A few weeks ago, when Blair's schedule had him out of the house for almost all of Ava's and my waking hours, I decided to take the two of us on an impromptu visit to my mom's house. Upon arrival, I set up Ava's pack 'n play and she slept in it that night--the only sleep it would see during our 4 day stay. There was a single bed in her room that she decided on day 2 she was old enough to sleep in and she proved herself right! She did so well, stayed in it for the most part, calling for me when she needed something or woke up, and slept in until a decent morning hour.
Once we arrived back home, Ava was much less enchanted by her baby crib. After refusing her nap that afternoon, I decided to take the plunge and transform her crib into it's toddler counterpart and see how she did. Needless to say, Ava was elated and smitten with her new big girl bed (which she calls her "good-dirl bed") and newfound freedom!
Ava did so well in her bed for a couple of days, coming into our bedroom in the morning but otherwise sleeping well and showing us what a big girl she really was. However, after the honeymoon period it was as if a switch went off and Ava no longer wanted to impress us and instead couldn't have cared less if it meant she could leave her bed in the middle of the night. Not only did she start waking frequently and getting out of bed, but she would do so often without a sound and I would wake up and realize she was standing outside my door just sucking her thumb in the dark! In the morning as well, she was waking as early as 5:30 or 6 (instead of her usual 8:30ish wake time) and definitely not understanding the concept of staying in her room until mommy said it was okay to come out.
It took a few weeks and a few tricks (the turning point for us was keeping Ava's door open at night when we put her down. Who knew?) but we are doing much better with her bed now and Ava is a champion when it comes to staying in her room and calling for me. I was determined not to use a gate, lock her in or use another method of restraint before giving good old fashioned training a solid effort and it paid off! She is still waking up a lot earlier than she was, somewhere in the 7-7:30 timeframe, but it is a huge step up from where we were and it's a wake up time that mommy approves. Most mornings I wake up to her standing at her door asking to go potty which is a much less slow and peaceful way for me to wake up but I am so proud of my little girl--potty trained and keeping within the boundaries that I have set for her! What a victory as a parent.
So proud of herself in her good-dirl bed
Two side notes with this post:
Video Monitor
I have been wanting a video monitor for some time now, knowing it would have helped me through so many of Ava's phases over the last year. Being able to see whether she was calling for me while lying down or standing up, whether she'd dropped her beloved ducky or otherwise had a need that required my presence or if I could let her put herself back to sleep--all of these things would have been made easier. However, I never took the financial plunge and kept reminding myself that I didn't need it. With the introduction of the toddler bed though, I decided it was time and put a good portion of my birthday money towards a really nice video monitor and it's been awesome! I got one that allows me to press a button on the receiver and for Ava to hear my voice through the camera. More than once in the last few days I've been able to catch her getting out of her bed, tell her to get back into bed and watch her fall back to sleep without having to go into the room. Love it! Not necessary but well worth the money in this house.
Potty-Training
When we got back from my mom's and made the bedroom switch, Ava began having trouble keeping her panties dry. I don't know if it was too much too soon or she was distracted but she just couldn't keep herself from having accidents. I did notice however that when we left the house in a pull-up she could keep herself dry for hours, even at times when she said she had to go and I told her she had to hold it until we got home. So, I've started putting her in pull-ups all the time and she is keeping them dry, even at home. It's a little backwards for me, I would think she'd be more likely to pee in a pull-up but whatever it is about them, it has gotten her back on track. I will slowly start to do more panty time as she shows me that she's ready but for now I'm happy to reuse pull-ups as long as she's keeping them dry!
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