Crib to Bed Transition: FAIL

I take my job as a mama very seriously. Before any major transition or circumstance we may encounter on the road from baby to toddler, I research and study and contemplate and strategize until I come up with the perfect solution for my children. I'm already researching potty training and ready to jump in as soon as I get the vibe Paigey is ready (even if it is 6 months from now). So as someone who likes to have a plan for the plan when it comes to my kids, can I handle the curve ball? Little curve balls - no prob. I can roll with them. But big, major, life changing curve balls? Well - come to find out - not so much. Here's what happened...

Last week was crazy, but super fun. My besties Jill and Jilly (from now on to be referred to as "Jill Squared") came to visit from Pennsylvania - WOO HOO!!! (More on their visit in another post...) Of course Miss Paige loved every single second of the extra attention. She was hamming it up like a pro. Fast forward to Monday night (Labor Day) and we are all EXHAUSTED. D-Man is down and I'm reading Paige her last "seepy time" book before it's time for her to hit the hay. And that's when it happened... Paige flipped head first out of her crib! Thank goodness I was sitting right there and caught her just a millisecond before she took a full-on nose dive on the floor. I started screaming in panic, and Paige started laughing as if it was the funniest thing that ever happened. With Paige in my arms, I ran downstairs (still shaken) and announced to Daniel that she could no longer sleep in her crib. To which Daniel replied, "Ok - so what's the plan on getting her to sleep in a bed?"

And for the first time in my career as a mama, I didn't have a plan. Up until two minutes ago, I had thought Paigey would be in her crib AT LEAST another 6 months. She loved her crib and had never made any attempts to escape. I was completely caught off guard and went into "crazy mama" mode, attempting to remember any and every episode of "Super Nanny" I had ever seen - all while frantically "toddler-proofing" Paige's room. The crib mattress went onto the floor, furniture was rearranged to cover all electrical outlets (because we all know those plug covers last less than half a second with a precocious toddler on the loose). I started to calm down a bit... and then I realized that if she wasn't in her crib, she could open the door and leave her room at any time throughout the night. OH. NO. Am I really about to put special locks on my child's doors to literally cage her in her room at night?? The answer? ABSO-FRIEKEN-LUTELY! And not only does Paige's room have a door to the hallway, of course, but also a door to the Jack-and-Jill bathroom she shares with Deacon. I had visions of her hopping in the bathtub in the middle of the night, playing in the toilet... and I had another mini heart attack. Unfortunately we have those lever-type knobs on all our doors, so baby proofing them is a little more challenging. After a quick google search, I saw they make some sort of contraption - but how am I going to keep Paigey in her room while I run out to get these? Bookcases, of course! (Still waiting on the phone call from Child Services on that one...) After about an hour of prep and a very confused Paigey laying on her crib mattress on her bedroom floor, Daniel and I ran out of her room, and quickly pushed a huge heavy bookcase in front of the door. It was like a scene out of a zombie movie... were we in the clear? Could the zombie find us? Click...click...click. We look through the book case shelf and see the door handle trying to open. Then we see little fingers wiggling under the door. Than a voice saying: "Mama? Dada? Out!"

With Daniel stationed outside her door to listen for any major catastrophes, I ran out to Babies R Us to buy more child-proofing gear. An hour later (and nearly $100 out of our bank account) I was home with the supplies. Daniel was downstairs and said he thinks she finally went to sleep. Could it be? Was it that easy? Did Paige really transition to her big-girl bed that quickly? So I went upstairs, slid the book case away from the door and tried to peek inside. But the door didn't budge. So I pushed a little harder. And that's when I realized Paige wasn't in her bed - but sleeping in front of the door - binky, blankie and her Dora the Explorer flashlight in tow. Of course she woke up and started screaming bloody murder. My poor baby girl! It was absolutely pitiful. So I put her back in her bed and laid down next to her for a little while. She started to doze off and I made a run for it. Phew - 11:00 p.m. on Night 1 and she is finally sleeping - in her bed this time - only 4 hours after her bedtime : (

Well, Day 2 was ok. She took her first nap in her bed - but when I came to get her I noticed she had different books than I had put in her bed originally. Which means she had been up and wandering for who-knows how long. The second nap didn't happen - I could hear her playing the whole time. And when it came time to put her down for the night, it was absolutely disastrous. Lights went out at 7:00 pm. And after going in at least 10 times to put her back in her bed, we finally threw in the towel at 11 pm when we pressed our ears against her door and could hear her "reading" her favorite Elmo book. It was like she was way too overwhelmed with the freedom of a big bed that she couldn't fall asleep. So the crib came back in - and Paigey started clapping - and Mommy and Daddy breathed a sigh of relief.

She wasn't ready for a big bed. We DEFINITELY were not ready for her to be in a big bed. And so we are back to the way things were - with fingers crossed that Paige's trip over the side of the crib was a one-time thing. But in the meantime, I really need to start reading up on this crib-to-bed transition. Next time, I'm totally going to have a plan!