Bed Hopping

E never minded being in his crib. In fact, he liked it. He tried to climb out once, I think he was around two years old. He was wearing a sleep sack and must have done a flip out like he was on the uneven bars doing a dismount. I was downstairs, heard a thud and crying and I came flying up the stairs like a bat out of hell. He waddled toward me in the sack all pathetic-like, hysterical crying. I didn't think he'd attempt it again but I couldn't take that chance. My friend Natalie, who had two boys asked me if one side of my crib was higher than the other. Yes, by golly it was taller. The side up against the wall was taller because it was one of those lifetime convertible cribs and that side would be the headboard later on. She told me to turn the bed around, high side out, and then he couldn't ever get out. So that's what I did. We had to catapult him over the short ends standing on a step stool but our climbing problems were over and he decided to just love the crib.

I've never been in a hurry for him to do anything. I didn't push for him to crawl or walk. Very "Rita" of me- "Who needs their kid mobile?", I imagine she'd say. She also did actually say- "Once they talk you can't blame anything on them anymore..." So there you have it. I just didn't need him to have the freedom of a bed. We live in a center hall colonial with a million stairs. I didn't need him roaming around the house in the middle of the night or worse, feeling eyes on me in my sleep only to open them, seeing his face like Poltergeist right there. We are not a bed-sharing kind of family, unless B and I were into some kind of sadomasochism kind of thing where we would both wake up with black eyes from E's violent sleeping. No thanks. Lastly, E was always a very mature kid. I'm not saying that in a "my kid is a genius and he's perfect" kind of way. Just in a matter of fact, he is a mature kid kind of way. He isn't babyish. So I didn't need to move him to a bed to try to convince him he's a "big boy". If anything, by his attitude and brand of humor proves he is four thinking he is really fourteen.

In March we did convert his crib into a toddler bed on the suggestion of his new pediatrician. He thought maybe having more room might help him sleep better. E is rather tall for his age so maybe he was cramped. I don't know. We were willing to try anything. But having done that, B found that he and I could actually fit in there with E if we wanted to lay with him (one at a time). Well. I got in there and let me tell you- toddler mattresses- the most uncomfortable things to sleep on next to concrete. At least with concrete, you would know what you're getting! I couldn't even get out of the bed. I was laying there so he'd sleep, he fell asleep and I was trapped in there. That was the end of that. We scheduled E's surgery and I thought that he would need a lot of bed down time. I felt he should have a comfortable bed to recover in.

I found a new mattress and box spring on craigslist that was inexpensive. B had to rent a U Haul because no mattress is going in either Mini Cooper. But it was still less money than buying a mattress from a store. And B was going to convert the crib fully. I was at work. I get a text that when he started converting the "bed was a full". I was about to scream at him- "WTF- how do you not know the difference between a full and twin mattress?!". I thought he meant he took the wrong mattress. No no. The lifetime convertible turns into a FULL BED. Yeah, we didn't want that or have room for it. I quickly bought a bed rail and we put the mattress and box spring on the floor and used the bed rail with that. But I wanted a real bed. So I went to research online. I needed it to be cherry wood or at least chocolate or dark. I also needed it not to break the bank. I went to Amazon. I had almost $100 credit there from two gift cards from B to me from an anniversary and Mother's Day.

I found it. The coolest bed ever. It is called the Canwood Alpine II Twin over Twin Bunk Bed with Angled Ladder and Guard Rail. In cherry! I will say- it's not really a bunk bed. It's a junior loft. Meaning it is not nearly as high as a traditional bunk bed and if you were to make it bunk, the other mattress would just be on the floor or on a box spring. There is no actual bed underneath. I got it because the underneath could be like a fort. It also was the perfect height for the lingerie chest I have in there for his socks, underwear, hats, etc to be used as a nightstand for his clock and other things he likes up there. Otherwise I would've had to move that, take it out, or I don't know what. And it doesn't have an angled ladder. I don't know why it says that. It goes straight up and down. But I put a step stool at the bottom so that alleviated any difficulty in getting up or down. He navigated it fine the first night he was in it, even not totally himself from surgery. It only took maybe two hours to put together. It was fairly easy, the directions were fine, and B said he felt like it was good quality as he was putting it together. I think the best part about it is that it was only $189.99 and I bought the extra 5 year warranty for like $20. It holds up to 165 lbs.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BVJ7VS/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

E loves it. He thinks it's the most fun and at some point I'm going to get the thing that hangs over the bottom that makes it into a fort or house or whatever. It is the perfect bed that can grow with him. When he's done using the bottom to play under, he could use if for storage. It just allows us some options a regular bed would prohibit.