with it. Judah has always been such an amazing sleeper. As a baby we would lay him in his crib, he might fuss for a few minutes, but then he'd go to sleep. As a toddler we'd lay him down, he'd talk and sing, and then quickly be fast asleep. All the sudden, with bars no longer around him, he is anxious to do get up and play. Like a man just released from jail. Or, a dog who escapes out of the yard.

One thing I like to do is lay down with him. When you lay with him (which I learned from my mother-in-law and my mom, by the way) he falls asleep fast. Really, really fast. It was less than a minute today. But, is that teaching him horrible habits? Because we have to lay with him each and every time we want him to fall asleep. That drives Eric crazy. But, the flip side is not laying with him. And, when you don't lay with him he doesn't go to sleep. He'll play and play and completely skip his naps (we've done that several times). Or, at night, he'll play and play for hours until it's after 10pm and we finally lay down with him. Who knows how long he'd stay up if we didn't give in.

You see, that's the problem. We'll lay down with him at the beginning, get frustrated because he won't fall asleep and get up. Then, he'll play and we'll get frustrated he's not asleep and go back and lay down with him. If there's one thing I'm consistent about it's my inconsistency. I honestly don't know what to do. I keep thinking if he was in a regular twin bed or toddler bed and not just his crib he'd sleep better. If he was in a room he couldn't get out of (his room is technically a den, with a folding door, so we can't just lock him in it. We've tried and he can escape every method) he'd sleep better. What to do?



And, Samuel's sleeping...oh my. I know they're both great sleepers, but I'm just being really inconsistent. Sometimes I'll let Samuel cry it out. Sometimes I'll nurse him to sleep. Sometimes I'll let him cry, not be able to stand it and go and get him up and nurse him. I guess this blog is my confession time. If I was to read someone else writing this I'd be like, "It's so simple. Just be more consistent!" And, one more excuse I use, that I'll wait until we move. Should I wait? Should I get them sleeping good now? Should I just let Judah skip naps and stay up late until he learns to stay in his bed? Have you done this before? What worked for you?

------------------------------------
Today, in the middle of trying to get Judah down for a nap on his own, I went in his bedroom to check on him. He wasn't in his bed. He wasn't in his bedroom playing. Although, the closet light was on. I opened the door and found him sitting in the corner. Funny boy! Oh yeah, and I also forgot to mention how much STUFF he wants in his bed now. Today he has his regular crib sheet, his new Wiggles twin sheets, an afghan someone made for us for our wedding, the A's blanket my dad got for him, 4 pillows from the livingroom, and his new (adorable!) Pottery Barn quilt that my mom got for him.