Fingers Crossed!

Max's crib is officially a toddler bed!

Will keep you posted. :)

Crib Jumper

It's about time I shared Max's latest and greatest achievement:

We have a JUMPER.

That's right, a CRIB JUMPER.

It was a lazy Saturday morning [at least Sam and I thought it was a lazy Saturday morning], when Max decided to have one of his infamous crib parties at 6:15 am. So in true good parenting style, I flipped the monitor off and wished him well!

At about 7:05 am, we hear LOUD singing and playing coming from the little man's room. The party was still cranking! I gave Sam a gentle nudge [thank goodness it was his morning to rouse with Max] and told him Max was ready to start the day. I turned over to catch up on some much needed sleep.

As Sam was in the bathroom, washing his face, brushing his teeth, he feels a little tap on his leg. He looks down, and WHOA, it's Max.

Pardon me?

Conversation that follows between me and Sam:

Sam: "Did you go get him out of bed?"

Jen: "No, did you go get him out of bed?"

Loooooooooong pause between the two of us.

What I love about this, is that Mister Max nonchalantly walked into our room, and then our bathroom, as if he does this EVERY morning. He was not phased one bit. However, we were. And frankly, quite petrified to put him back in his bed for nap and bedtime.

So, with much research [that was done quickly that Saturday morning], we decided we MUST purchase a video monitor. I think ebay had our order before noon. ;)

Since we had some lagtime due to shipping, we had to wing it for a few days. And didn't get much sleep for fear he would climb out again!

And lo and behold, he did try it again.

Fast foward just a few days, and I was putting him down for his afternoon nap. He was wired and not at all interested in napping. After several times of me walking in his room to tell him to quiet down, I hear this coming from the monitor [we were still working with the old monitor]:

"HelpMeHelpMeHelpMeHelpMeHelpMeHelpMeHelpMe"

Taking the stairs two at a time to figure out what was going on in his room, I discover him dangling over the side. Fully out of his crib, just hesitating to drop to the floor. OH MY! I rocked my baby boy to sleep that day to ENSURE he wouldn't climb out. ;)

Life has been a bit less stressful since we received our video monitor. However, I am not sure this is a long-term solution.

Max may be graduating to a toddler bed very soon!

We will keep you posted!

Chew on This

We hit another Max Milestone yesterday. I put him down, as usual, for his afternoon nap. However, he was not tired at all. I heard him for 45 minutes babbling in his crib. Not upset one bit, just talking and talking and talking. After awhile, I started wondering, "what is he actually doing in there?" He often talks himself to sleep, but not for this long. We were certainly past the window of him actually falling asleep for an afternoon nap.  

So I creep into his room, peek around the corner and discover...

Max. Standing. In. His. Crib. 

A Milestone.

One we have been prepared for. We lowered the mattress weeks ago in anticipation for this next step. However, it is still one of those AHA! moments when you realize your child has discovered how to do something new.

The story doesn't end here. I realize [very quickly!] that as he is standing, he is also teething on the side of his crib [Can I pause briefly to  mention that this is brand new furniture that converts to a toddler bed and then a full size bed? In other words, this furniture is an investment that we are going to use for years and years and years to come! Why doesn't he understand this?].  

I pulled him out of his crib lickity-split. [Sam did ask my later if I used it as a teaching moment. You know in a quiet and loving voice, "Max, no thank-you, we don't chew on furniture..." Uh no, I did not use it as a teaching moment. I yanked him out of the crib.]

So I am sure you are all desperate to know what we decided to do to ensure our furniture does not get chewed up by our almost ten-month-old. 

Option 1: Sleep in pack-n-play until further notice.

Option 2: Purchase Kid Kusion - a safe, non-toxic, bpa-free rail cover that will provide a chewy soft surface for teething [Yes, I just read this directly from the pacakge].

So here is where we stand [haha, pun intended] as of today. Max slept soundly in his pack-n-play last night and will remain in his cozy portable crib until Mommy and Daddy apply the gummi crib rail cover.

You sure are keeping us on our toes, Mister!