Up until now, we've considered ourselves pretty lucky. We've dodged most of the "throw it away immediately or your child will die from Chinese lead poisoning" recalls that have dominated the headlines recently. Well - we didn't dodge the latest recall. As a matter of fact, it has turned our peaceful little existence completely upside-down. Ahhhh!
A few days ago, we saw on the news that Megan's crib was being recalled. (If you own a Jardine crib, please check their website at http://www.jardinecribrecall.com/ to see if your particular model is being recalled.) I contacted Jardine and they told me they would mail me a voucher to purchase a new crib. This voucher would arrive in 4-6 weeks, but I was instructed to stop using the crib immediately. OK, where does she sleep in the meantime?? They couldn't really help me with that. Huh?
Then I came up with a plan I was actually excited about.......I could buy a new crib for Baby #2 in a dark wood (I was secretly sick of the look of Megan's crib) AND get to shop for new bedding for Megan's new big girl bed. (Formerly known as our "guest bed"). There is something about a shopping trip that makes all reason go out the window! What in the world was I thinking???? I had at least another good year of "confinement" before Megan was too old for a crib. I gave up that sweet confinement for a trip to Pottery Barn Kids and some over-priced polka dotted sheets. The high I got from finding these sheets (which happen to be the cutest sheet in the whole wide world) quickly wore off as the reality of my new "post-confinement" existence set it.
Basically, Megan's old routine of quietly lulling herself to sleep is OVER. I thought she would fall asleep in her bed the same as she did in her crib . . . no whining, no fussing . . . just blissful sleep. Yeah right! I must have been in Pottery Barn Kids induced lah-lah land. She now stays in her bed for about 30 seconds.
Last night, every time she got out of bed I put her in time-out, then promptly returned her to her bed. I was doing this OVER and OVER (thinking she would eventually get the point) until John came out of his office, fresh with information from the internet. "Stop what you are doing!" he exclaimed. "The internet says you're going to make her afraid of her new bed. It says you should lay down with her until she gets used to her own bed." Well, if the internet says it, it must be true. ha, ha. Lacking any other plan that was working, I changed into my pjs and crawled into bed with Maggie Moo.
In the morning, I called John's mom for advice. She told me to quietly return Megan to her bed when she gets up, OVER and OVER, as often as needed as she would eventually get the picture. Minus the timeout, that was my original plan.
John and I decided we would do this in shifts . . . he would do the "returning" the first 30 minutes, I would take the second thirty minutes, etc. to prevent frustration. Well, I'd love to tell you it worked like a charm but IT DIDN'T. We weren't up to the challenge. John handled his time like a trooper, but five minutes into my shift I yelled, "John, check the internet and see what Super Nanny says to do!" I ended up rubbing Megan's arm, then sitting in her chair until she fell asleep. At least I wasn't in her bed......progress!
I've also decided she can keep her binky until she goes to college, for all I care. Once she is sleeping again, I'm not messing with the status quo EVER AGAIN!
STUPID RECALL!!!!!!!
