Toddler Bedtime Update:

Well, it has been a crazy, exhausting week around here! I mentioned before that Conner started refusing to nap about a week ago. Well, first it got worse, then it got dramatic, and now it is better!

It got worse this past Sunday because about two hours into his non-nap, we heard his bedroom door open and then the screaming got closer! He got out of his crib for the first time ever. Never before had he even attempted to get out of his comfy, safe little crib. We were totally shell-shocked! So was he, apparently, because when he ran out of his room crying and screaming, he looked like he had just seen a ghost!

Then on Monday, we were so unsure about where to go at this point, that we ended up not making him nap at all. We tried to get him to go to sleep by making naptime uber-exciting! We read stories next to his crib, talked about all the fun things we would do once he woke up and was well-rested, and talked in a really happy tone. Needless to say, he was not interested. That was a long day!

Then yesterday we decided to make him take a nap again. We put him in his crib and closed the door and walked out. Of course he started screaming immediately. Then, before I could even walk across the length of the house, he escaped from his crib and came running out. So I promptly scooped him up and put him back in and walked out. We stood outside the doorway and within two minutes, we heard a thudding noise and out he came. Then I was really worried that he would hurt himself, so Raphael quickly took the front rail of the crib off and I decided right then that it was time to train him to sleep in a big boy bed. I put him in his "new" bed, laid him down, told him it was naptime, and we left. Of course, he threw a fit and followed us out. So we talked to him gently and carried him back in and put him in his bed. Out he came again. Then I stopped talking and started just carrying him back in there and putting him back in bed. After about two of these attempts, he stayed put for about twenty minutes, crying of course. Then he came out again. I silently marched him right back to his bed. He started pointing at his music and lights machine, so I turned it on for him, layed him down, covered him up with his blankie and sleepy bear, and left without saying anything. He didn't make another peep and fell asleep!!!! We couldn't believe he gave in so quickly after the days and days of crying up until that point. He only napped for about an hour before he woke up crying again, but we decided that was good enough and when we went to get him, we made a huge deal out of what a big boy he was and then we spent the rest of the day playing and having fun.

So last night rolls around and we were nervous, but determined. There was no going back at this point. After his bath, we went and took pictures of him in his big boy bed and got really excited about what a big boy he was! We tucked him in and left the room. We could tell he was nervous, but he tried really hard to be brave. After he'd been in there about 20 minutes, he cried a little bit for a minute, but then went back to sleep and didn't make another peep until this morning. At 5am, he woke up crying and came out of his room. I met him in the hallway since I was up with the baby anyways and put him back in his bed. He woke up again at 5:45 and Raphael went and tucked him back in. Then at 6:15 we heard him again, but we just left him alone. He cried for a few minutes, but went back to sleep. Then we went in and woke him up at 8! All-in-all, I'd say it was a very successful and easy process! Today he went down for his nap without a peep (although he looked quite nervous) and slept for an hour and a half!

Check out the proud occupant of his new big boy bed...