We Have a Problem

And his name is Brandon.  It's not so much that he's the problem as it is that his sleeping habits are the problem.  Don't get me wrong, he is a total heathen, but that's actually not what this post is about (yet).  

I mentioned recently that we took the front off of his crib, and that initially he did great in a big boy bed, but that it quickly turned into him coming to get in our bed.  Every. Single. Night.  And I mentioned that at first I was just letting him sleep with us because he cuddled up so nicely.  But then I got over it.  I got over rolling over to stinky breath in my face, and little feet shoved in my stomach or back.  I got over having to constantly find the tag, the only part of his blankie he wants.  I got over having to hold on to the corner of the bed for dear life because he had cuddled up so cozily that I couldn't even roll over without squishing him.  It was time to put an end to this.  At first we tried putting the front back on the crib...Unsuccessful.  Somehow or other the child figured out how to swing his little bitty short Hill family leg over the side of the crib and climb out. Next we tried putting his mattress flat on the floor like my sister had to do with my niece.  Again, unsuccessful...The child figured out how to slide the mattress over and crawl out from under the bed rails (heathen, I tell you!).  And finally, after crying and fighting and screaming (mostly Brandon but a little of me too!), I decided to buckle down and return him to his crib every time he got out.  We did decide to leave the front of the crib off; getting up multiple times sure beats running the risk of him falling out of his bed while trying to climb over the top.  I was willing to lose *some* sleep to avoid that.  This is how it went: 

Night One (my shift)-First up at 2:50, promptly returned to bed.  Up 4 or 5 more times over the course of the next 1.5 hours.  Returned to bed every time, and only had to suffer one quick swat on the rear.

Night Two (Ben's shift)-The child slept in his bed All. Night. Long.  Go figure.

Night Three (my shift)-Up at 5:30, allowed to stay in my bed since it was time to get up anyway.

Night Four (Ben's shift)-Up once but put back to bed.  Up again after Daddy left for work...Allowed to stay.

Night Five (last night, my shift)-Up around 3:00, returned to bed.  Told to stay in bed.  He whined saying he wanted to sleep with Russell.  Told no, that he had to stay in his bed. 

So I wake up this morning and go to get Russell out of his bed...This is what I find...

And when Brandon wakes up he comes running to my room and proudly proclaims "I feep Ruffel bed!"  Those were the words he spoke, but I swear I actually heard "I'll do what I want no matter what you say". (He's a heathen I tell you!  Heathen!)  But as Ben so eloquently put it, "He's not waking us up anymore, so I don't give a crap if he bothers "Ruffel""! :-)