I wasn't surprised by this news, but I wasn't ready for this yet either! It was a bit ironic I was started thinking about when to move him to a big boy bed just a couple days before out of the blue. I had planned on keeping him in the crib for awhile, and letting his sibling start off in a bassinet in our room just as he had. But that night, on a Thursday when I was tired from the week, we were forced to make a decision immediately. Everyone was concerned for his safety, and we felt it best to try him out on a twin mattress on the floor for awhile. He still seemed too small for a twin bed, and I hadn't given a lot of thought into toddler beds yet, so this seemed like the best option.
Having him on the floor and able to run around his room definitely brought about a new host of concerns as well. So we triple babyproofed the room again, and laid his crib mattress and comforters around as well. I was a little nervous about him getting wedged between mattresses or something, so I did all I could to prevent this. It was definitely a lot harder to get him down to sleep, but I did!
At first things went surprisingly well. Liam was not going to bed on time, and naps were a big challenge and often shorter than usual, but he was generally still sleeping through the night at least 10 hours (though he was averaging 11 hours at night before with 2 hour naps). However Mommy had a lot more trouble sleeping through the night! I was already beginning to deal with a little middle of the night insomnia that could have been just pregnancy related, but the nights after the move I found myself extra in tune to everything. After I got up to use the bathroom at night, I often laid awake at least an hour or two in part just listening to the silence.
Then as the week went on, Liam did need some middle of the night help. One night, around 11pm, we heard Liam randomly start crying loudly. Michael went in there and found he had rolled off the mattress without waking up. He was able to pick him up and move him without waking him up, which was a big relief. Later that same night, probably around 4am I was woken up periodically hearing him coughing. I found it a bit odd, because he had not been coughing before. I debated for a little while before I decided to go check on him. I snuck in his room, only to be unable to find him on the mattress. I realized I had crawled right past him, laying on the hardwood floor in front of his closet. I could only imagine he must have been breathing a little dust or something causing his cough, so I gingerly picked him up and he let out this happy sigh as I set him back on the mattress. I was so glad I went to go check on him, even though I was super-tired at work the next day. I felt so bad for him being on the floor like that and laid more blankets out.
Ironically as he slept less he got more and more stubborn about going to sleep at night. One night I eventually just had to leave the room because we were both only getting more and more frustrated. He just seemed to be pushing me away as I tried laying with him and relaxing him, so I walked out and was surprised he was absolutely quiet after I shut the door. He went to sleep without another peep, but I still felt bad later I had gotten so frustrated with him and left without saying a word to him like I normally did. Later that night I was laying awake still thinking of that, hoping he wasn't sleeping anywhere uncomfortable again. Then all suddenly he began crying this piercing scream. I'm not sure what was wrong but it was quite unusual. I went to him to comfort him, and felt better finding him on the mattress. That was the first time I had to go to him like that for a long time.
Another night he was fighting hard and I tried leaving again, but this time he just kept opening and closing his room door after I left. He ultimately went to sleep on his back, on a blanket on the floor right in front of his gate. We didn't want to leave him like that, so we moved him to the mattress again.
Liam also began waking up earlier and earlier every day. He used to wake up around 7:30 on average. After the move this time moved back more than an hour as the week went on. Naps were also shorter than usual, so we watched him descend into overtiredness. It got to the point he was falling asleep in his high chair, hands in his milk and cereal, with train videos playing (if he falls asleep with food and trains in front of him, then you know he's really tired!!). He was also more fussy and clumsy.
We tried putting poster board on his windows to make his room even darker than before, in case the morning light was beckoning him awake earlier than before. I also continued trying putting him to bed earlier, but the battles still continued. It seemed he just wasn't getting caught up like he used to do, but we stuck with it and hoped he would suddenly just adjust and all would just fall into place again.
But as he began waking me up before my alarm, and I was still not sleeping well at night, I was struggling and began having awful fears about my own safety driving to and from work. I also began feeling more down than usual about the recession and Michael's struggle to find a job, more stressed at work, and more hopeless this wasn't going to end and I was going to continue being the one bearing the weight of providing for our family even after the baby is born (which is still a fear of mine, though I'm really trusting God in this one to work something out). One week later, the morning he got me up 40 minutes before my alarm after I had struggled to sleep, I told Michael something had to give and this is just not working right now. We discussed what to do.
I thought about getting a crib tent, but was too nervous as I read on rare occasions some stronger babies could get themselves stuck in them. I looked into toddler beds, but the biggest problem with the early morning rising was the fact he could wander around his room and those wouldn't stop him from doing that. Before when he was in his crib, sometimes I'd hear him briefly call out way too early, but he'd go back to sleep on his own for another hour. Now whenever he woke up, he opened the door and was up calling instead of going back to sleep. We decided to do what lots of other parents, including my own Mom did for awhile (as I was a little crib-climber myself) and try putting him back in the crib for awhile BUT pad the area extensively enough if he did climb out there was a very low risk of him getting hurt. If this did not improve his sleep or he just kept climbing out, we were going to move him back to the big boy bed and try to wait it out. I thought it was most wise to be flexible, and just respond to his needs to see what would work best for the family so we all get the sleep we need.
Yesterday we set up the crib again, and Liam seemed thrilled. I proceeded to make the area around it so soft I'd feel comfortable jumping onto it myself. A mattress on the side he was most likely to climb out, pillows on the back in, foam blocks and 5 layers of blankets and comforters on the other, plus pillows near the bookcase. I also removed the bumpers and any larger stuffed animals that could give him a boost, and have used his footy pajamas or put lightweight socks without the tread on his feet so he'd have less traction to climb. The room is also darker now, so that helps discourage climbing too. I'm actually more comfortable and confident in his safety now than I was before. Here is what it looks like!
Yesterday, he went down and had a good nap! He went down easy for bed, on time, without a fight! This morning I heard him cry out at 6am, but instead of running for the gate he went back to sleep and didn't force us up until 7am! No known attempts at climbing either, he just waited and called for us from the crib like he used to when he was ready to get up. While there definitely seems to be something else bugging him that is waking him up earlier than before, he seems more comfortable in his crib for now as he's going through it. Everyone is sleeping better again at last!
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