Daddy Days: The wandering toddler

Our almost 2-year-old has elevated the graduation from crib to toddler bed to an art form.
Our almost 2-year-old has elevated the graduation from crib to toddler bed to an art form.

The almost 2-year-old made the transition from crib (Pack-n-Play) to toddler bed recently. And by “made the transition” I mean figured out staying in bed was optional and started climbing out of bed.

This isn’t new, of course, as we’ve been here many times before. But this toddler has really elevated the graduation from crib to toddler bed to an art form. When he first climbed over the edge of his crib he was so proud he assumed we would be, too. He came bursting out of his room beaming like an Olympic gymnast that stuck the landing, saying, “Out! Out!”

He quickly learned we were less than enthused at his escape and stopped breaking out. But he still needed to see what was going on outside his room so he started getting out of his bed and then looking out the window in his room.

This doesn’t sound so bad but let me paint a picture of how it’s done. One minute you’re in the backyard doing yard work without an audience and the next minute standing on top of the changing table in the window of his room is the diaper-clad 1-year-old staring at you in a sleep-deprived daze.

After this performance, he learned that opening the (cordless) blinds and standing on the changing table to look out the window is as counterproductive as bursting out of his room. So he went into stealth mode.

Now when he slips out of bed, he stays in his room with the blinds down and plays semi-quietly. He shares a room with the 3-year-old but during nap time he’s alone in there and he takes advantage of it. It may be a function of being the youngest and never getting to play with what he really wants to play with, but he’s content to stay in his room alone for a long stretch. That is, provided he’s supposed to be asleep at the time.

There’s often been a tough couple weeks of sleep interruptions (the feared fortnight of doom) when the toddlers first get put into a toddler bed. However, that hasn’t been the case with this one. Once he’s tired of wandering about he gets in his little toddler bed and goes to sleep. Hallelujah.

The 3-year-old likely deserves some credit here. He’s a pretty laid back roommate and encouraged the 1-year-old to like his bed. Now that I think about it, those two may be the most peaceful pair of roommates amongst the boys. Although we also put them in the same room as soon as possible instead of trying to delay the room sharing like we did with most of the others. Well, you know what they say, sixth time’s the charm.

Harris and his wife live in Pflugerville with their six sons. Please email comments or suggestions for future columns to thoughtsforcaleb@gmail.com.

Caleb Harris
Caleb Harris

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: The Daddy Days: The Wandering Toddler