The “Big Boy Bed”

Last Saturday, Scott and I put together a toddler bed for Brendan to start the transition from crib to bed for our little boy. I must admit, the bed was probably the most difficult thing Scott and I had ever put together. The directions did not make sense, the holes did not line up and the screws would not go into place. But after much yelling and frustration, dedication (on my part, Scott was ready to throw in the towel before we had finished the first step) and good ol’ man power, we were able to piece together Brendan’s Handy Manny Bed.
Handy Manny (as I may have mentioned before) is Brendan’s favorite show. As soon as we had the bed together, Brendan recognized “Manny” and was excited for his new bed. He especially likes that he can crawl into his bed on his own, he is very independent!

We were a little nervous for the transition, as we have never done this before. We talked about the bed, put brand new sheets and a pillow and tried to get Brendan to understand the concept. Call us crazy, but as if the change to a brand new bed (and whole new concept) wasn’t enough, we decided to begin the transition the same night as time change. So at 7:30 that night (8:30 for the new time) we got Brendan ready for bed, and walked him to his new bed, in his new bedroom. (The room still looks a little bare, we are working on it).
Overall, the process was not bad at all. Brendan got out of bed once crying and trying to open his door. We got up and put him back into his bed, covered him up and told him to stay. “It’s bedtime now, you get to sleep in your new Manny bed, you need to stay in bed now. Good night Brendan.” And we walked out. Much to our surprise, he stayed. He cried for a bit, probably about 10 minutes, and then went to sleep.

That night I did not sleep my best, I was worried that he might try to get of bed in the middle of the night and hurt himself, or that he might now even stay in his bed and we would find him sleeping on the hard wood floor. He woke up a couple times in the night, whimpered and immediately went back to sleep!

We have now had 7 nights in the new bed, all has gone extremely well! Brendan only got out of bed the first night. He now lies dawn, even when he does not want to go to bed yet, he will cry for a couple minutes, but does not get out of bed. In the mornings, he will stay in his bed until one of us walks in and tells him he can get up. The whole process has gone better than expected. The novelty of “Manny” has not yet worn off; he is still excited to see Manny there on his bed every night and morning. This is how we found Brendan the first morning in his bed. Still learning the concept of a pillow! :)
We are very proud of our boy. This was another big step to “boyhood” and away from being my baby. I’m sad, but so excited at his possibilities. Next step…Potty Training!