Week 21: Sleep Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope

Yep, that's right, a Big Boy Bed! Or, as Jonah calls it - "my cool bed!"

This past week we had a big delivery - a twin bed and mattress for Jonah. We went to look at beds a couple of weeks ago and, ironically, Jonah slept through it. However, we got an idea of what was available and what we liked. We also got the measurements of the various options so we could find the bed that fit his space best. We went back last week to let him look and to place our order. This past Wednesday, it arrived. (We also received a couple of these fab foam triangles that fit under the sheets on either side - they form the valley he is sitting in - so far no tumbles from the bed and his is a really restless sleeper.)

After many different attempts at getting Jonah to sleep through the night in his crib, all of which failed, we decided to throw caution to the wind and make the big step into a bed. Jonah only climbed out of his crib one time; he was absolutely terrified that night and it sounded more like he jumped out of the crib than climbed out. So, we didn't face the situation that most parents seem to face of getting rid of the crib to prevent an injury. Rather, this truly was a last ditch effort to get everyone in the apartment some rest.

Kristi brought Jonah home from school Wednesday night (I had stayed home to tear down the crib and accept the delivery) and talked up a big surprise when he got home. He walked in the door and went straight for his train set. . . we had to coax him back to his room to see the new digs. He got pretty excited when he saw the bed and quickly climbed in. One of Kristi's colleagues with children advised her that we should not get in the bed with him - that was his space and we shouldn't set the precedent of mom and dad being in that space. We decided to heed the advice.

That night, Kristi knelt beside the bed and read a couple of books with him, turned on some music and the nightlight and left the room. He never made a peep and didn't stir until the next morning! It hasn't been quite that easy getting him down again, but he has slept through the night every night since we got the bed. Hallelujah! Now that I've written this post, I'm sure I've jinxed it - but here's hoping this trend continues and we've solved the sleep issue. For now at least. . .

Photo - this is my 24mm at f/11. There is a strobe in a 4x3' softbox camera left, up a bit higher than the bed dialed down to f/4 for fill. The key is a strobe with the wonderful Profoto Zoom reflector zoomed in on Jonah and the top half of the bed. So - a soft fill with a hard key. I kind of like that combo. I like the crisp light on him for the environmental portrait. That light is at f/11.

Regarding the title - yes, I am a big nerd.