Losing my mind over here. C has been hating on the crib for months now, and since the new baby needs it in a few months anyway, we decided to give in and let her sleep in the big bed a little over a week ago. She loves the big bed. Loves it. First couple of nights she got out of bed a couple of times, but after we put her back she went to sleep- like got up 3 times each night.

And then, something shifted and it became a game where I would do our whole bedtime routine, say goodnight, and before I even shut the door she is climbing out. The door to her room doesn't latch properly (DH was supposed to fix it this weekend...) so she climbs out and comes into the hall, then laughs and runs back to her room when I come. I put her back in bed, remind her she has to stay in bed, say good night, and she gets out again.

Finally, the last few nights I have told her if she can't act like a big girl and stay in bed, it's ok and she can just sleep in the crib again. Give her one last chance. She gets out. I put her in the crib, she stands and screams a while. I go in and tell her she can have one more chance, put her back in bed, and she stays and falls asleep. This whole process takes quite a while.

I've talked about how she is a big girl and big girls need to stay in bed until morning. I've offered bribes of special treats, a la Mrs. Oatmeal. I've tried laying in the bed with her longer. Shorter. Short naps. Skipped naps. Long naps. She still just keeps hopping right out of bed.

She actually is sleeping better overnight and later in the morning, it's just bedtime is the worst! Short of standing at her door holding the knob, and tricks to get her to just stay in the bed? I have zero patience by the end of the day and we have both ended up in tears more than once this week.

Eta: we have both the crib and bed in her room since it used to be a guest room. The crib will stay since the new baby will be in it in a few months. She still naps in the crib with no problem, which is weird but if she's napping in happy.