Friday night, after the side of the crib fell off for the three-hundred-millionth time, we decided it might be time to leave it off. We reasoned that being in a crib without walls would help adjust Simon to the concept of sleeping in a real bed and move him closer to sleeping in his new loft bed.

We should mention that the side of this particular crib is not supposed to come off. Simon has spent a lot of time jumping in the crib in the past two years which has caused either the metal springs or the wood to bow leaving the side too narrow to connect properly with the ends.

So Friday night we read Simon some stories, sang him a song, and placed him in the crib without walls. A few minutes later, Simon was in our room. We put him back. A few seconds later, Simon was in our room. We sat with him while he relaxed. We left. A few seconds later he was in our room. This cycle continued for a very long very maddening two hours. During the third hour we decided to replace the side of the crib. Simon was in our room in a matter of minutes only this time he brought the broom from the kitchen. We realized, in horror, that we had enticed our very own sweet child to crawl out of the crib - something he had never before attempted. During the fourth hour Matthew put Simon on the loft bed and attempted to sleep with him. During the seventh hour, Hava went to sleep on the loft bed with Simon where they remained until morning.

Nap time on Saturday just didn't happen. We tried to drive him to sleep, rock him to sleep, and run him ragged but he was over tired and there was no way he was going to sleep in his room alone (although we did spend the majority of the afternoon trying).

By Saturday evening we felt like complete parental failures so we came up with a plan. Because we assumed part of the problem was that he was scared to be alone in the dark in a new place we made a couple of purchases. First, we purchased a "TV" (according to Simon) which has three channels: slow music, slow lights and slow music, or slow lights and slow music and plastic fish swimming around very very slowly. We also bought him his very own Disney princess tap light (just what every boy needs). We devised a plan to put a child gate in his doorway so he couldn't escape, turn on the night light, show him how to work the aquarium and let him work things out for himself in the three-sided crib.

The plan failed.

A few minutes after we put Simon down for the night he was in our room laughing hysterically. We put him back behind the gate and watched as he hopped right over the side. Baby gates don't work for tall toddlers. After hours of attempting to get Simon to stay in his room he finally passed out in the crib. A few hours later he rolled onto the floor and woke us with his cries. Hava decided to "sleep" next to him on the floor but he refused to be placed back on the mattress. Eventually Simon fell back asleep and Hava left the room. Simon woke up an hour later. Hava again tried to sleep with him on the floor. Once he fell asleep, she left. A few hours later Simon woke up scared and crying (and the night light was off) so Hava went back in and placed him on the crib mattress. She watched and pushed him back for an hour as he moved closer and closer to the edge. Finally, Simon fell from the mattress on to his Hava (below). They spent the rest of the night in the loft bed together where Simon proved that not only does he fall from the edge of beds but he also stands up and sits down and falls over in his sleep making the loft bed a great place to play but a dangerous place to rest alone.

Sunday afternoon we came up with a new plan. Matthew reversed the locking door knob on Simon's door, Simon helped to take apart his crib and carry it into the "junk room" and Simon helped put his mattress, blankets, stuffed animals, pillows, and "TV" under the loft bed in the tented fort. Although it felt bad, we locked him in his room for two hours at nap time. He was pretty good humored about the whole thing and yelled things at us under the door to entice us to let him out. Unfortunately, he removed his diaper during this time and when we heard "uh oh!" we are now certain that he urinated somewhere on the carpet. After two hours we took him to the park and let him run, run, run until dinner. He nearly passed out while eating mac and cheese at a restaurant but still wouldn't fall asleep in the car on the journey home.

Last night was rough but not nearly as bad as we expected. Simon cried for five minutes a few times during the night. We went in two or three times to check on him and try to get him to relax and cover himself with a blanket. He did eventually sleep under the tent with his head on his pillow. And this afternoon? After checking the door once to make sure it was locked and he couldn't escape, he napped.