Big Girl Beds

We decided to start the transition from cribs to beds during Mate's long Thanksgiving weekend.  Wednesday, we put the girls in their beds and then attempted to walk out of the room.  We were immediately met by screaming and running to the door.  It was clear we were going to need to use the sleep separation technique as seen on Supernanny.  I decided to be the parent to sit on the floor of the room with my back to the girls.  The first 15 minutes were the most difficult for me.  Our girls have always gone to bed without any trouble, so this was definitely a new experience.  The crying was more intense than any we've experienced and I felt tears welling up in my eyes.  I hated that I couldn't do anything to make things better.  Eventually, I just got used to it.  It took an entire hour and one little lady getting out of bed 20 times, but eventually we had sleepers. 

Unfortunately, there were multiple wake-ups throughout the night, but we were committed to the technique and made it to morning.

The next day, we were a bit concerned about nap time, but the girls went to sleep without much trouble.  Bedtime went well without anyone getting out of bed and only a minute or so of crying.  There were, however, plenty of wake-ups throughout the night.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were similar to Thursday, but with very early wake-up calls.  I don't mind getting up in the middle of the night, but having to get up for good by 5 a.m. isn't much fun.  We're not sure why they are waking up so early or throughout the night, so we decided to change things up just a bit.  Instead of staying in their room and then closing the door after sneaking out, we've decided to put up a gate and stay outside the room.  Hopefully having them fall asleep without us in sight might make it easier for them to fall back asleep when they wake up in the middle of the night.

Mate put the girls to bed last night and stayed outside the room instead of sitting on the floor.  It took about 20 minutes of crying and putting one of the girls back in bed 7 times. . . not too bad.  Now that Mate is back to work, I am on middle-of-the-night duty.  Luckily, we only had one wake up at 3:30 and the girls slept until 5:45.  I think we're considering the transition a success even though there is room for improvement.

I am not qualified to give out advice on this subject, but here are a few things we've learned:
1. Pregnancy and middle-of-the-night wake ups are dangerous. This baby is definitely camped out on my bladder.  Every time I have to sit in the girls' room and wait for them to fall asleep, the "potty dance" goes into full effect.  Let's just say, I've had some close calls.

2. Check to make sure the vents are open in the room your children are sleeping in.  We spent the first few nights wondering why their new room was so cold.  Perhaps we should have opened the heating vents. Parenting fail.

3. The phone ringing becomes your worst nightmare.