Born to Fly: On the Death of the Cribs

The inevitable happened. The boys flew the coop. Well, to be accurate, Cal flew his coop, and Clark became curious about flying his own coop. I was advised by several wise people to not take the boys out of their cribs into big boy beds until they started climbing out. The other day I heard laughing, jumping, the typical pre-nap squeals, and then a loud BAM! followed by screams. I went into their bedroom to find Cal in the middle of the room in a heap, probably a good four feet from his bed. I’m glad I wasn't there to see the acrobatics that must have taken place for him to have catapulted himself so far across the room. After comforting the sobbing, shaking gymnast for a few minutes I placed him back in his crib with a warning to both boys of future crib-jumping that could result in similar pain. I left the room with a brief sweeping sense of sadness that my boys are growing up, and texted Brian that we need to figure out the bunkbed situation soon. Some friends bestowed on us some old bunkbeds from when their boys were younger and they have been stored at Brian’s parents’ house for a few months.

Cal cheers Clark on in his climbing practice

It has been around a week since the jumping-out, and we are sneaking by on the fear that the experience apparently elicited in both boys. No one has flown the coop since then. I do not look forward to them being able to walk around the room and even out of the room during naptime and bedtime. I can’t imagine them ever falling asleep that way. They also started to enjoy climbing up the sides of the cribs from the outside. They discovered that the same day, and wouldn't stop giggling about it. Really the only exciting part about this is that I get to figure out new bedding and perhaps a new general theme of the room. So far I've got nothing and the only bedding I like is super expensive and and I don't love it, I only like it. I want to love it.

Speaking of escaping, Clark has also recently learned how to unlock the deadbolt on our front door and open it. So that’s great. We tried a sticky strap-y thing from Home Depot, but it didn’t work well. Because of the rounded corners on our door frame and the fact that the door is metal, Brian couldn't find any little latches that looked like they would work so he rigged something up with a dowel that is doing the trick for now. I put it up if I am in the back of the house and they are in the front. We also are using a dowel on the sliding glass door. Hopefully soon the boogers will not leave the house simply because they know they are not supposed to. 

The dowel that keeps the boys from flying down the stairs and outside

So as we are trying to get the bed situation figured out we are also coming to grips with not having cages to put the boys in anymore. The cribs have served us well as little cool-off stations during tantrums in addition to sleeping traps. I always knew this would happen. They are finding their wings. Next thing I know they will be driving and growing beards, I suppose.