It's What's Between The Slats That Counts

When Husband and I found out we would be having a boy, we searched high and low for exactly the right bedding. It was stinkin' hard to find boys' bedding that wasn't covered in some sort of animal or trucks/construction equipment.

Because apparently all little boys need to be inundated with jungle animals that can eat them or heavy machinery that can squash them.

So not wanting our son to have any more issues than we were planning to cause ourselves, we searched high and low for something sans scary characters. (Say that three times fast.)

And we finally found just the right thing.

It has done us well, this polka dot and stripe combo we chose. But now it's time to say goodbye to an integral part of this ensemble.

The bumpers.

Actually, the bumpers "should" have been gone a long time ago. You're supposed to take them off when your kid starts pulling up so they don't use them as fodder for climbing out of the crib.

But we left ours on. Because C is a wild man in his sleep and wiggles nearly as much as when he's awake, he never figured out how to use them a step stool and he snuggles up against them frequently. And on the plus side, they also help keep the paci from falling out of the bed.

But after our puking episode a few weeks ago with the Antibiotic That's Worse Than The Illness (and having to take two of the bumpers off for washing), I've been contemplating removing them altogether.

But it's been a bit trying. C loves to stick his feet between the slats and hang his legs out of the bed. And that's fine. If he gets his legs stuck, that means he can't wiggle and keep himself awake for his afternoon naps.

Oh, I kid. Sort of.

The real problem is that during the night, C loses his paci and sometimes his lovey in between the slats. So he wakes up, can't find his stuff, and starts crying. And I can't expect him to settle down on his own if he doesn't have his stuff.

So that means that I'm back to getting up at least once every night to find a pacifier and/or lovey.

And don't even think about suggesting that we give up the paci and/or blanket. None of us are ready for that yet.

Then today, Husband took the back bumper off because C was playing with it. So the only bumper left is the one at the "head" of the bed. I'll probably end up taking the last one off in a day or so.

I've contemplated getting these, but I'm not sure I want to invest in something we probably shouldn't be using anymore anyway. Except that I don't want to keep getting up to find small things in the dark in a sleep-enduced stupor.

And it might possibly keep C from getting his legs stuck in the middle of the night and losing all blood flow to his feet. Which could be unpleasant for us all.

It makes me sad, this idea of a bumperless crib. It's one step closer to turning that bed into one for a toddler; which means my boy is growing up.

He's not a baby anymore.