Operation Big Boy Bed- Night 3

He's doing great!

He was upset for about 10 minutes then played for a bit in his bed and finally fell asleep for the night. I didn't hear from him again until I had to wake him up! I'm so proud of my big guy.

The only issue is the initial "good night" when we leave the room. We use the gate because he's still too young to follow directions and stay in bed. I try to stay in the room with him for a bit. Lights off and glow seahorse on. I try and pat his back to cue him in to the fact that it's night night time. He thinks it's a game though! He jumps around and rolls all over the bed and makes his doggie bark. I eventually have to leave the room because we don't make any progress and he gets upset. He cries at the gate for a few minutes and heads back to bed. It breaks my heart to hear him cry but I can't let him control the situation by coming back right away.

He'll continue to play in his bed for up to 40 minutes! Now, this is after our bedtime routine of bath and reading. He suddenly gets this burst of energy that is hard to simmer down. I really hope that the initial crying stops soon because my heart can't take it. I don't want him to go to bed feeling sad or lonely. I know he's okay though because I can hear him playing in bed before he finally konks out. He makes his doggie bark and makes silly sounds. He's a riot.

Some friends are also doing the transition to a toddler bed or big boy bed and it's so nice to know I'm not alone in it. Parenting is hard enough and then you throw in these parental enforced changes like bed transitions or bottle phase outs or pre-school enrollments and things just get tough for us morally, emotionally and mentally. Having a support team behind you like friends and family to urge us and encourage us is so helpful especially when they've been down the road before.

Thanks everyone!