Monday, July 20, 2009

Puppies and Kids

Before X-man turned 2o months, he was a very happy sleeper. We'd place him in his crib, he'd grab his blanket and suck on his pacifier and we'd walk out of the room knowing that in 5 minutes or less our baby would be fast asleep.

The trick was that he'd turn sideways in his crib, and when his legs started jetting out between the bars and pushing against the wall, he stopped being such a happy sleeper. Instead, he started crawling out of his crib. By the time he turned 2, he'd been sleeping in a toddler bed for two months. This solved the problem for a few weeks, because his legs would just dangle out of the bed. But then he grew frustrated with the lack of mobility in his tiny bed.

After 4 weeks of staying with him and holding his hand while he tried to get comfortable in the confined space, my back had had enough. I ordered a big boy bed. And by big, I mean full-size. 

He started sleeping in it about a year ago. And my back has done a lot better than sleeping on a mat on his laminate flooring. He still doesn't just roll over and go to sleep most nights. Instead, his falling asleep sitcho reminds me very much of a puppy. He closes his eyes, hugs his blue blankie and turns sideways in the bed. He horse kicks (non intentionally), he groans, he smacks his head against the pillow and covers his face in his blanket. He kicks a few more times and then in mid-kick -- he falls asleep. 

Tonight was a perfect bedtime. I don't get very many of these that aren't frustrating any more. But at 8:30 p.m. he was upstairs. By 9 p.m. we were done with our stories. And by 9:20 p.m. he was asleep. 

Great job, X-man. I love you. Sleep tight, I'll see you in the morning light.

2 comments:

~rachel~ said...

Yeah X-man! It's so funny how different kids are with the whole sleep thing. Rowan was AWFUL for the 1st 2 years, and now goes to bed fine. Hope he keeps it up for you- I love the idea of a big bed, I fell alseep many nights in his toddler bed, yeah that's not comfy!

Quigs78 said...

You're giving me hope! Bubba used to be a rock star about going to bed (thankfully, PG still is) but since we moved here, we have to sit in his room until he goes to sleep. On the plus side, N doesn't mind it because it gives him 20 minutes to play on his PSP without me interrupting him. :P