Big Boy Beds and Doctor’s Orders

The Picky Apple and I always thought we would wait as long as humanly possible to transition The Littlest Apple to a big boy bed. He’s just not the type of kid that will stay in his bed and wait for Mommy and Daddy to come get him. Unlike some of our friends, whose children didn’t realize they could get out of bed by themselves for months after the transition to big kid bed was made!! When The Littlest Apple wakes up, he’ll be all over the place and getting in to everything. He wakes up occasionally at night (it’s been more frequent lately), but usually falls back asleep after 15 minutes or so on his own. Normally. I think that would change if he could get up and get out of bed. Right now we’re enjoying our relatively uneventful nights, and I’m not looking forward to giving those up any time soon.

The crib is one of the few areas where The Littlest Apple’s smaller size works in our favor since it makes it a little harder for him to get out of the crib. But based on some of his recent shenanigans, I’m thinking he could absolutely climb out (or in) his crib if he really put his mind to it.

With my recent pregnancies, we started thinking about when to move The Littlest Apple to a big boy bed since we would need the crib for the new baby. Obviously, needing the crib is no longer an issue, but according to my doctor’s orders, I’ve got another 4 weeks of not being able to lift anything over 5 pounds. That really hampers our naptime and bedtime routines when I lift The Littlest Apple to put him in his crib. That’s why we’re thinking once more about moving him to a big kid bed. As much as I appreciate all of the grandparent help over the last two weeks, it just isn’t feasible to have another person here to help at naptime for the next 4 weeks.

Not to get off on too much of a tangent, but I’m kind of wondering how many people actually follow doctor’s orders. I’ve always been a big rule follower…the rules are THE RULES, and they must be followed. (ISFJ personality trait, I suppose) The doctors issued those orders for a reason, surely, so I want to do everything possible to follow them.

2 weeks of no driving, I understand. (Done with that, thank goodness.)

2 weeks of showering only, I understand. (Enjoyed my first post-op bubble bath last night…delightful!)

6 weeks of pelvic rest, I also understand. (So much for that romantic anniversary getaway next weekend!)

But SIX WEEKS of not lifting anything over 5 pounds?! Who in the world has the luxury to be able to heed that kind of advice? I am so fortunate to be a SAHM with lots of helpful family and friends nearby, but 6 weeks is a long time. I can’t lift my son up (and he was definitely getting carried more than most 2 year olds, since he’s still so light). Even though I can drive now, I still can’t go anywhere with The Littlest Apple. I can’t go grocery shopping by myself. I can’t move the boxes of Christmas decorations around. I have to carry a lighter purse (ok, so my large bag is way too heavy anyway, but still!). I could think of lots of other things, but you get the idea. I find it hard to believe that most people are following their doctors orders, including post-operation orders, to a “T”. Even if you really wanted to, it’s just too hard, don’t you think? (I know I’m sounding a little like a whiny brat now. I realize my life could be so much worse, so I just wanted to say now how grateful I am to have gotten to the hospital before things got too much worse, had the emergency surgery performed by a doctor I trust, and to be up and around two weeks later and generally in good health.)

I’m really trying hard to keep from lifting up The Littlest Apple, which brings us back to the issue at hand. How to deal with naptime? I could just lift him up before and after his nap. Surely just one quick little lift wouldn’t be too bad, right? Again, though, I want to follow “the rules.”

We considered temporarily using a nap mat like the one he uses at Mother’s Day Out for naptime. No lifting necessary! My guy doesn’t handle change well, though, and he’s extremely entrenched in his routines (a trait he no doubt inherited from his inflexible ISFJ mommy). If we started using a nap mat, we’d have to stick with it…there would be no going back to the crib.

So that brings us back to the big boy bed. Perhaps it’s time?

If so, I’ve got so many things to think about…

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From motherhood

http://cassiecraves.blogspot.com Cassie

This is actually an issue I’ve started thinking about lately, since I’ll be having my c-section in two weeks. Andrew is still in a crib — and I’m with you, I’m going to keep him there as long as possible, ESPECIALLY since at 19 months he hasn’t even TRIED to climb out yet!! — and I handle his bedtime routine, so I’m wondering how I’m going to lift him into his crib. I think what I’m going to do is just take the doctor’s orders into consideration, but then follow my body’s cues. If I lift him and it hurts, I just won’t do it.

Did your doctor tell you two weeks of no stairs? Mine did, and that’s something I completely plan to ignore, because we have a two-story house and my soft, soft bed is up there!
http://www.thepickyapple.com cara

Cassie,

I meant to mention this in my post, but I am particularly wondering how all the mommies of little ones who have a C-section with the next baby do it. I like your plan to follow your body’s cues. That makes perfect sense. My doctor didn’t mention anything about stairs…but we’ve got a 2 story house also with all the bedrooms upstairs. Only 2 more weeks for you….hooray!!
http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com/ Mari-Ann

I had a c-section with James and you can bet I lifted him right from the get-go. I too followed my body’s cues and it was never a problem. I totally understand when you say you follow rules because they are RULES afterall. I am the same way, but honestly, there was just no way anyone was going to tell me NOT to lift my brand new baby!

As for the big boy bed, we made the big transition when James was 20 months old. He wasn’t climbing out of his crib, but didn’t really want to wait for that day to come. James – and all of us – are very big on routines. Heaven forbid we don’t do everything in the EXACT SAME order every night. I anticipated the worst, but the switch was surprisingly well received. Of course James got out of bed a couple of times for the first few nights, but that was it. I should tell you this though: it’s been almost a year since then and just recently James is getting up and out of bed in the middle of the night. I found him playing in his playroom at 3 am the other morning!! I think it’s just one of those things you have to deal with… they can’t stay in the crib and of course they’ll get out of the bed. Outside of tying them down, what can you do? Ground rules and patience is key.
http://trainstutusandtwizzlers.wordpress.com Corinne

As far as the bed… I say go for it. Hype it up though, make a huge deal about it! I’m guessing he’ll do better than you think! My kids both went to big kid beds quite early, because they both hated their crib and they’ve slept better in the big beds (well, Fynn has a double, and Paige is in her toddler bed). Anyway, I know of one family whos son was in his crib until just a few months ago, and he’s a little over three. They decided it was time since they were thinking about potty training. And he actually stays in his bed, and none of us thought this kid would.
Good luck with whatever you decide!
http://www.thepickyapple.com cara

Update: After going back and forth about it, we decided to leave The Littlest Apple in his crib for now. I’m just not ready for him to be more “mobile” at night. While still recovering from my surgery, I decided that if the only time I lift him up is at naptime and bedtime, it will be okay. He’s not THAT heavy, and if I notice it hurts, then I won’t do it anymore!