Big Boy bed

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 months ago, as I sat at the downstairs computer and enjoyed some down time while Will napped, I heard running footsteps above me. Since the big boys were at school and Skye was asleep in the room with me, I used some quick deductive reasoning:

There's a really loud and not at all stealthy intruder in the house.  Maybe I should scream?

Or...

Will has learned to climb out of his crib.   And, maybe I should scream?

I'm not saying I'd rather have an intruder, but I was not at all thrilled when I heard Will call out, "I outta my bed! I outta my bed!"
Because when a toddler finally has that realization of, "Hey...this crib isn't jail. There's no lock and key here. No roof either. What if I just use my superior climbing skills and see what happens when I swing this leg over the rail and drop?", it doesn't usually bring good things. Why stay in a crib when it's so easy to just climb out and see what everyone else is up to?

But we were pleasantly surprised.  He still napped well and wasn't getting out of his bed in the middle of the night.  He did, however, occasionally surprise me at my bedside with a good morning greeting that was WAY too early to be a good morning.  When he woke up early in his pre-crib climbing days, he would entertain himself in his crib for a while before calling for me.  No need for that now when it's much more fun to wake Mom up and have her entertain you!  But still, since he was doing well for the most part, Jeff and I weren't in a hurry to convert his crib into a toddler bed. 

But today, we bit the bullet and got it done.

The Before pic:



  

 

And, the After:

 

 We called Will up to his room after the job was done to show him his "brand new big boy bed!"  He ran in, but promptly skidded to a halt when he looked at his former crib.  His first response?

 

"Uh-oh!  Uh-oh!"  Because something was missing, Mommy and Daddy!  Why are you not concerned about this?!  Will asked with a concerned Southern twang, "Where my rail go?"

 

When we convinced him that it was really OK and that his missing rail was in a safe place, he accepted his new bed.

 

 

And he was pretty excited about it. 



We added a little side rail later. He'll still be able to climb in and out at the foot of the bed, but we don't want him to fall out during the night. The kid is like a human pinball while he sleeps.

So far, the big boy bed is a success. He loves it and he can safely maneuver in and out of it. Whether or not he stays in it all night remains to be seen...

Cue the ominous music.