Forced Transition

So...I mentioned how Sam crawled out of his crib twice on Saturday during nap.  Well...again on Sunday during nap, Sam attempted to climb out; however, we heard cries of "Owie! Owie!"  In the attempt to escape the confines of the crib, Sam had gotten one of his feet stuck, and the full weight of his body was being held by that foot as the rest of him dangled over the other side.  Thankfully Sam didn't seriously injure himself!  We pulled off the side of his crib right then and there making a toddler bed for him to take his nap in.  It took an hour and half of us putting Sam back into bed before he finally fell asleep.

Before bedtime, my husband installed the small wooden planks that came with the convertible crib across the open end making it more toddler bed like and allowing Sam to be able to rest against the side without falling out.  We were concerned that bedtime was going to be horrible, but Sam only had to put back to sleep one time before he passed out.

Yesterday I lucked out because we had a play date at a park with some friends, and Sam fell asleep on the drive home, so I was able to transfer him into his bed to finish his nap.  Last night we put Sam back to bed four or five times before he fell asleep.

Today was the first day I had to attempt nap time all on my own without the aid of a car trip to lull Sam off the sleep.  It took about twenty minutes of putting Sam back to bed before he gave up and allowed himself to fall asleep.  Towards the middle of the time, he would open the door, see me and then turn around and crawl back into his bed.  Then towards the end, he would crack his door open, see me and then close his door, say "night night" and I could hear his feet shuffle back towards his bed.  I waited awhile to look and see if he was actually sleeping.  He is asleep in bed, but he left his quilt over by his bedroom door.

Granted, this is not how we would have chosen to transition to a toddler bed...at the age of 18 months, but it could be going a lot worse.  I am glad it seems to be getting better, but I am sure worse days will crop up as well.