Backward Steps...

Last night, Kevin and I decided after two weeks of night time hellishness that we are going back to the crib for Matthew. He is just not ready for a big boy bed. He is taking ALARMING advantage of us. No matter what we do or say - he continues to stay up until 10p and past... And when I say "stay up", I do not mean that he just sits in his room and plays but he comes out of his room and thinks it is hysterical to run down the hall as we are coming to put him back in bed. Damn him for learning to turn those door handles - oh just wait if your little one cannot do that yet, ack the joys of closing a door and knowing it will stay shut like say while you are trying to quietly go poo by yourself... those have been long gone for us (like six months gone...) Plus we have both sang the same three bed time songs 593250803285 times (is that even a number? Either way, I am SO tired of singing those songs.) We are - plain and simple - exhausted.

I love spending time with my son but darn it I want him to go to bed at 8:00p like he used to. I think most of this jumping up and down out of the bed all evening long has to do with new found freedom that he is just not ready for and really we have no good reason to switch beds. It is not like we are expecting another child any time soon and even if we were I would not care because he would be staying with that bed. They say kiddos are really not ready to make this switch until they are 2-1/2 and closer to three and I am totally okay with that. I mean really what is the rush? ...Because EVERYONE is doing it and they sound like they are doing it successfully (unless that is not the truth :)!) I know what some of you may be thinking - give it more of a chance. Last week he was sicker then a dog but really our conclusion is this - being sick was an excuse and if we keep making excuses we are just going to continue to build this really bad habit and I so cannot imagine doing this for the next five years... Of course, suggestions are welcome. If you all know something I do not, PLEASE OH PLEASE I am begging you from deep down in my heart - do share!

I personally feel like there have been a lot of big changes in Matthew's life recently what with the whole learning about the potty more aggressively, both the changes at his current day care and changing his day care (coming up) and the move (which is sort of old by now but he will still pop off with a "new house" now and again - though as an aside we were driving up to the house last evening and he said "there my house, that my house" and me brimming with pride.) I guess I think it best to just take a step back and sort out all of the other things before moving him from his crib to the big boy bed. Basically, as hard as it might be to say from any parent, he is just too young and is simply not ready for this and we have plenty of time to do everything before we even consider having another babe and shaking up his world even MORE!

I must say I am always impressed with the energy kids this age possess. He has the energy of a ten, okay maybe twenty, adults and he would stay up all night if he could. Last night he even got of bed at 2:00a and walked into our room... I thought I was going to cry because he was not sick or scared - he just woke up and could walk over to our door AND open it. Then he would not go back to sleep and made Kevin sing the SAME THREE SONGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN whilst I laid there wide awake listening to the SAME THREE SONGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. You get the picture...

SO at lunch time today, the big boy bed will be no more. Sad but true - I am sure it will be back in no time at all but for now I want to be in control of this one thing so we can get him back on schedule and perhaps have his little mind advance a little further along to where he gets that when mommy and daddy say 'time for bed' - he will get what that means in a loud and clear way with all of the drama that has been issuing forth from our house the past two weeks.