Monday, August 20, 2012

The Crib Fairy

The Crib Fairy stopped by my house last week and left a trail of uncertainty behind on her way out.

At the suggestion of the Little Dude’s pediatrician, Mrs. Dude and I decided to remove the crib from our 2 ½ year old’s room and move him into a “Big Boy Bed” in advance of his brother’s arrival. The doctor said that we should remove the crib and put it somewhere out of sight so that when our new arrival starts using it in a few months, there won’t be jealousy or resentment from the previous tenant.  

The crib
Tinkering with the sleep habits of any kid is not easy. Tinkering with the sleep habits of a Rip van Winkle prodigy like my Little Dude had the potential for great disaster written all over it. But we had to do it with the longview in mind.  Bringing a new baby into the house is going to be an adjustment for all of us. As parents, I trust that we’ll handle the transition better than our happy toddler who is used to being the center of attention. Or at least I hope so.

My wife started prepping him weeks in advance with news of the Crib Fairy’s impending arrival.  As the story went, the Crib Fairy was going to come and remove the Little Dude’s crib, leaving a Big Boy Bed behind for him to sleep in. On top of that coup, CF was also going to leave a present. Seemed like a Michael Scott-style win/win/win for everyone involved.

As part of the preparation Mrs. Dude took the Little Dude to Target and let him pick out some new bedding. As a Cars aficionado, he settled on a nice Lightning McQueen set after his first choice --pink -- was thankfully vetoed.  

On transition day, the new bed was brought in and Mrs. Dude was tasked with disassembling the crib. Why was literal and figurative heavy lifting imposed on my 7 months pregnant wife? Because she put it together originally and knew how it all fit. I had a more difficult task that night anyway: occupying an antsy 2 ½ year old who was unaware of what was happening behind the scenes. I figured the best thing to do would be to make him more tired so that he might sleep better in his new environment. So after dinner we went on a walk around our neighborhood while my wife went to work. I didn’t think the disassembling would take very long, so when I texted her after 45 minutes and found out she wasn’t even close to finished I knew it was going to be a long night for us. Hopefully not for multiple reasons.  

We headed back to the homestead and I left the Little Dude with his favorite babysitter: Elmo and a sippy cup of milk, while I headed upstairs to check out the situation. Crib pieces were everywhere, making his bedroom resemble a war-torn minefield.  I stealthily started bringing crib pieces downstairs, not wanting my cover as half of the Crib Fairy to be blown.
The Big Boy Bed, just before the grand unveiling.
Finally it was time for the grand unveiling.  As our sleepy Little Dude headed upstairs, we told him that he was in for a big surprise. He ran into his room and saw a giant void where his crib had always been. Then he realized that the Crib Fairy had stopped by and he asked where his present was. On top of the Big Boy Bed was a Great Dane-size image of Lightning McQueen on the new comforter and on top of that was a gift bag.
He ripped into the gift bag as only a toddler can, finding a slew of Hot Wheels cars inside. He started pulling them out one by one and eagerly examining each exotic new vehicle. He was clearly not thinking about the imminent transition. Could it really be that easy?  

Checking out the new presents.
We proceeded with his usual bedtime routine of bath, tooth brushing and story time until the moment of truth was upon us. We dimmed the lights as he wiggled under his shiny new covers, slowly exploring the much more expansive sleep space than he was used to. As he clutched his Hot Wheels tight we tucked him in, turned out the lights and let out a collective deep breath of relief.  Just before he said “I wanna sleep in Mama & Dada’s bed”.

Damn Crib Fairy.
A moment before he realized this was for real. 


22 comments:

  1. Hope the big boy bed continues to be popular and easy transition.

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  2. Very sweet. Quick correction - McQueen is from the movie Cars... Toy Story, actually a far better film, starred Buzz Lightyear (easy confusion)!

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  3. Awww he'll figure it out. Our middle child was 3 when we moved her from tot bed to big girl bed. She always came into our bed in the middle of the night before that but on her 3rd bday we got her her big girl bed. When we first showed it to her we didn't have it put together but it was out on her bedroom floor and she walked into the disaster zone and said"oh wow! You bought me wood! " it was super cute and we let her help by bringing screws and tools and whatnot and then she had wanted toy story bedding so she helped make her bed when it was built and she hasn't been in our bed since. She'll be six in september:)

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  4. Too funny! My boys are 7 years apart so I never had to do that! I was just thankful I still had the crib after that many years! My 8yo still loves to sleep in our bed and it's pretty hard to kick him out when it's 3am and we just want to sleep. He'll adjust!

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  5. Ahh, bribery. The best way to a child's heart.

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  6. My "baby" is about to be 2, so I know the big bed trasition will be coming up soon! Yikes! I hope yours finds his way back to his own bed sometime soon :)

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  7. First of all, congrats on the new baby who will be here before we all know it. And the crib transition is never pretty. He could not be cuter, by the way. It will get better, but it all goes haywire when the new baby comes. In a good way, but definitely nuts for a while. So jealous you had a sleep prodigy!

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  8. Congrats on the impending new arrival! I think it's some kind of a rule with toddlers: No, whatever it is you hope will be that easy, will never, ever be that easy. Cute pics!

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  9. Crib Fairy is a mean B! I mean, awesome gentle way to transition little dude to the big bed! I love that he is sleeping clutching his little cars in his hands. So precious. And congrats!

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  10. The Crib Fairy! Did y'all make it up or is that a thing now? I cried my eyes out when I took down the crib; can't remember how the kid took it so I must have been the only one who had a difficult transition. . .but I do remember that my firstborn surprised me in every way by stepping up and acting like a champ when his little brother came home. He was two and a half at the time. . .

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  11. Ahhhh so close to getting away with it!! You guys went above and beyond!

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  12. Nice!! I wish I was a fly on the wall as you sneaked out with pieces o'crib. That's me on every holiday, I swear.

    Yay for big boy bed and hoping he loves being in it more nights than not.

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  13. Ugh. And they will try to get in your bed. You will be so tired that you will let them. Resist that temptation. Believe me. Sweet story that most parents can identify with the transition to big boy bed.

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  14. I had to do that with twins. So, I win bed time. Or lose actually. So much losing. I'll never forget the first day for us too; it also revolved around Lightening McQueen and Matchbox cars. They are almost 5 now, and love big boy beds.

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  15. Pink was vetoed?!?? SO LUCKY! ;)

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  16. Pre-new baby is tough. I remember it well -- even though it was 11 years ago. He'll adjust. I think the crib fairy technique is so smart.

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  17. So sweet. I did have to laugh when you asked, "Could it really be this easy?" Weeks of preparation + invention of the Crib Fairy + shopping + stealthily disassembling the crib + keeping a toddler up = Easy? Could you please come and clean out my basement? :)

    Congrats on the expansion of your family! Ellen

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  18. I love the idea of the crib fairy! I will keep that in mind when we move our third son into a big boy bed. Thankfully his two older brothers had no problems transitioning, but this baby is a live wire. ;-)
    Good luck with your expanding family! Things have a way of working out, so don't worry. Or, try not to. Haha.

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  19. Did you cave and let him sleep with you? ;)
    I hope he's doing better with the transition!

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  20. My first two kids are 26 months apart -- we moved our son into his toddler bed two months before baby sister came. Of course, we made the transition when daddy was traveling for a week, so pregnant mommy got to do it all by herself :) I basically sat next to his bed until he was asleep the first two nights, then started sneaking out to "go potty" earlier and earlier until he was down to a couple of stories and a kiss on the cheek. It took about two weeks. But he's a great sleeper -- once he's out, he's down for the count.

    We moved my daughter out when she was 2 1/2 and almost ready to start potty training -- I wanted her to be able to get up and get to me if she needed to pee overnight. She was such a dream -- only got out of her bed to go potty and never to be a stinker.

    Good luck!

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  21. We have a three year old and I feel like all we say is - GET BACK INTO BED! Ha ha! Good lucky guys!! ;)

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  22. Great story! I've gotta know if he slept with you guys. Either way, I LOVE the event you made out of the whole thing - brilliant.

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