No Delusions

A few days ago I noticed the plastic attachment piece on Jacob's crib was cracking. Note to self, order replacement part. Days later, it had gotten lots worse. No doubt because he's a wild man in the crib. Jumps up and down like a crazy person. He thinks it's his own private trampoline and grins ear to ear as he jumps and tries to climb out the side. Noticing it was about to crack through pushed me to sit down and search online for the part. What do I find out instead? The crib was recalled. Like three years ago and the company also went out of business. Since we got it at a garage sale in Houston, I had no receipt to return it to any store so we're sunk. With no real solution in sight I just let it slide, but honestly had a hard time sleeping. If the plastic piece broke clean through, he could get his head trapped and be strangled. Yesterday I decided to figure out how to screw it together permanently so it wouldn't slide up and down but at least would be safe. On a wing and a prayer I grabbed the conversion piece and made it into a toddler bed. He went nuts about the idea from the start. While I was trying to secure it all back together with my hands I was trying to keep him off the bed with the rest of my body. It was so distracting. Finally I let him on the bed. Kerplunk. With all his persistence to get on the bed, one part had slipped when I turned my head and I missed securing the mattress support on one side. Ugh. Back off the bed he went and after I fixed it, he jumped, giggled and ran side to side for fifteen minutes. He kept climbing on the bed and off the bed and on the bed and off the bed just because he could. Then Ben and Maddie came in and played with him on the bed for almost an hour! It's the new playground in our house...which is good because we now are finding Jakey on Ben's bunkbed. He's learned how to climb the rock wall. Yikes. Have to keep that door closed now. Yeah. It's true that he is only 18 months old. I know. I'm nuts. He's "free" now. To be honest, Brian and I don't think it will work at all. He's just a tad too young to understand the command "stay in bed" like the big kids. But last night it worked. He came out a couple times and there are toys in his bed this morning. But he slept there. Time will tell, but I'm under no delusion that this is a permanent solution for the short guy I affectionately call "my little monster."