Claire enjoyed a fun milestone this weekend when we converted her crib to a toddler bed. Kate never experienced that, because by the time she was at the point of refusing to sleep in her crib we were already pregnant with Claire and preparing to move into our new house. So, we just put the crib mattress on the floor for a month or two until we moved and Kate got a twin bed (which she has slept in maybe 30 times since we moved in three years ago—she prefers the floor).
Unlike Kate, who learned to climb out of the crib at 19 months (the video I took of it is reminiscent of a soldier in basic training), Claire never even tried to climb out; she just told me one night at about 28 months that she wanted to sleep on the floor. So, we laid a blanket out next to her crib, with a little pillow and blanket for cover, and she started sleeping there. After a week or so, the girls realized what Claire's nighttime freedom meant: they could stay up late together! So, Kate has been indoctrinating Claire in her night owl habits of coloring pictures, taping them to the bedroom door, changing clothes, and ultimately falling asleep whenever, wherever. Sometimes together, sometimes apart.
Here's how we found them one night:
Not wanting to encourage Claire in imitating Kate's random sleep habits, and since it's probably a year or so until we'll be needing the crib again (that's all I'll say here about that!) it seemed fitting to convert the crib. We would have done it earlier, but the so-called 4-in-1 convertible crib actually requires an additional $100 piece to convert (the front legs are attached to the front rail, so you have to buy the toddler rail conversion kit to make it work--what a racket.) So, we bit the bullet, bought the thing, and now Claire has a bed she can get in and out of!
At bedtime, she demonstrated the use of her bed's "door" over and over...
"I can get in . . . I can get out . . . I can get in . . . I can jump!"
And look, there's even room for a friend!
She's slept in it happily for the last three nights! The novelty may wear off, but so far I'd say she likes it!
2 comments:
Love that last picture of the sisters snuggled into bed together! :)
Sleeping on the closet floor is hilarious! I can't believe they were comfortable in there.
We converted Elliot's crib to the toddler bed about a month ago after I witnessed him attempting to climb out of his crib (he'd watched his sissy do it several times when they were playing in it together). We've been pleasantly surprised at how well he's done with it.
This summer, though, we'll be making a huge change...bunk beds! We'll be moving K and E to the same room. I'm a little anxious about how well it's going to work!
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