Yah, well---so are Mama and Daddy! tee hee hee
(like the way I rigged their video monitor??? LOL! Desperate times call for desperate measures...I learn from the best of 'em!)
That's right folks, its time for the crib to toddler bed transition x 4! The quads recently had an epiphany- "Hey! What are we doing stuck inside these cribs?! We can SOOOO easily get out and have a blast when we're supposed to be sleeping!" So, instead of just jumping straight to toddler beds...I wanted them to learn how to MIND MOMMY when I tell them to stay in their cribs. There is no way I was about to give them even MORE freedom if they couldn't mind me.
After a rough 24 hours, they finally got it and would stay in their cribs- no problem. The next weekend is when we decided to graduate to toddler beds! We made a big deal out of the kids being "big kids" and "minding Mama/Dadda"...talking up their "big kid beds". It is also important to master one transition at a time---and I want to make sure that they are very comfortable in their new toddler beds (minding Mama, etc) before we start potty training. So this was PERFECT TIMING for us!
Let the games begin! LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE these convertible cribs that Grampy and Grammy bought for the quads. They convert to toddler beds and twin beds.
My little baby beavers went to town on these crib rails when they were iddle-bitty.
Drew woke up in the middle of the night, so I went up there to take some pics while the kids were asleep. Drew with his fav's: blue blanket, Seahorse (or LuLu)
Ben with his favs: yellow blanket and currently, the big pink dog (or bunny)
Ethan- who is obsessed with his Seashorse, and his green blanket
We started off slowly with the kids while they adjusted. If they got out of their cribs when it was time to nap/sleep--there would be consequences. 1st offense) bye-bye pillow; 2nd) bye-bye blanket; 3rd) bye-bye toy; 4th) you get to go spend the rest of the night/naptime in another room, in a peapod by yourself. (Now, its down to one warning before the peapod! We mean business!)
Sometimes, if I would see them getting close to getting out, I would just yell from downstairs and watch them jump back into bed. One of these times that I yelled---Savannah positioned herself right where she could look straight into the camera (because I showed them where it was) and said, "No MAMA! NO! No, Mama....NO NO NO!".....
Um, exCUSE ME, little missy?!?! Within seconds she was saying bye-bye to bunny! (mean 'ole Mom)
She would test me to see how far off her bed she could get before something was taken away. The stubborn little princess held this pose for so long, that she eventually fell asleep! (I was watching her the whole time on our hand-held monitor)WOW. Talk about a strong will (& nasty drool spots!)! SHEEESH.
Needless to say, it sure has been *fun* around here! ;) But the kids are getting the hang of it...mom and dad are making less and less trips upstairs, so that's a plus . The bright side is that I'm working off all of those pesky calories with the constant stair climbing. {snicker, snicker} This parenting stuff is HARRRRRD- why didn't you guys tell me?! lol
"In spite of the six thousand manuals on child raising in the bookstores, child raising is still a dark continent and no one really knows anything. You just need a lot of love and luck - and, of course, courage."
-- Bill Cosby
52 comments:
You are such a great mommy! I love you so much.
xoxo
Gen
ps: even though i have seen that pic of Sav it still makes me laugh.... little turd! ;)
I have been struggling with making my daughter, Brylie, who is 2 1/2 stay in her toddler bed. Today I decided to stop whining. At least I only have ONE to worry about jumping out of her bed. God bless you for chasing FOUR!!
that is HILARIOUS that she fell asleep that way! God disciplines those that he loves, as should parents! Way to show them when they're young who makes the rules and who follows the rules.
I love the one of her hanging off the side of the bed. Hysterical!!! Good for you for being tough....it'll make your life a lot easier down the road!!!!
Very cute post! I too, snuck into my girls' room just the other night to snap poses of them sleeping.. it's such a huge battle at bedtime - I had to take pictures to prove I was the victor!! he he It was 10 pm and I snapped the 1st two pictures and as I turned to snap pix #3 - a little 18month old head popped up out of her crib! Little stinker! She was STILL awake at 10pm!! Anyway it made for a cute blog post! I love your quote at the end! That is so so true.
You are doing a great job. Very smart to teach them who is the boss at an early age. This is coming from someone with four grown children who watched MANY people be afraid to discipline their own children. But, I know it's hard to take things away from them and listen to them cry, too!
WOW!! Good job! Down the road you will be SOOO glad you did this. I cannot imagine this times four!!! What great parents!
Love the pic of Sav!
I love that you taped the monitor to the wall. That's awesome. I wish I had one to watch my three year old. I know she plays before she goes to sleep. One night, she had a hymnal open in her lap as she slept.
And, boy do I know the girl thing. They are stubborn, stubborn, stubborn. Of course, it's from their daddy;)
I know you are super busy but I would love to know if they have fallen out of bed? My little guys bed does this but I am too afraid he will fall out without a rail?
MM- ironic and somewhat hilarious that you just asked this question. within the last 30 minutes, i have heard a big THUMP upstairs, looked at the monitor, and saw sav fall out of bed (TWICE!)...she kinda moaned, and then just crawled back into bed and fell asleep! lol
they are VERY low to the ground, so its not a big drop. i guess she didn't mind to much! haha
suz
Oh no, lol! True it's not that far of a drop. I might just have to try it now! Thank you!!
Great post!! You are brutal with the peapod threat :) ...have you had to do that yet? That's awesome that they are doing good at that. I spoiled my son by laying with him at bedtime...now he is 6-1/2 and I still lay with him. It has to stop sometime, and I'm hoping that he will dismiss me at some point :) My brother has twins, and they used to just lock them in their room at bedtime and they had a free-for-all...they would just fall asleep wherever they were, under the bed; in the bed together; in the closet...too funny! Thanks for the sleeping arrangement update!!!
Oh girl...you are one strong woman! (not that I needed to read this post to know that!)
I love the taped up monitor! Thats awesome!!
Glad to hear that things are going a little bit more smoothly!
Looking forward to those potty training post! hehe
PS..holy cow, you do have some beavers..I cant believe how much they chewed the siderails!
We are doing this right now too! We went straight to twins though since we will need a crib for the new baby! First night was last night-they did good-we will see how long it lasts!! SO wishing I had a video monitor! :)
What an adventure!
I think you may know the answer to a question I have been struggling with for the past month or so. I have looked high and low for an answer. I would like to get a video monitor for my son and daughter in law so they can watch their twins sleep. But the monitors I find only have one straight on camera. What kind of video monitor do you have where you can see all 4 cribs????? I would so so love to know. If you can just tell me the name of it, I can do a google and find it. I will check back here for a possible answer or you can email me at:
Jillyds@sbcglobal.net
THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE
hey jill! its this one and we LOOOOOVE it! SO worth the money!
http://comfortfirst.com/p-27886-babys-quiet-sounds-color-handheld-video-monitor-by-summer-infant.aspx
suz
Glad to see the damage the quads did to their cribs - it makes me not feel so bad that my daughter has done such a number on her beautiful-new-from-the-store-crib! I feel bad that we waited so long to find a fix (right now its just blankets wrapped over the edges and zip-tied down!) but it looks like the quads chewed and they are happy and healthy, so maybe a few bits here and there aren't too bad?? For us more than anything is that we want to use the crib for #2 and then convert to full later. Anyway, all that too say, glad to see how much chewing they did! Makes me feel more normal!
Too funny and GOOD NIGHT the chewed up cribs! Im sooo hoping I get lucky and mine don't do the same thing :/
Thanks for sharing, Im sure I'll have to look back at it sometime soon!
Wow... Great job transitioning! I love the pics of all the kids asleep and all I can say, which is something you already know, you have your hands full with Miss sassy pants! She is a hoot!
I just love reading your blog! What adventures you have with these kiddos!
Thank you Suz! Just one more question, and this is the one that confuses me the most...do I need to order a second camera to go with this, or does this one camera cover the whole room? For example, you have 4 beds for it to look at...1 bed and each wall...I guess I can't figure out how the camera reaches to all areas? You don't have to explain all that, but could you just tell me if this one camera and monitor is enough?? Or did you buy a separate one for each crib/bed?
Sorry, I really hate to bother a mom of quads....not like you have lots of free time :)) But I know you would know the answer to this and then I can go order it. Thank you so much!!
I've been following your blog since your pregnancy. :)
Good for you, being determined! Good luck with Sav, though! She's a little "strong-willed", huh? I still love that photo of you holding your puppy. It reminds me so much of the twins. The look on your face, is Savannah for sure!
ahhhhh look at all these milestones that are happening! Love it:) Glad you are all surviving the transition to big kid beds. Lovin that last pic of Sav ;)
I love watching my kids sleep. It is always so cute. I too have had my share of trouble keeping my son in his bed at naptime, but at least I can leave the room without him crying and following me.
It's so cute to see them sleeping. Hope it goes well with the new beds.
LOL! I have some funny sleeping pictures of my Elly too!! Stinkers! :)
jill! no worries!
i am using ONE camera in our room upstairs- it is small bedroom, so i can see everything (or almost everything). it has a wide area of coverage. when the babies were small, i had TWO video monitors....but this one monitor is great now.
when you order it, it will be 2 pieces- the camera, and the handheld monitor.
does this help? you can always return it if it does not work for you!
suz
Parenting isn't easy you just have to find what works for you.
So did Sav get in trouble for getting out of her bed or did you consider her still being in her bed in that position?
YES, this does help very much. Just what I needed to know. Now I am going to order it. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Nothing like going right to the expert. :)
Congrats on the step up with baby beds. OMG, the picture of Sav is priceless! LOVE it!
Suzanne, you don't know me but a freind told me about your blog and now I am a follower. I LOVE it! You have been such an inspiration to me. Your blog always brings a smile to my face. :) What expires me the most is your positive attitude and how you are so honest about motherhood.
LOVE that quote, too true!! Your kiddos are so adorable and congrats on their big kid beds~so exciting! Miss Sav cracks me up, she reminds me SOOO much if my Emma~always pushing her luck! ;)
Funny! Reminds me of when my kids were just a littlte older then yours. I used to tell that I could see through the walls and had eyes on the back of my head, they believed me til they were like 6-7 years old then I got busted!!
This made my husband and I laugh out loud, this is the best in parenting we have heard. We can totally relate and are glad you are seeing the funny side in everything because it sure does keep you sane
You are a great writer! This post made me laugh out loud :). Keep up the great work! :)
Love this post! I don't believe I've ever commented before before I follow your blog (came to it through thenest/thebump long ago) and just love reading about your kiddos and also your product reviews. You have such a GREAT sunny outlook on life and parenting. Thanks for being an inspiration! Oh and LOVE the quote today from Bill Cosby. So so so perfect. :) ~ Katie
you are a saint! i love the pic of miss sav! i am a new mom...i may need to buy your parenting handbook! lol...and i just have one!
God bless you woman. I am so dreading this and yet I know it is coming far to quickly. Can't I just turn their cribs upside down and make a cage? I believe I remember one our our dear quad momma friends doing this :)
The kiddos get cuter everyday - and I didn't think that was possible!
Jac
I have been reading your blog for ages, and have never commented that I can remember, but I HAD to comment today and say... YOU ROCK! My youngest is 2 1/2 and we are transitioning her right now from crib to big girl bed. She is strong-willed too (our boys were way, way easier), so I feel your pain (well, 1/4 of your pain anyway!!) I know you don't need approval from strangers, but I wanted to give it anyway! :-) Your post gave me inspiration and encouragement... thanks!
I am so proud to call you my friend! You are truly friggin amazing!! Love you Chica!!! Sav, you and HN should start a Diva In Training Class with those clothes, that strong will, we could make some major Hollywood ready peeps!!! Love you!
oh, i just love it! i can only imagine with four feeding off eachother what it must be like to get them to settle down! i ADORE that pic of Savannah! And I have that same monitor!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
We are debating about whether or not to make the leap to toddler beds (our girls are 2.5 years old) so it was great to read your post and see how you are handling it! Mine have also mastered the art of getting in and out of the crib so I like your idea of getting them to mind mommy and daddy first...and the consequences. I'll put it into practice and let you know how it goes!!!
And when does your book come out?? : )
You've got lots of good stuff for moms of multiples and mommmies in general!!!
WOW! Most impressive!! You are a fabulous Mommy... it is so evident. Even with little Savannah, cutie patootie stubborn girl, she knows you mean business! NICE work! :) Hope it continues to get easier, and thanks for sharing your journey with us!!!
PS. I am telling literally EVERYONE I know (or *know*) about my friend Jenny. Do you know about Jenny in Grapevine??? She's my Kojie sister from ACU, and fighting for her life. She's a Mom, wife, daughter, sister... just like us. You're a prayer warrior Mom.... will you pray for my sweet friend??? THANKS!! You rock. :)
https://www.carepages.com/carepages/JennyBizaillionUpdates
Oh we also had quite a rough transition (we have similar type cribs/beds). One night I found little man C on the chair in their room is a similar pose as Sav's.
You guys are doing an awesome job! I've never heard that Bill Cosby quote, but it's so true!
Oh my goodness, your posting made me laugh out loud at the end! We transitioned our twins last fall (they are 3 now) because our little chickadee was climbing out of her crib. We bought big beds and talked up the whole process and read the Elmo's big bed book (great book!) and it went really well! Now that they have been "free" for a few months, they are getting the fact that they have the ability to get out of bed and everynow and then I hear pitter patter of someone's feet going to the other's bed to climb in for a cuddle. Pretty cute! Good luck with this new transition - it's exciting!
Just a heads up the cribs turn to full size beds not twin beds. So if you were counting on the space of a twin it will not be. We love this crib as well. We went strait to the full size bed at 14 months and that was the first night our little one slept through the night. Wow why didn't I do it sooner.
I cannot imagine trying to move four little ones to toddler beds! Bless you! And I love the monitor...I just keep giggling!
There was a time when my daughter wouldn't stay in bed or her room. I literally tried EVERYTHING - laying with her, talking to her, screaming, standing over her, etc. This went on for over an hour. I was seriously about to loose it. Her bedroom was right next to a hall closet. I ended up having to tie her door shut so she couldn't get out. After about 10 minutes of screaming, she finally wore out and fell asleep. The good thing, though, is it was a one-time thing. It does get better.
She is 14 1/2 now and I am afraid I am going to have to start locking her in her room again. lol.
KS
We have the same seahorse and Sean LOVES it. We recently had to move him into a toddler bed as well, unfortunately he fractured his wrist climbing out of his crib before we moved him :(. He loves his new big boy bed but he loves his sisters twin bed more. LOL
Hope they transition great.
Seriously?! Miss Sav sure has some 'tude on her! Tell you "no" cracks me up! At least the video cam is doing its job! Hope Sav, Ethan, Ben, and Drew sleep well and stay in their beds.
~Elyse
PS-you ain't no mean momma :)
Funny little post I just did that reminded me of you amazing quad mommas! Chec it out when you get a sec! :)
I laughed so hard when I saw Sav in her bed! That is too cute! They did go to town on those rails, too funny!
Post a Comment