Bella is in her toddler bed and she takes advantage (way to often) of the fact that she can get out whenever she wants. I am used to Simon and Nolan (and Bella when she was in a crib) taking 2-3 hour naps every day. Needless to say, I am entirely sick of her getting out of bed. She maybe takes a 30-45 min. nap now. For my sanity, that had to be fixed.
I was talking to my mom the other day, expressing my frustration, and I jokingly told her that I was so close to tying her door shut so that she can't get out. I never mentioned my idea to anyone else. I was a little hesitant to do that. If something were to happen, I didn't want to have to deal with untying a rope.
Last Sunday, we were all sick, and we all stayed home from church. Everyone needed a nap and Ben and I were all to aware of the fact that Bella wouldn't be taking a very good one. I was putting Bella in bed and Ben walked upstairs with a rope in his hands, ready to tie her door shut. To ease my concerns about an emergency we put a knife close by so we could just cut the rope. We had the best nap. . .a whole three hours! . . .and then I looked in Bella's room. . .
She had gotten out of her bed, and realized that she couldn't open her door, so she looked for other ways of entertaining herself. She pulled out every single toy and every item of clothing she owns. It was a mess. Not the greatest idea, but totally worth it.
I have since come across another idea. Ben is going to turn the door knobs around so that we can just lock her in from the outside. You just have to turn the knob to unlock it, so I think I will be a little more comfortable with that, I have resigned myself to the fact that her room will look like a bomb hit. . .and I'll get my two hours of quiet!! Problem solved.
10 comments:
Tessa, Brilliant idea about switching the doorknobs, but have you considered buying some of those doorknob covers that are child-proof? I can barely open those! Glad to hear you are doing well. I love reading your blog!-Melissa
looks like fun swimming in the pool. my kids were never good nappers..i understand your frustration.
Oh, that sweet, naughty girl. I sure miss you guys. I am so glad you have found such a great family to do things with and help you feel more comfortable and at-home. Love you!
Well, I have to say that I'm really glad that I'm not the only one who's tied a kid's door closed!We've been driven to that point as well. Bedtime's have gotten better (although McKenzie was three before she figured it out for naps, so they just went away), but we have a lock on the outside of our laundry room for time-outs. Turning the knob around works great! Good luck with her! Your kids are adorable and we love hearing about your new area out there. :)
My mom has some of those doorknob covers. . .and she can open those too! Dang kid.
We did this same thing with Alex. And to avoid the bomb scenerio, I just left our a few of his toys and locked the rest away in a cabinet in his closet. Good luck with this. Hopefully, she will eventually just want to sleep the whole time.
my doors have a pin lock and you can actually put the pin on the other side, I have considered it... but kyler still naps when he is told, and honestly, mu girls don't nap on sundays but i do, I just threaten them and tell them to be quiet or they will be locked in their room, they usually blow up the house or basement, but it is so worth it for a good nap. I just noticed at my mom's house there are locks on the outside of the doors and I never really thought about how that could look bad but oh well, desperate times call for desperate measures :)
That is so hard that you were all sick. Totally understand the nap thing. Brooklynn has always been a great napper and Cameron is not the best. I just need my 2-3 hours of "my time". Great idea for switching the doorknobs. In our house the kids rooms didn't come with locks. Glad you guys are having a good time. Miss talking to you.
We go through the nap battle daily, but I agree that naptime is so important and needed! We've taken to locking the door, too, if Sydney won't stay in her room and have had huge messes waiting for us.
HA! I love it! I have an all too similar picture from when I was there and she woke up early from her nap and I ran in to see EVERY ITEM of clothing all over the floor! Hee hee!
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