Peyton's "Big Girl" Bed

One of our goals for the summer was to get Peyton out of her crib and into a "big" bed. We figured it would be better to have both of us around for this transition and boy was that a good idea.

Here is Peyton in her new bed on Saturday night.



The first night we put Peyton in her new bed was the 4th of July. We had a very long and busy day and she was exhausted when we got home. She went down and slept through the night with no problem. Chris and I were very excited and thought it would be an easy transition like it had been for Emily...NOT THE CASE!

Chris has kept a running commentary of our ordeal on his facebook this week. I thought I would publish it here for all of you to enjoy!

Night 2:
Rough night last night...we're trying to get Peyton sleeping in a regular bed...unfortunately, she realizes she can actually just get out of the bed whenever she likes!

Night 3:
My wife's a genius. Got Peyton in bed without a sound tonight!

Monday 8:30pm - Peyton makes it into bed, no problems. 3:30am - Peyton begins screaming, so Beth goes in to deal with that, ends up laying in bed with her. 5:30am - Beth comes in and tells me she can't handle it anymore...Peyton is out of bed walking towards our room, I get up and put her back in bed and end up sleeping at the foot of her bed til about 6:30am. PEYTON IN BIG BED, DAY 3: Peyton 2, Parents 1.

Peyton looks tired.....hmmmm, wonder why?!?!?!?!?

Night 4:
If the theory that "the behavior will get worse before it gets better" applies to getting Peyton to sleep in a regular bed, then "I guess" we're headed in the right direction. Her "being-in-bed" evasion tactics are evolving. She's now like a ninja coming down the hallway. You open your eyes and she's staring back at you. Freaky! PEYTON, 3, PARENTS 1.

(This was also the night Peyton dropped a puzzle on my head somewhere around 5 AM.)

There once was a two year old toddler,
Who at bed time would fuss, scream, and holler,
In bed she would go,
An all night fit, she would throw,
And in the morning we wonder why bother?!

Night 5:
Almost Peyton's bedtime...duhn, duhn, duhn!!!!

8:45pm, the war began. My mission: to destroy her will to be out of bed. 9:45pm, after about 50 or so attempts to get out of bed (screaming all the while), she surrendered and the "Battle of the Bed" was won. 2:00am, her second wave of attacks began. Her intensity at that hour was quite staggering, but I stood my ground and at 3:15am, she again surrendered. 6:30am, she discovered our weakness...exhaustion! SCORE: Peyton 3.33, Parents 1.66. (I'm at least taking credit for the first two attempts at getting her in bed!)

Emily is off at a friends house for the day! Timing is everything!

Peyton only got out of bed twice at nap time!!! She gave up easily! I am crushing her will to get out of bed (hopefully this won't carry over into her adult life). Victory will be mine!

Night 6
Apparently I'm like the freakin' "Baby Whisperer"! I'm not sure of my other powers yet, but I do know I can get my kid to stay in bed and not cry about it! My rate is $100 a night to come train your kids, too. Call quick, my calendar is filling up!

So, we are now 6 nights into this transition and we're hoping there is an end in sight. Either what we've (mostly Chris as I've been working at bedtime) been doing is working or she was utterly exhausted last night. I guess we'll see what tonight brings!