taking the rail off a cot | Mommy Adventures

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The big boy bed

When Hannah was about 22 months old, we transitioned her from her cot to a junior bed. She was so excited to help us pick out her new bed at IKEA. For a week or so after putting the new bed together, we found her asleep on the floor, having played to exhaustion, and falling asleep where she sat.

After hearing Daniel yelling for help the other morning because his chubby leg was stuck between the cot rails, we decided it was time for a big boy bed.

Except he was adamantly against it.

“Do you want to get a big boy bed?” We asked him excitedly after freeing his leg, expecting squeals of delight and possibly some jumping up and down.

“NO.”

Oh. We were kind of surprised. Hannah was so excited when we asked her the same question at a younger age.

“If you have a big boy bed, you will be able to get in and out of bed whenever you want to.” We told him. “You will be able to play with Hannah in the morning if you wake up before your clock turns green.”

“I don’t want a big boy bed.”

“Ok, no big boy bed. How about we take the rail off of your cot so you can get in and out of your cot?”

“NO.”

We left it at that. We didn’t want bed advancing to be traumatic. It had to be something he wanted to do and was excited about. At least if we value sleep. Which we do.

Hannah, on the other hand, was so excited about the prospect of Daniel being able to play with her outside of his cot that she didn’t give up.

“Daniel, if you don’t have a rail on your cot, you can get out of bed and read books in the morning,” she told him. He really likes looking through their books.

“No. I don’t want to,” he told her stubbornly.

“Daniel, it will be really fun, we can play together before Mommy and Daddy wake up.”

“No. I don’t want to take the rail off.”

Relentlessly, she told him all the good points of having no cot rail until he suddenly decided that it was the best idea ever.

“YEAH!” He hollered “Daddy take off my cot rail tonight!”

We expected chaos. Mr. Mischief with nothing to keep him in his bed at night? I braced myself for clothes to be pulled out of drawers, books to be pulled off shelves, and toys to be strewn about.

Instead, he laid down in his bed, and stayed there quietly reading one of his Thomas books. When Hannah went to bed a bit later, she was super excited.

“I’m going to play with Daniel!” She declared.

“Don’t wake up him if he’s asleep.” We told her.

But he wasn’t asleep, he was just laying in his bed.

“NO HANNAH, IT’S NOT PLAY TIME NOW!” We heard him telling her from inside their room. “Go lay in your bed.”

She is not the sort of child that gives up easily.

“No Hannah, I’m trying to sleep.” He told her.

Eventually they fell asleep, Hannah on her little couch that she unfolded and put next to Daniel’s bed (instead of sleeping in her bed), and Daniel in his cot.

Daniel in his newly rail-less cot

I’m just hoping Daniel’s nap time goes that well….

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