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So today we went to IKEA as a family to pick up our Buddha's new bedroom set. I know a lot of kids go from crib to toddler bed, but our family skips that step. Maybe its because we're too cheap, we don't have much free time to spend shopping, or that the toddler bed phase is SO incredibly short (probably some combo of all of the above) but we go straight from crib to the whole shebang. My boys are tall for their age, and are going to grow rapidly taller so we don't even bother with a twin bed. Straight to full size we go. It wouldn't surprise me if by the time they are 15 they are going to need queen size. So might as well start getting our money's worth now....

I will definitely post pictures when its all done, but you know IKEA, I've got to wait for Chip to finish assembling everything. But the reason for my post is not to talk about the cute stuff we bought today but about my concerns regarding the transition from crib to bed.

Both of my kids have always been pretty good sleepers - Monkey did a lot of co-sleeping but not the Buddha. From the get-go, he made his crib his own special little place and slept through the night, and napping religiously at the designated times of the day. He never woke up screaming or crying for us to retrieve him in the morning or any time for that matter. When he wakes up, he happily plays in his crib sometimes even up to an hour on days that I need some extra shut eye. I used to feel bad about doing this, but when I see how happy he is when I go into his room, I realize he hasn't been suffering at all. He plays with his cars or stuffed animals and pulls the covers over his head.

He has always been a consistent riser - 7 a.m., sometimes 7:30. Occasionally he will wake up before 7. So, I am wondering what I am going to do with my fabulous fitness plan?

I have been getting up pretty early to meet my running partner 3x per week. There are some days that I can hear Buddha stirring right before I leave, and I know that soon after I leave he is awake. Because he is contained in his crib and has never tried to get out, I have no concerns about leaving him. Remember, Chip works nights so I always let him sleep in and its my job to manage the boys and try to keep them quiet. Monkey is old enough to understand when I tell him Mommy is going running and he may not see me when he wakes up. I will occasionally find evidence that he has gone to look for me, usually my bedroom door and his bedroom door are open when I get back. But he just goes back to his room to sleep. But what is the Buddha going to do when he is in a bed?

There are a few disastrous scenarios I imagine. 1) He gets up, wanders around downstairs, or possibly goes out the front door; 2) I put a baby gate up in the hallway, so that he can leave his room and go visit his brother...possibly falling back to sleep with him OR waking up Monkey; 3) I put a baby gate up in his door way, and he wakes up, tries to get out - screams his head off when he realizes he is stuck and wakes up Monkey and Chip. Our front door is weird. The door handle is one that will open from the inside even if its locked. So, we have a latch we installed up at adult height that we close so that the kids can't get out. But if I go out that door in the morning the latch won't be closed. I could leave out the garage/side door to avoid this issue. I am definitely going to have him try to sleep in his new bed on non-running days. That way I can be there to figure out what might happen.

The other thing I wonder about is how he's going to adjust- right now we put him down in his crib and he goes down happily and without a fight. Will he be freaked out not want to stay in his room? Are we going to have to go all "Supernanny" on him and keep putting him back in his room and walking out? I wonder if my own sleep and already minimal personal time will suffer...and how long it will last. Ugh, I don't look forward to this.

Any suggestions on what I should do on my running mornings as a precaution? Of course, my husband is home but understandably dead to the world at the time we wake up. What issues did you have transitioning your kids from crib to bed? Part of me also wonders if I shouldn't fix what ain't broken. If he is happy in his crib, still has enough room and doesn't try to get out, should we just leave well enough alone.

I don't want to be Sleepless in Northern CA.