This past week we have also tried putting Avery down at night with the railing off one side of his crib. We excitedly told him that we were proud of how he is becoming a "big boy" and that big boys don't need to sleep in beds with the side railing.
The first night this occurred, Avery was confused. He pointed to the railing as if we were forgetting something. "No, sweetie. You don't need that. You are a big boy (smile), and big boys don't need the side rail." He pointed to the railing again as if he were saying "No, you are the ones who are confused. We always use the rail. You are forgetting to put on my railing."
Avery is an active and sometimes talkative sleeper. Every since he was an infant, he would do "laps" in his bed while asleep. He is never in same position that we put him down in. Since we predicted that this might be a problem with having the railing off, we bought a cushioned body pillow and placed it at the foot of his bed where the side railing would be removed (the bed sits low to the ground, so landing on the body pillow would just soften his fall on the carpet).
Sure enough, Avery accidentally rolled out of bed (he wasn't hurt, nor did he cry) while sleeping - four nights in a row. However, since Avery is very disoriented when he wakes up naturally, he had a hard time getting back into bed by himself. Luckily, we can hear him across the hall and get up and place him back into bed.
The fifth night, Avery got down on his knees in fetal position and WAILED that we did not remove the railing. He tried to drag it out and put it on himself. I was reminded that no matter how much children fight to test their parents boundaries, they secretly are desperate for them. Avery wanted the protection and security of the railing, which surprised us because we thought he would embrace his newfound independence.
So, we felt sorry for our little guy and decided to put the railing back on for now. We will need some time to think about how to help Avery make the transition, but it was clear to us that perhaps pushing it now, while potty training, wasn't the wisest course.
