That's it! It's over!

Okay, it's true. I see it now. I understand. Up until now, I have been one of the luckiest mom's when it comes to bedtimes. Mason was the easiest. He slept through the night since he was three months old, and rocking him was a selfish act because I could lay that boy down, as long as it was in his own crib, and he'd go to sleep on his own without much fuss. Even when we changed out of the crib, he stayed put, with the exception of a few night terrors we wouldn't see him much after laying him down at night. He didn't show much interest in sleeping in our bed until he was four and then it was just for a few minutes before he asked to go back to his own room. Easy!

Now Tanner was a bit more difficult, on occasion he'd be the cause of late night wake ups and many a sleepless night but at his initial bedtime, he required no rocking, or hand-holding, in fact, if you stayed in the room with him that caused him to stay awake. What he required was for you to put him in his crib and leave the room. There was the occasional screaming but eventually, he'd give up and go to sleep. Awe, that peace that came with the crib. Oh, how I'll miss thee. But now ...

There is no crib nor baby gate that can hold this boy!

Several weeks ago our determined TK figured out he could bounce up onto the railing, swing his legs over and drop (not so gracefully) to the ground. How did I find this out? I put him to bed as usual and ran downstairs to get something from the kitchen. Not five minutes later I turn and spot Tanner in mid sasquatch pose trying to sneak past the kitchen.

I thought my nighttime sanity time had ended but no, not yet. I figured it out. The back of the crib was taller than the front, so I spun the crib around. It made it very difficult to put him into the crib and pull him out in the morning but it was worth a try.

Tanner was not happy with this, because it worked. Back to normal bedtime routine for a time. But after a week of straining my own muscles getting him in and out, I turned it back around to see what he would do. It held him for a few more days than he started jumping out even at naptime. A few times I threatened to turn the crib back around and he quickly figured out a way to climb back into the crib by himself... apparently, Mason gets credit for that little trick ... but eventually, not even that was helping him go to bed.

Last night was the last straw. For an hour we struggled, putting him in the crib after he'd jump out. I eventually ignored his protests and turned the crib back around, sure that would hold him. Nope. He figured out that the sides of the crib were just as low as the front and climbed out just as easily. We put up the baby gate. Surely another obstacle would detour him from leaving the room. He climbed over that. We put him back in. Closed the door (left gate up) and waited. After instructing him several times to go back to bed I thought I was in the clear and made my way out of sight of the door and waited. And listened.

I heard him jumping on his bed. I heard the crib creek under his weight. I heard his feet hit the floor, followed by his rump as he fell backward onto the floor. I heard him run to the door. I heard the doorknob struggle to turn. I heard the door open. I heard him grunt at the sight of the gate still up. I heard him try to climb on it. I heard him give up. (Maybe he was done trying, I thought.) I heard him get mad at the gate. "NO!" he yelled. "Get down!" I heard the gate rattle and bend and with one last growl the little HULK broke through and tossed that large contraption to the floor. (Me: Facepalm)

Whelp, today the crib was officially turned into a daybed. The sweet, sweet Bruce Banner helped me take it apart and when it was finished I got the sweetest gasp and "Thank You, Mama!" I have ever heard. Followed by a smile I can't describe, so I'll show you!

WAIT FOR IIIIIIIIT!!!

BOOM BABY!!

And there you have it! The Smile we've been talking about for ages and never able to truly capture on camera finally came out in the sanctuary of his own room with his new (not really new but new to him) bed!

We practiced laying the bed ...

which apparently he already knew how to do.



We Practiced reading in bed ...


he was totally down with that as long as his favorite stuffed buddies could be with him.

Note to self: remove zoo from bedroom entirely or the rest of the stuffed animals will be a huge obstacle for bedtime.

We Practiced falling out of bed ...

which was a huge success so we practiced several scenarios. My favorite was the following photo.

We were set and with naptime skipped to create this wonderful memory, I figured he'd be so tired that bedtime wouldn't be as much of a struggle, at least for tonight. Plus he'd be so eager to use his new bed that perhaps he'd crash with minimal struggle.

HA! Such beautiful wishes of an overly optimistic mother.

Now if it wasn't bedtime I would have been completely amazed by his imagination. He was everywhere in that room, and there's not much in there, to begin with. But he managed to climb the walls somehow, everything was a toy. He opened the door every five seconds to see who was watching him. The light was on and then off, perhaps he was throwing a rave. The usual "Potty Time" stall was used when mom or dad got very serious about going to bed. I tried to lay with him, sing to him, read to him ... "GET OUT!" he said pointing to the door.

Basic fact, Tanner is the one in control over here. He's got the strongest will and a determined spirit and the amazing thing is he can communicate it well for a two-year-old. I don't have to translate for anyone, if you don't understand him, he will look you in the eyes and repeat himself louder than before. To boil the night down in one thought, I almost went running for the melatonin gummies when he pushed an hour and a half showing no sign of letting up. Finally, I wrapped him tight in his blanket and asked him I could lay in his bed too. And then the most amazing thing happened,

HE YAWNED!

that's right! He yawned and invited me to lay in his awesome bed with him. Oh, that poor old thing creaked under the weight but he and I snuggled right up and he let me sing to him. And after a few minutes, even with the noisy kids outside playing, Tanner dozed off and fell asleep.

It was the sweetest end to the hardest and longest bedtime so far. I'm sure there will be rival nights, in fact, tomorrow might be worse but I no longer take for granted the fact I had two really good babies. Sadly they have grown up. And now we're on to new adventures.

Now I"m just praying he doesn't fall out of bed ... or at least stays asleep after he falls out of bed tonight.

Wish me luck!
GOODNIGHT KISSES!