Toddler Transitions

Aidan must have known that AJ and I were working on his room, so while AJ was out of town, he decided to scare me one morning by greeting me at his bedroom door.  Aidan doesn't climb on the couch or much else, so I was shocked to find him at the door - how did he climb out of his crib?!

Anyway, he lit a fire under us, and we quickly finished transforming the office into a toddler room.  I mean, we were almost done, the room only needed a few more things - like paint, steam cleaning the carpet, a ceiling fan, and furniture organized.

We let Aidan in the room when it  was safe for a toddler on Sunday morning.  Then mom and I went to buy a mattress, a pillow and bedding.

 Aidan loves the ducks on the wall and has always wanted to pet them, so he kept going into his room and saying "duck!" and "pet".

 Of course, Aidan was allowed to have Elmo bedding.  I assumed that his love of Elmo would help encourage him to sleep in his bed and feel comfortable.

So we started the transition Sunday night.  It was a painful hour of crying, shhhhing, back rubbing, butt patting, and monitor watching.  Aidan made himself so upset in five minutes that the poor guy threw up.

It's not like we just left the room, no we kissed him goodnight, read him books, told him to go "night night", and then I stayed to rub his back and help ease him to sleep.  I should mention that he was definitely exhausted and had a poor nap, so there was no reason why he shouldn't be tired. 

 But we also couldn't afford to start a bad bedtime habit, so we knew we had to resort to letting Aidan cry it out.  It's not as easy as when he was 6 months because he screams out your name, and it burns your heart.  So when I saw Aidan start to gag himself, I ran to his room, but was too late.  I cleaned up his small mess, gave him some water, then led him to bed.  He drifted off to sleep within 15 minutes of the back/butt patting.  When I went to work the next morning, I cracked the door open so Aidan could run to AJ when he woke.  Well, poor Aidan cried in his bed at 6:30 am for daddy.  Guess he was too scared in his room.

On Monday, Aidan went back and forth between crying at the door and us comforting him.  Finally, at 9:30 PM, AJ held Aidan in his arms in the living room.  Aidan was out in seconds.  On Tuesday morning, I cracked the door open again. At 6 am, he woke up, slammed his door close and ran to AJ, asking for his hand.

On Tuesday, Aidan got sick at daycare and had to go to the doctor.  He had an ear infection and three teeth coming in, so I rocked him to sleep and put him in the toddler bed.  He woke up at 5:45 am, and he picked a great day to wake early since I had training and was going to work late.

On Wednesday, we continued our normal nightly routine and immediately left the room.  Aidan cried a little at the door, then we watched on the monitor as he crawled back into the bed.  He slept in his room until 7am, which is normal pre toddler bed transition.

Thursday was a repeat!  Woohoo.

Friday, we were out of town, but Aidan was not happy about the pack and play arrangements, so I held him until he went to sleep, and we shared a bed.  He didn't move from the spot I laid him in, which is good because I was sleeping right on the edge.

Saturday Aidan required some comforting from daddy...he would not calm down, and he also learned how to open the door knob.  He also did not nap in his room, but he did play for an hour.  I had to lock the door for him to stay in - don't worry, we have a key setting on the frame of the door.  Aidan cried at nap time for a few seconds then decided his quiet time would be spent playing and dumping toys everywhere.

Sunday - We kissed Aidan good night in his bed and left the room.  He cried for twenty seconds at the door, then crawled in his bed.  He must have grabbed an Elmo guitar because we could hear and see the lights over the monitor.  But he stayed in his bed and fell asleep.  I grabbed the guitar an hour later while he was in deep sleep so it wouldn't wake him in the middle of the night if it went off.

I think Aidan has quickly become comfortable with his room and sleeping in the toddler bed.  I do like that when he wakes, he can come running to us.  He doesn't come quietly - he slams the door and then we hear his feet slapping on the hardwood floor.

 In other transitioning news, we had to turn Aidan around in the vehicle.  I wanted to keep Aidan rear facing until he was two, but Aidan outgrew the height requirement and was teetering near the weight limit. He seemed to quickly adjust to forward facing, and now that he can see me drinking water, he asks for my cup. "Mommy, milk."  I hand him his milk, but he says "No, mommy's".  Here's my cup kid, try not to spill it everywhere. 

He has already taken several naps forward facing, so I guess he's not too distracted by what he can see or setting more upright.  I was really hesitant on the whole forward facing situation, and I'm sure I will be weary of having to move him to one of the side seats.  At least I have already read the car and car seat manuals to know what I need to do in a few months.