Beancast: Freedom and the Big Boy Bed
This past week we made the decision to try letting the Bean sleep in his big boy bed. To be honest, it wasn’t the Bean that was the concern. It was me. Every time we talked about moving him out of the bassinette in our bedroom, I got all teared up. What if he cried in the middle of the night and I slept through it? What if he got scared? What if a giant bug flew into his room? What if he thought we abandoned him? Oh, the agony of the big boy bed!
But lately, he has been sleeping for 5 and 6 hours at a time pretty consistently and so I felt a little better about it. At least I knew he wouldn’t be waking up all night long wondering where everyone had gone. So, Thursday night Chris and I set up his Baby Einstein CDs so that he had some music to keep him company. I put a little fan in his room so he wouldn’t get hot. We changed his sheets and hung his mobile. Then we gave him a nice warm bath, put him in fresh jammies, gave him his bottle, and rocked him until he was just about to fall asleep. Then very quietly, I laid him in his big boy bed. He looked up at me with those big, blue eyes and for just a second, I almost backed out. But I summoned all the strength I could and I kissed him goodnight and tip toed out of the room.
I carried his baby monitor downstairs with me and sat with it pressed against my ear like a telephone, just so that I was sure I didn’t miss a single peep from him. Five minutes passed and I hadn’t heard one noise – not a coo, not a cry, not a sigh, nothing.
“This thing isn’t working!” I told Chris and I marched up to the nursery.
The Bean was sound asleep. He had never fallen asleep so fast before. I didn’t know what to say. I just stood there staring. And then I poked his cheek to make sure he was breathing. He moved a little bit, which made me feel better, and so I left the room and went back down to the living room with Chris. It was 9:00 PM and the house was quiet. It was amazing. Chris and I watched the Deadliest Catch (love that show!). I paid some bills. Chris worked on the computer. I did some laundry. It was amazing! This could be the greatest thing to happen to us in 5 weeks!
WE WERE FREE!!!
15 Comments
Liz
Yay! Isn’t that the best feeling ever? I’m so happy for you and Chris!
Laura
You are hilarious. It IS freeing! We gave Gooner her first dream feed because she wanted to sleep the whole night…without eating. Silly little girl. It. Worked. Great. I woke up when it was time. Without waking her up I stuck the bottle in, she ate two ounces and then she was done. No burping, no diaper changing, NOTHING. I put the rest of the bottle in the fridge and took myself to bed…until morning. It was beautiful.
Christina Rhoades
AWWW the Bean is “growing up” already. Glad you two got some time alone.
Kristin
Seriously you have the cutest house in America.
Sarah Hash
Cute 🙂 He’s going to laugh at this some day. Wouldn’t you? Anyway I’m glad he’s a good sleeper!
Michelle Uhlfelder
Hey there Katie! My name’s Michelle and I have a 9 week old named Henry. WE LOVE YOUR BLOG! It’s so fun to read about your adventures- because we are going through the same thing over here (i.e.- stroller story was very simliar to ours…)sad to admit that! First time moms have a lot to learn in a short amount of time, that’s for sure). We live at the beach in Seaside, FL- if you know where that is. So we officially have a beach babe. 🙂 I wanted to let you know about an AWESOME product. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265802. It’s a video monitor. We got it as a gift and oh.my.gosh, it’s amazing! I put Henry in his “big boy bed” for the first time at 6 weeks (I felt the SAME WAY you do!). Henry WAS sleeping 5-6 hours at a stretch but for some reason, he’s only sleeping 3-4 now. (bummer, I know- but that’s a whole other subject). Anyways, I use our video monitor like crazy- it’s great because I can “spy” on him at any moment- and helps me to relax a little when I am downstairs (the nursery is upstairs). Thought to recommend because I can’t imagine my life without it!!!! 🙂 I’m sure I’ll post again- and I just love reading your blog. You have a true talent for writing in a conversational tone and no joke, you’re funny! 🙂 You keep me laughing in midst of crazy, sleep deprived days and nights.
Take care!
Michelle 🙂
The Rambling Ewe
Ah, the joy of having your room to yourself again! I remember that. Mine youngest is still small enough that sometimes, when we go to bed, I still heave a sigh of contentment at the fact that HE’S NOT IN OUR ROOM!! Yay! 🙂 Enjoy your newfound freedom. Bedtime is one of the most glorious things in a young parent’s life.
Marla
Congratulations. It sounds like Michael is the perfect baby.
Jes the Bes
I totally understand the Bean. Sometimes you just need your own bed.
Susan Samson
You are too funny. I clicked over to your blog from another. I did the same thing when we moved my son to his own bed nearly two years ago. My husband thought I was crazy for doing a video…so thanks for letting me know I am okay. I still go in to check him before I lay down each night. Enjoy the freedom, I do!
Miss M!
I’m a baby poker too. I freak out wanting to be sure he’s breathing. Best money I spent was on a baby monitor with a motion sensor. Every teeny movement, even breathing, is recognized by a little blink of a light. Twenty seconds without it recognizing motion and it sets off an alarm. It has freaked me out a couple of times, but the peace of mind was totally worth it overall!
Lori
We had Porter sleeping in his crib in his room from day one, so I can’t really relate to some of your story–however it is pretty great when you put baby to bed knowing that you have several hours between his bedtime and his next feeding!
We have one of those video monitoring systems (Aaron almost made his own *sigh* such a geek…)and it is great especially because we have a two story house. So when we are downstairs at night hanging out before bed, we can keep an eye on Porter as he sleeps. Definitely worth the money–we highly suggest it!
Heather
We had Kate sleeping in her crib at about a month – but i slept on the couch in her room until she was about 2 months. It was so hard leaving her – i turned the montior up all the way so i would hear everything!
Hilary
My munchkin went into her own crib in her own room at about 8 weeks and it was AWESOME! Just like the Bean, she didn’t make a peep! I thought, this can’t be happening. Any minute now, she’s going to freak out and then we’re dead. But no. She was great and continues to be great. There is nothing, NOTHING like having a baby who is a good sleeper. It’s the first thing people asked us and continue to ask us and the response is always, “You don’t know how lucky you are.” Way to go, BEAN!!!!
Zoe
Hehe too cute.
I’m a boyfriend-poker, so I can’t imagine what I’ll be like when I have babies! They’ll probably hate me for poking them all the time. But I can’t help it, I get so freaked out when my bf sleeps quietly!