The Montessori Floor Bed: circa 2010

I’ve posted a bit about our use of a Montessori-inspired floor bed with MaM, our older child. I’ve posted a smidge about the fact that we didn’t set one up for Jr., since he and MaM have shared a room since day one, it wasn’t a safe option. Putting a newborn/infant in an “open” scenario with a three year old is not safe, and was not something we could do. Between all of MaM’s little treasures and the fact that she loved her brother from day one and loved to snuggle, a floor bed for Jr wasn’t going to happen.

It wasn’t an option until he catapulted out of his crib. Twice, in one week, freaking both MaM and me out. The first  time, both kids were drowsy but not asleep. They were giggling across the room, playing a sort of peek-a-boo. I left the room to brush my teeth and get ready for bed, then I heard it- CRASH.

MaM came running into my room, “Mommy! Jr’s out of his crib! He was standing, then his legs came out and he was on the floor!”

I put him back in his crib that night, knowing that if he hadn’t learned his lesson, the end of his crib days was near.

MaM’s take on the situtuation was logical, “Mommy, I think he needs a crib with a lid!”

A few days later, I was about 10 ft away from the crib. He was protesting loudly about being in his crib as I helped MaM get dressed for bed. I glanced over, and to quote MaM, “He was standing, then his legs came out and he was on the floor!”

The mattress came out of the crib 5 minutes later.

Jr. is now sleeping on his crib mattress, on the floor.

What’s great is that the room is baby-proofed, and now that the house is ready to sell, the room is clean. All of the toys are now kept in the closet, the dresser is already secured to the wall, the child-safe night light has been on duty since 2005. The habit is to shut all the doors (closet, bathroom and bedroom) is already established.

And Jr. is doing a fantastic job of staying on his bed. I think it’s because he was introduced to sleeping on a cot at daycare, in a group setting. He knows you sleep on the bed. He knows you don’t get up off the bed. It’s working incredibly well.

So sometime soon (we were thinking when we move, but that could be awhile, so maybe sooner) we’ll officially move him to a big-boy bed.

Because that’s what he is. *sigh*