And So It Begins

This past week has been traumatic for me.  Weston started going to child care on Monday, which is stressful enough as it is, but almost immediately following his first day there, he's developed MAJOR sleeping issues at night.  Major as in: crying for about 45 minutes before falling asleep (before he would just lay his head down on the pillow and go to sleep); waking up multiple times throughout the night crying hysterically; Friday he woke up at 2am and would not go back to sleep until 5am (and Friday was picture day at work for me and I looked like a crazy woman); and then for his most recent act of craziness...

HE CLIMBED OUT (or tumbled out) OF HIS CRIB LAST NIGHT.

He will be 16 months old in about 4 days.

Yes, his mattress is as low as it will go.

No, there isn't anything in the crib that he could get a leg up on.

Here's how it happened...He woke up sometime again around 2am last night, (after waking up at midnight) and I went in after letting him cry for about 10 minutes.  He clamored to be picked up, but I laid down on the floor and told him that it was time to sleep.  That didn't work as well as I was hoping, but he did calm down a bit.  As I got up to leave the room, he got really upset, but I left anyway, and walked back to our room to the sounds of him screaming.  I laid down on our bed, and no sooner than I started to tell Nate what went on above the intensifying screams of Weston, did I hear his little hands jiggling the door knob to his room.  Oh my God, he got out of the crib!  Leaping up out of bed, I went flying down the hallway, opened the door, and scooped him up.  He immediately stopped crying and showed no signs of any injury.

I have no idea how he got out--did he fall or did he climb down?  I didn't hear any thump.

Crib tents have been recalled, so perhaps it's time to switch to a toddler bed.  But he's so young!  I don't know how a bed is going to make this situation any easier.  At least if he wants to get out, the mattress is 10 inches from the floor instead of four feet.

Thankfully, I am married to a fine designer who happens to work for a company called BaserMatter.  Nate spent this afternoon designing a toddler bed for Weston (complete with his name laser cut on it!) and is now at the studio cutting it out on the CNC mill.  Hopefully, Weston will have a custom-made toddler bed to sleep in by tonight.

I'm not entirely sure what to do here.  I think perhaps pushing his bedtime earlier will help him sleep more soundly through the night.  He currently goes to bed between 6:30 and 7, but with all the changes that are going on, I think he's getting really tired.  He's napping while at child care, but I don't think it's been long enough.

Anyone else have experience with kids climbing out of their cribs or changes in sleep patterns after starting child care?

As promised...BaserMatter delivers before bedtime!!