Two Big Changes for Camp

Over the last several weeks Camp has decided to make some big changes in his world!

1. Sleeping in a big boy bed.
2. Wearing underwear instead of diapers.

Where did the time go and what happened to giving me time to prepare for these things? With Emma Claire both of these big changes were thought out and well planned out so that we were all prepared for them.I'll try to give you a brief debrief of what happened.

Sleeping in a Big Boy Bed

The day after I found out that we were having a another boy, yes I am a planner, I moved the toddler bed out of the attic and into Camp's room to prepare for the baby. It was not my intention to move Camp into the bed but just to begin preparing the room. However, Camp had other plans......For nap he begged to sleep in his big boy bed instead of the crib. Reluctantly I gave him all the do's and don't of sleeping in a big bed and left him laying there so excited that he was getting to do something new. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations. I expected to have to go into his room after a few minutes, get on to him, and move him to his crib. I just didn't think he was ready.

BUT, after a few minutes of quiet this is what I found!

Can you believe it?! He did so well. I keep wanting these big moments to slow down but Camp keeps telling me that HE is ready. He's not a baby anymore, he's a BIG BOY!

He is still sleeping in his big boy bed and doing great! We do have to be a bit more lenient with him though. With Emma Claire she was NEVER allowed to get out of her bed for any reason. We have always told her it was too dangerous and we would come to her if she needed to go potty or if there were an emergency. With Camp, however, he just doesn't seem to get that. We tried it with him at first and were continually spanking him for getting out of his bed. He wasn't doing anything wrong,  he was just getting a toy or a book to read in his bed and never stayed out of bed more than a minute. We finally came to the realization that every child is different and the way we raise them, in some sense, will be different. Camp is allowed to get out of his bed but only to get a toy or book and then he has to get right back in. We have even let Emma Claire begin to take on a few 'big girl' responsibilities and only get out of her bed when she needs to go potty. She is only allowed to go the the restroom and straight back to her bed. She also has been allowed to have a few quiet times in her room where she is allowed to play with her toys, outside of her bed.

Sleeping in a big boy bed. Check.

Wearing Underwear Instead of Diapers

Camp has always been adamant that he did.not. want to use the potty. If we even tried to sit him on the potty he would start screaming because he was scared of it. We're not sure if he was scared he would fall in or scared of the flush, either way he was NOT having it! Anyway, after some time we were finally able to get him to at least sit on the potty for a second at night before he would get in the bathtub. He would never tinkle, just sit there. But for us, that was a huge accomplishment.

About two weeks ago, on the night of June 14th, Benjamin was getting Camp ready for a bath and sat him on the potty like he always does and to our surprise he went potty! We all screamed and praised him for being such a big boy! After bath Benjamin even pulled out a pair of his underwear that he had gotten in his Easter basket and let him run around in them.

Check out our underwear boy!

We'll from there it was all she wrote. He decided he was done with diapers, d.o.n.e. He has not worn a diaper since except for the pull-ups he wears at night. With Emma Claire we did the 3 day boot camp where we straight to underwear during the day and at night, but this all just happened so fast. We hadn't planned things out yet and didn't have a strategy. But that's okay, each child is different right?!

He is doing so well and hasn't had a single accident the last several days! He has even been wearing his underwear to school during the day and in this time has only had one accident at school. Wow. Mommy just thought he wasn't ready, but boy did he prove me wrong!

We are so proud of you sweet boy! You are doing such a great job with these big changes in your little life, but could you do me a favor and please slow down?? You're growing too fast!

I love you.