Moving to a big boy bed

Seems like each week brings a new milestone with Little Man. Today was a big one for us. We took the side off the cot, and converted it to a bed. A big boy bed for our Little Man. We could possibly have put it off for another few weeks, or maybe even a few months, because Little Man hasn’t yet climbed out of the cot. But, the only reason he hasn’t is because he hasn’t realised he can.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Little Man, it’s that no sooner do you think “I wonder if he can do that yet” than he does it. Sometimes you haven’t even thought it and he does it! And I don’t want to learn that he’s capable of climbing out of the cot by hearing a thump and a thud upstairs one night. We have wooden floors in the bedrooms, so I’m afraid he could seriously hurt himself if he fell from the cot.

This morning, as Charlie and I watched him climb up the outside of his cot and attempt to climb into it, we had to admit to ourselves that if he can climb in, he can certainly climb out. Decision made. Time to move to a big boy bed. I’m not ashamed to admit, I felt a lump in my throat as we took the side off the cot and converted it into a bed. Once he’s sleeping in a bed, that’s it. He’s definitely not a baby anymore. I’ve known he’s not a baby for a while, but this is undeniable proof that he’s growing up on us.

And for further proof, he has taken to the change really well. For his afternoon nap, he went straight to sleep, delighted with himself after climbing into bed by himself. He took a little more convincing this evening, but that’s because he wasn’t quite ready for sleep when bedtime arrived. I lay him into the cot, and had to have several stern talks with him about the importance of lying down and going to sleep before the message sank in, and he took my advice.

I’m a little bit anxious about how the rest of the night will go. As you know, I’m quite reluctant to do anything to interfere with our recent run of good sleep, because I’m all too familiar with how hard the alternative is! But Charlie and I are both off for the next few days for the Easter Break, so the timing couldn’t be better for a sleep experiment! Fingers crossed it will go well, and we won’t encounter any problems.