Good-bye Crib!

So, it's official. The crib is gone... well, just in the basement gone. My dad made the crib for Jackson, I will always hold onto it! But it will make an appearance again here in a few months. 

Uh oh, I'm stuck! I can't climb out if there's no mattress to jump on! 

Carter is helping Forrest, while Jackson entertains himself with the drill. He likes to make it go on his tummy-- he was cracking himself up!

Jackson decided he wanted to "help"!

Look at these men at work! (while Brooke works on making some awesome S'mores)

Jackson was so proud of himself for helping (and Grandpa had a lot of fun too!)

Jackson all tucked in his "Elmo" big boy bed (along with Pooh, Puppy, stuffed animal Elmo, both blankets, and a book).

Jackson didn't even care that his crib is gone. I'm glad he got to be there to take it down, so he at least understands where it went. And after being a little stressed out about his sleeping habits in my post yesterday, he slept ALL night in his bed last night... and bedtime tonight was a breeze! I swear it was a little message from God saying, "See Amy, it will all be okay!" It may seem silly, but it was just the message I was needing! God is good.

Sleepless in South KC

I am looking for advice, tips, suggestions-- anything, please! I've been in a general state of tiredness all week and Jackson has decided he just doesn't need to sleep all that much anymore.

First off, Jackson has always been the kind of kid that when he gets super tired-- he sleeps less. He does not make up for sleep; he just continually gets less and less, which is what's happening here. Second, he's always napped more than the average kid--last week he would have gotten around 11 hours of sleep at night with anywhere from 3-4 hours in naps during the day, at almost two years old.

It all started with a busy weekend and a messed up nap schedule. Sunday night he was up in the middle of the night for over two hours, but only took one nap on Monday. Since then, he's only taken one nap a day and I have just assumed it was time for that adjustment.

The thing is, is that he still needs more sleep than he's getting. I've tried moving his naps to later in the day, but he gets cranky around dinner time and stays that way until bedtime (has always been 8:30-9ish). And then, this morning he was up at 5:45am (his normal is 7:15ish). For the day. During the five o' clock hour. This is my indication that he needs more/longer naps. He has gotten progressively less and less sleep each day this week and I just can't handle him loosing anymore sleep. Last night he got 9 hours of sleep at night and if he naps like he has been this week, the nap will be 2-3 hours.

We went from 14-15 hours of sleep a day to 11-12 hours in a matter of days and statistically speaking, that's quite a bit. While for some kids, I know that's totally normal, it's just not Jackson's normal. And I would think this change might be okay if he wasn't showing signs of tiredness throughout the day.

And since he's able to climb out of his crib, I've lost a bit of the power in just putting him down and letting him cry himself to sleep.

Is this no sleep thing a phase? Is he just exploring his freedom of escaping the crib? Does it ever end? What's the best way to adjust to one nap (and to make it count!)? What can I do when it's 5:00 and evidently tired and cranky but we still have hours until bed time? HELP!

I have dreaded this day for a very long time

Jackson has learned to climb out of his crib.

This is just really unfortunate news for me. In a recent conversation with a friend about moving Jackson into a toddler bed, I said, "I don't have confidence that Jackson will stay in his bed, his room, or even in this house if he doesn't have the crib to confine him."

As if the kid needs more to distract him from taking a nap. He was up for over 2 hours last night playing (for the first hour) and screaming. He had missed his afternoon nap two days in a row and was getting progressively grumpier. So when I put him down for a morning nap this morning... and he climbs out! The poor kid has bags under his eyes. He desperately needs to catch up on sleep. At least he's taking a nice nap now that last late enough to keep him bearable until bed time. And hopefully he can have a good night's rest tonight.

Here's the latest clip I have of Jackson avoiding his nap. He just gets so hyper when he's tired as to convince himself that he doesn't need a nap. Trust me. He does!!

On a positive note. I went to my 12 week prenatal appointment today. My doctor couldn't find the heartbeat, which totally stressed me out, but she sent me in for a sonogram so I got to see the little fella/lady. The heartbeat was great (137) and the baby even waved. The sonogram tech was super fun and typed in "Hi Daddy" so I could send it to Derek. How cute!

The baby is on his/her back. Head to the left. The arm is under the words.