Crib access is open

It's been four days since we removed the middle part of Tristan's crib. Now he can get in and out as he pleases. We're transitioning him into a larger bed.

Tristan turned three back in November but he still sleeps in his crib because we have had no problems with it. He doesn't jump out of his crib and he always calls for us to come to him in his room. We could probably keep him there as long as he is small enough and right now he is. But he's growing and we want to give him room to grow.

Removing the middle part of Tristan's crib is a first step in transitioning him into a bigger bed. Being able to get in and out on his own will make him feel more grown up. However, this hasn't happened yet. So far he seems to just stay in his bed and wait for us to come to him. Nothing has changed really. I expected him to run into our rooms in the morning and wake us up but it hasn't happened yet. He is so used to being in his crib waiting for us that he hasn't been brave enough to leave it on his own. At least that is what it appears.

On the first night, Tristan fell out of his crib once. He hasn't since then. In the morning, he calls for Daddy or Mommy and when we go in his room, he dangles his legs through the bars of his crib, just like he has always done.

It's funny because we started window shopping for bigger boy beds a few weeks ago and we thought we were going to buy a toddler bed. We figured it was the logical next step from having a crib. When I asked one of the sales ladies at the store, she told me that a lot of parents will move their toddler from toddler beds to twin beds when they are around 3 years old. Oops. Here Tristan is 3 and still in a crib. Technically, he's beyond toddler stage too so really it should be time for a twin bed. It also turns out that toddler beds are the same length as cribs but are assembled to appear like smaller beds. Jean-Louis thinks Tristan would be scared in a twin bed because it would be too big for him. This is only because he has been sleeping in a crib for ever! He doesn't sleep with us ever and has been sleeping in his crib every day since he was days old.

Everything is relative and every child is different. My friend's boy is two weeks older than Tristan and sleeps in a double bed. That's huge! I'm not sure when they moved him in there but that is a huge transition from being in a crib. My friend tells me that she and her boy can lie down together sometimes this way and it works well for them. The few times we have laid down with Tristan was when he was sick and we would lay on the couch. We don't have the same sort of problems. My friend also has toys in their boys room and we do not. We never play in Tristan's room. The room is strictly for sleeping. One of the reasons my friends has toys in the room is so the kids can play in the morning if they wake up too early. Again, we don't have this problem because Tristan sleeps until 7AM or later. By that time, Jean-Louis can take him and I can sleep in a bit more. Lucky for me, Jean-Louis only needs around 6 hours of sleep. It all works out for us.