Big Boy Bed {sorta}

Well, we finally decided it was time for Lincoln to "bust out" of his crib. As wild and energetic as Lincoln is, he crashes hard at night and has NEVER crawled out of his crib. He has never been a climber and we are grateful. However, he is getting so big and heavy that it was crazy to keep putting him in a crib. And probably the fact that he is our first we were terrified of the transition so we kept putting it off. But it was time. So on the evening of Mother's Day, May 12th, we took the side of his bed off.  His crib actually transitions to a full size bed but we were not ready to part with the floor and play space he has in his room for now.  So it is {sorta} a big boy bed. 

He was in the other room and by some miracle he stayed away the entire time we took the side off.  After we were done Cory went to find him and had a little "chat" with him about how he is a "big boy" and he gets more responsibility, etc.  He was running back to his room to check out the change. 

We opted for the ever-popular pinterest idea of a pool noodle under the sheet to be a "rail" for him not to fall out. We actually put 2 noodles in there to make it more sturdy.   It has worked perfectly.  No problems falling out at all.  

He jumped right into bed and wanted some covers.  The picture shows his happiness!

And again - pinterest to the rescue.  My mom actually found this idea on there and shared it with me.  It is a light timer where you set the time you want it to come on and go off.  We taught him that he has to stay in his bed till the light comes on.  We have it set for 7:45 a.m. (which is the standard time he wakes up) and goes off at 9:00 a.m (b/c he has never slept past then).  Lincoln is one to follow rules so for the last week he has stayed in there till the night light comes on.  I chose to do a night light so that if he is still sleeping and it comes on it will not wake him.  For the first few mornings I would hear him say, "Mommy, my light is on" and I was say "Ok, well that means you can get up" and his reply was "O ok, just checking." At nap times he can just get up when he wakes up. 

Lincoln is and has been completely potty trained except night time so I am hoping with the big bed we can start night training him soon.  This will give him the freedom to get up and go to the bathroom, which he has done a few times already. 

I remember thinking that I really wanted to get to 2.5 years old before putting him in a big bed but never dreamed we would make it to 3 years, 3 months. He is getting too big and it is a good feeling to let him spread his wings a little.  Ha!