This, by far, has been one of our most challenging transitions to date. From the moment I heard Dora’s footsteps coming down the hallway when she was supposed to be sleeping soundly in her cot, I knew troubled waters were approaching. She had managed to climb out of the cot, which is quite an achievement seeing as though she’s vertically challenged like her parents.
The side of the cot had to come off so I rushed out to buy a side rail. Of course, it wasn’t until I had it unpacked and I had fitted it that I realised it wasn’t meant to be put onto a cot. We put a mattress on the floor in case she rolled out during the night, and just as well. She rolled out of bed three times and was totally sound asleep on the floor mattress each time I found her.
Dora’s daycare teacher had the best, most common sense tip. Roll up a towel and put it under the fitted sheet as a bumper. She hasn’t fallen out since… but staying in bed is still an issue.
We hear the pitter patter of toddler tootsies anywhere between midnight to sunrise. Dora comes into our room with her pillow tucked under her arm and launches herself over her dad to get in the middle of us both. She falls straight to sleep. We end up with either her head or her toes in our face as she gets comfy. Not ideal for us at all.
We have tried taking her back to her bed. It results in a mammoth melt down that gets her so worked up that she becomes wide awake. Getting her calm and ready for bed again takes a long time. It seems like a lose-lose situation (even though I do secretly love her sleepy snuggles in our bed). I think we’re going to have to put up with some tears if we want to reclaim our bed.
What it’s supposed to look like?
