In December, Natalie graduated to a big girl bed. She may not have been 100% ready (she was close though), but we needed to open up the crib for the baby and didn't want both transitions happening at once.
Gina and I bought a twin box and mattress and put it on the floor in her room. Nattie has to work a bit but she can even get into bed on her own.
We want her to stay in bed overnight and in the morning until we come and get her, mostly from a safety standpoint, as getting out her room essentially grants access to the entire house while we are sleeping. But, it is also convenient for her to let herself out of bed after a nap. Otherwise, she needs to work herself up and start crying for us to know she is awake. If she's in a good mood when she gets up it's counterproductive.
Not good. No simple solution exists and Gina and I are all about consistency.
Gray area solution:
Overnight, we put a gate up outside of her room so that she knows she needs to stay in there even if she wants to get out (usually around 5am). If she sees the gate she needs to go back to bed, if she doesn't see the gate she can come out.
All and all, it's worked pretty well.
Within the last week, however, she's pulled a couple of magic acts on Gina in the morning. Last week, she walked into our bedroom with the gate and handed it to Gina saying "here you go."
Point taken.
I need to tighten the gate to the doorway. I had thought seeing the gate up would be deterrent enough. I was wrong.
I've since corrected the issue.
Then this morning happens...
Natalie was in our bathroom when Gina got out of the shower. This time, the gate was completely in tact. Gina asked if she had crawled under the gate and Nattie told her yes. Gina then took her over to the gate and asked her how she got out (because sometimes she answers questions a certain way and doesn't really know what we are asking).
She got down on the ground and pushed her lamby under the gate.
Point taken.
The kid is no dummy.
In order to tighten the gate I need to keep it off the ground a bit so that I can twist the tighening device on the bottom properly. Last night, I had tightened the gate a bit high (maybe five inches off the ground or so). She recognized that the gap was large enough this morning for her to get out and took advantage of her daddy.
My 20-month-old daughter has just outsmarted me for the second time in regards to the gate in the last few days.
Hopefully I won't need to add another post in the near future about a third (or more) instance as well.
Gina and I bought a twin box and mattress and put it on the floor in her room. Nattie has to work a bit but she can even get into bed on her own.
From the start, we have tried to teach her to stay in her room until we come and get her. However, parenting is just like life...it tends to play out somewhere in the gray.
Not good. No simple solution exists and Gina and I are all about consistency.
Gray area solution:
Overnight, we put a gate up outside of her room so that she knows she needs to stay in there even if she wants to get out (usually around 5am). If she sees the gate she needs to go back to bed, if she doesn't see the gate she can come out.
All and all, it's worked pretty well.
Within the last week, however, she's pulled a couple of magic acts on Gina in the morning. Last week, she walked into our bedroom with the gate and handed it to Gina saying "here you go."
Point taken.
I need to tighten the gate to the doorway. I had thought seeing the gate up would be deterrent enough. I was wrong.
I've since corrected the issue.
Then this morning happens...
Natalie was in our bathroom when Gina got out of the shower. This time, the gate was completely in tact. Gina asked if she had crawled under the gate and Nattie told her yes. Gina then took her over to the gate and asked her how she got out (because sometimes she answers questions a certain way and doesn't really know what we are asking).
She got down on the ground and pushed her lamby under the gate.
Point taken.
The kid is no dummy.
In order to tighten the gate I need to keep it off the ground a bit so that I can twist the tighening device on the bottom properly. Last night, I had tightened the gate a bit high (maybe five inches off the ground or so). She recognized that the gap was large enough this morning for her to get out and took advantage of her daddy.
Natalie 2 Brian 0
My 20-month-old daughter has just outsmarted me for the second time in regards to the gate in the last few days.
Hopefully I won't need to add another post in the near future about a third (or more) instance as well.
cute stuff!
ReplyDeleteI seriously love your daughter.
ReplyDeleteYou should set it up again five inches off the ground. She'll wake up, see the gate and excited to escape again. She'll run over there, get down on her belly, and start to crawl through. She'll get 3/4 of the way out and then stop... because she reached the end of the chain attached to her ankle. She probably get fussy because you outsmarted her, but that's part of growing up. FACE, Nattie! (I should really be a parental consultant.)
ReplyDeleteHAHHAAHAHA Shane you are sooo funny. Brian, I was all excited to see that you had posted cuz I thought I was going to find out you guys had your baby. But I do *like* the new banner.
ReplyDeleteI also like the new banner and tagline. Great story! But don't use the ball and chain idea Shane gave you. Apparently his parents used it on Lucas as a child, and now every time he sees the hammer throw on the Olympics, he has a seizure. Funny, but not worth it. (Lucas never reads this, right?)
ReplyDelete