The new bed

Estimated timeline of Nolan’s first night in his big boy bed (twin mattress on the floor in his new room, our former office):

6:25 – start the bedtime process in his new room
6:40 – after reading 3 books and saying prayers, Adam puts Nolan in bed
6:40:05 – Nolan starts crying
6:40:06 – Adam stays in the room so Nolan stops crying and falls asleep
7:10 – Adam makes it out of Nolan’s room after 3 tries. Nolan is sleeping.
7:20 – Adam is heading out the door to mow, and Nolan wakes up crying. I try and let him cry it out, but he won’t stop. I peek my head in the hallway and there Nolan lays on the carpet, half way in his room and half way in the hallway, wimpering.
7:23 – Put Nolan back in bed. Spend about 20 minutes sitting on the floor next to him, waiting for him to fall asleep.
9:10 – Peek in on Nolan and discover he’s sleeping on the floor next to his bed – apparently he fell out and we didn’t hear him.
9:10:10 – I go downstairs to ask Adam if I should leave him on the floor or put him back in bed. The decision is made to put him back in bed.
9:13 – I try and open the door to put Nolan back in bed, but in the 3 minutes I was downstairs he rolled himself in front of the door to his room and I can no longer open it. I call for reinforcements.
9:13:30 – Adam comes upstairs and we decide to leave him until he moves away from the door.
9:40 – I peek on him one last time before going to bed and he is now head first in the corner of this bed, next to the door, with his butt in the air. I have just enough room to open the door. I pick him up and put him in bed, and he starts crying.
9:41 – Spend the next 15 minutes watching him fall asleep so he doesn’t cry. Mission accomplished – I’m off to bed.
10:20 – Adam checks on Nolan before coming to bed. Nolan is sound asleep, so Adam puts the gate in front of the bedroom door, in case he wakes up and thinks it’s okay to walk around in the middle of the night.
11:10 – Nolan wakes up crying. Adam doesn’t hear him, so I get up and rub his back. 5 minutes later I’m back in bed.
11:23 – Nolan wakes up crying, again. I nudge Adam and he goes in the room. Nolan has fallen out of bed again. Adam tries to sneak out 3 times, but Nolan wakes up and cries every time. Taps me on the shoulder to take a turn.
11:40 – I head in to try and get him to sleep. I sit on the floor next to him and put my hand on his back.
11:48 – He appears to be sleeping, so I walk out. He starts crying as soon as I get in our room, so I turn around and head back (walking over the gate each time). I bring my pillows so I can lay on the floor. I don’t know how long I’ll be in there.
11:57 – He appears to be sleeping, so I leave. Not so fast – he’s crying again. I throw my pillows over the gate and put my hand on his back, again. I contemplate putting him back in his crib so I can sleep, but decide against it. I need to be strong.
12:14 – I did it! Nolan is sleeping and I can go back to bed.
6:10 – Nolan lets us know he’s up by talking up a storm.
6:20 – I go to get him and he’s actually laying on his bed! For the first time in his new room, it didn’t go too badly.

Adam went to Once Upon a Child at lunch today and bought a bed rail to put next to the mattress. Hopefully it will keep Nolan from falling out of bed! Tonight I did his bedtime routine with him, and put him in bed at 6:40. I sat on the floor next to him for 3 or 4 minutes and tried to make my way out of the room. He started crying, so I sat back down. By 6:50 he was sound asleep and he’s been sleeping ever since. It can only get better!

We had a great time in Moose Lake this weekend. Jackson and Nolan had fun together at the park, in the swimming pool in the backyard, and in the house, playing with toys. Oh, and we also went on 2 long walks with the boys. We are so lucky to have such relaxed kids!

Adam and I also had a wonderful time hanging out with Chris and Sasha. We played a mean game of Skipbo on Saturday night - until almost midnight! Adam and I had planned to keep Nolan in his walking boot over the weekend, but we felt so bad for Nolan that we didn’t put it on him like we should have. [SIDEBAR: Nolan’s cast came off last Wednesday, and he was given a walking boot to wear on his right leg for 1 week for sure, 2 if he needed it. He can’t really walk on it, so it makes things especially difficult – for both him and us!] At the end of the evening he was limping a little, but his walking improved so much from Saturday to Sunday. We can tell he needs to build up muscle in his leg again, but that will comes with time. He sure is enjoying the freedom of walking again!

Yesterday when we got home we went outside for a little bit, and only a little bit because it was (and still is) super muggy outside. I don’t mind the heat, but like most Minnesotan’s, I hate the real heavy humidity. Nolan finally got to sit at his new picnic table and check out his new playhouse. He was impressed with both!

This week we have plans to finalize our list of things to do/buy before new baby arrives. I started to panic a little last night, about the exact same stuff I did with Nolan – the bottles aren’t clean and ready to go, we don’t have diapers in the house, we still need to move the rest of Nolan’s stuff out of the nursery and in to his new room, I don’t have my list ready at work. I know it will all get done, but what if for some reason I go in to labor early? I’m a planner, and I need things to be planned!