Whack a Mole



So after Max's big surgery to correct his breathing at night, we thought "Finally! there will be a full night's sleep in our future!"


But as soon as his sleeping started to improve, the very next day, Max learned how to climb out of his crib without the help of any other furniture, which had already been removed from the room.

Soooo exhilarating and exciting for him. He would come bursting out of the bedroom squealing, and running. You'd pick him up to feel his heart beating so fast, and his skin sweaty, and obviously every time he climbed out, the adrenaline pushed him that much further away from sleep.


The first night, he climbed out of the crib approximately 75 times. It was ridiculous. Harry even appealed to him to GO TO SLEEP BROTHER!


Mom and Dad spent hours not engaging him, but carrying him back to the bed, just like the good doctors recommend.


The first night he went to bed at 12:45 a.m. in our bed.


Then he woke up six hours later. His brother, who was kept up late, was quite a piece of work the next day. Overtired Max then tried to resist the daytime nap, climbing out of the crib 46 times. He eventually passed out drooling on the couch.


Night Two. Max continues to climb out of his bed. Again, and again, and again, and again. Goes to bed about 10:45 p.m. this second night. But only after every toy has been taken out of the room, including the train table.


Night Three. Parents pull out every child safety trick they have to slow the child down, settling on a door knob contraption that is supposed to keep the child from opening the door. He opens it within 3 minutes, emerging even more gleeful than before.


Parents begin designing their own plans for wicked structures to contain the child. He eventually falls to sleep in the 10 o'clock hour.


Night Four. Parents cry. Please, child, please go to sleep, wonder if they have given birth to the Energizer bunny. Have a pep talk with each other after the first climbout about the strategy for the night ahead. Feel like the Worst Parents Ever. Feel like they will forever be returning the two-year-old to his bed. He falls asleep, two hours past bedtime.



Night Five. New approach: Remove the Challenge! Parents remove a side of the crib to transform it into a toddler bed. He stays in bed a bit better, but still runs out over and over and over again. Falls asleep at 10 p.m.



We are now plotting our strategy for tomorrow night, when we intend to emerge victorious! Wish us luck!


2 comments:

Mindy said...

Crib tent? Or would that just make for screaming? Juliet is already making signs like she'd like to try and climb out of her crib, but luckily, she's too short AND she's not at the lowest level of the crib. We should have another year or so before dealing with this, right?

Kate said...

Oh, you poor people! Good grief. I hope you get some full, sleep-filled nights soon. (And I hope you are now wishing me the same!) : )