Mean Mommy

My mother-in-law thinks I'm a mean mommy. We decided it was time to move Jack out of his crib this weekend and into his new "big boy" bed. We have been trying for weeks to convince him that he is a big boy, and that big boys sleep in "big boy beds." His response -- "Mama, I'm a baby. I sleep in there" (as he points to his crib).

So on Sunday, while he was busy playing, I had Scott take the mattress out his crib and hide it in the basement. When it was time for bed that night, I told Jack he had to sleep in the new big boy bed because his old bed was broke. He, of course, didn't believe me and ran into the nursery to check out the crib. He wanted in the crib, so I picked him up and set him in on the bare springs, and said, "See it's broken. You can't sleep in there or you'll fall through."

Jack didn't like that one bit. He began to wail. He was absolutely heartbroken. He kept sobbing, "My bed broken." I felt terrible. He calmed down after a few minutes, and was resigned to sleep in his new bed. So, he grabbed a few of his favorite bed-time toys from his old room, and went into his new room. We tucked him in, and he slept all night.

The second night was must easier. He went into his old room to see if his bed was fixed, but just shrugged and said, "my bed still broken," and climbed into his new bed. He is, however, convinced that a monster lives in his new room. He doesn't seem too afraid of it, but he tells me each night when I turn out the light that there's a monster over there (as he points to the corner). I told him that when he see the monster, just to tell it to go away. He seems okay with that for the moment.

Needless to say, my mother-in-law thought it was terrible that we tricked Jack into sleeping in his new room. Guess I'm just not as patient as she is. Jack's so stubborn he'd probably have slept in his crib until his legs hung out the ends.