Behind the Locked Door

Putting Abbie to sleep is simple: I lock her in her room. That may sound like child cruelty, but I prefer to think that leaving her in situations where she can’t, or at least won’t fall asleep is crueler. She’ll bang around for a few minutes, maybe complain for a while, almost certainly pull a few shirts from her dresser, but she eventually gives up, crawls into bed, and falls asleep.

Life was much easier when she was young enough to imprison behind crib bars. The boys are currently at that stage, but they’re only five months away from the age when Abbie discovered how to climb over the railing and fall onto the floor. I’ll be in trouble when that happens and they start working together to bang around the room, empty three dressers simultaneously, and possibly team up to defeat the child door lock in their room.

The whole sleep thing depends on Abbie being locked in her room until she gives up. This weekend I discovered what happens when I try to make Abbie sleep in an unlocked room, and the results weren’t pretty.

We were out of town, and the five of us were crammed into one room for the night. Technically, we had two rooms available counting the bathroom, but we couldn’t make Abbie sleep in there because there was a good chance I’d need the room at some point in the night. Plus instead of sleeping, she’d spend hours gleefully flushing the toilet and experimenting with what will and won’t go down the hole.*

We set the boys in their Pack ‘N Plays, and knew they were good for the night. Mommy and daddy got the nice full-size bed. Abbie got the inflatable Dora bed we bought just for her.

Once the lights went off for the night, Abbie, sensing that we might have spent money on this inflatable bed, refused to use it. Instead, she bounced around the room, literally bouncing on our bed. I would have violated my most sacred parenting principle and let her sleep in our bed with us, but she wouldn’t remain still lest sleep catch her. Several times she opened “The Door with no Lock,” peered outside, listened to us threaten her from our bed, and shut the door. She even ventured outside a few times.

Eventually I wizened up and fashioned a new bed for her out of folded blankets. I got the idea from peeking in her room while she’s sleeping and seeing her in the middle of the room on top of a fortress of blankets, stuffed animals, and books. She looked at her new “bed,” looked at the door, and made another break for the door. After catching her a few times, I lied and laid her in her “bed,” resting next to her until she fell asleep, holding her down when necessary.

She screamed and kicked occasionally. She even wriggled away from me and to the door a couple times. Finally, as if magically instructed to do so by a stuffed animal, she gave up. She stayed still for a few minutes without my threats, and fell asleep.

I rolled out of her “bed,” and into my real bed. She remained in bed and asleep the entire night except for the brief time when she lost a stuffed animal under the folded blankets. Thanks to my perpetual fear that she’d wake up and wander out the door any second throughout the night, I was awake and ready to help her find it in the covers.

She slept in a little that morning, but still lost over an hour of sleep due to her lateness falling asleep. We drove home that morning, and she stayed awake the entire drive. When we arrived home, she was cranky and obviously tired. After lunch, while I was busy cleaning, she slipped into her room without my notice, climbed into bed, and fell asleep. Her door was wide open. At least I know she can do that.

* Thankfully, sippy cups and inflatable balls 4-inches in diameter will not go down the hole.