Monday, July 26, 2010

Toddler Beds Suck

We adjusted Jackson’s bed from a crib to a toddler bed. They forgot to add the medieval chains to lock the child to the bed frame. So, where he used to wake up, play in the crib for an hour, maybe pass out again, and then get us up at a reasonable 8am; he is now up at 5:30am, every morning.

We bought room-darkening curtains…still 5:30am. I suggested cough syrup; no dice. Nicole doesn’t get behind mad scientist parenting.

I perform, teach and take classes on weeknights. Often, I go to bed between 1:30 and 3am. As my career develops, I will be out more and more nights, and my bedtime will most likely get later before it gets earlier. 3 hours of sleep each night was literally killing me since being a Stay-At-Home Dad puts me on baby detail every morning.

I’m against kids going to bed with parents. If it works for you, great, and if I could afford a new king sized bed, then maybe it would work for me. However, our queen barely accommodates Queen Nicole with her legs and arms and penchant for stealing blankets. The last thing I need is a 2 year old lying sideways with a piss diaper on my face.

It finally got to the point where we just decided to pretend we were still sleeping, or dead. And it Worked!!!! Jack has been climbing into bed with us, and just passing out. Sure, I still get a diaper full of piss in my face, but I’m already half asleep, so it’s like a warm face towel after an airplane ride.

2 comments:

boopoopadoop said...

A great tip I picked up online was to take the rail off the crib (like you do to convert it to a toddler bed) and secure the frame to your bedframe & basically extend your bed...so you get to have your own space AND sleep. It was a beautiful thing when we hooked it up & worked like a charm. I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't want an elbow in the throat yet doesn't mind their child sleeping in their room. For us it was the best of both worlds.

Glad your "playing dead' is working for you though - lack of sleep is hard pill to swallow long term & not very good for anyone!

Ash said...

When my son graduated to a toddler bed, and had the run of his room, we put up a baby gate in his doorway. That way, he could play for a bit before ordering his slaves out of bed to attend to his needs.