Ingress and Egress

I bought a toddler bed from a friend of mine a couple of months ago.  It just so happened that the same morning we went to pick it up, Thing #2 dove head first into his crib (with the help of his older brother, of course)!  We were going to wait to set up the Big Boy Bed until we got back from Ireland but after the head dive, it seemed like a good time to just go ahead with it. So the crib was taken apart and put back together in another room, and the Big Boy Bed was put into Thing #2's room.  Everything went really well and Thing #2 seemed to really like reading a bed time story in his bed.  We said goodnight and this is how great everything was when I went to check on him before I went to bed.

Then Thing #2 figured out that he could actually get out of bed on his own, which translated into 10-15 trips upstairs during bedtime.  Our "solution" was to put a baby gate up so he couldn't get out of his room.  He rattled it like he was unfairly put in jail.

Eventually he did fall asleep but he was going to sleep really late and getting up really early, no later than 5:50am.  I was having a rough time with the transition.  Finally, after losing patience one night, I set up the Pack n Play.  As soon as I got it out, Thing #2 started giggling and gathering all of his bed time things and putting them in.  The next day, I asked him if he wanted his crib back and he said yes, then walked over to his Big Boy Bed, waved and said, "Byeeeee!"  So, the Big Boy Bed was removed.  The crib was taken apart again and put back in Thing #2's room.

That was the end of the story for now...or so I thought.  Then, while we were traveling,  he learned how to climb out of his Pack n Play, which translated into him climbing in and out of his crib at home.  It was clear that he was too old for the crib but the toddler bed just didn't work.  So, we asked him if he wanted a bed like Thing #1's to which he said yes.  So, when we decided to take the house off the market, we also decided to create a new pirate-themed room for Thing #2. (A picture of that will follow when it is really finished.)

So far so good.  He only gets up 2-3 times before falling asleep and the other day he chose not to nap at all.  But, I will take what I can get.  He seems to like his really Big Boy bed, and at least I don't have to worry about him falling.  Phew!  I am tired just reading all of this.