Just a bowl of soup . . . that's all I ask.

The bub reached a milestone while we were at Grammy and Papa's house. As I was out doing some errands, my mom was cooking and my dad was working. The bub was upstairs napping. All of sudden, my mom hears some commotion, and surprise! it's the bub heading down the stairs. The sound of his feet on the stairs confirmed that the event my husband and I had feared for months--ever since he climbed out of his crib in June (and no, it can't be lowered any more, thanks for asking)-- had finally come to pass: the bub climbed out of his pack 'n play. And while we were proud of his flexibility and fearlessness, we were afraid of what would be next. We were fine for the rest of our visit at Grammy and Papa's. He slept one night in their crib (which he can't yet escape) and an additional night in the pack 'n play during which he chose to stay put. When he awoke the next morning, I rushed in to try to keep him from climbing out again, only to practically trip on him as he rushed downstairs to start playing.

When we arrived home on Sunday, I put the hubby in charge of bubby's bedtime. The bub settled in for a long night's rest in the pack 'n play, no problem. But last night, it was my turn. Here's a brief timeline of the evening:

7:00 -- Mommy and bubby head upstairs to get an early start on the bedtime routine. We spend twenty minutes reading books, saying prayers, and giving kisses. I leave him in the pack 'n play with a "night night."

7:20 -- Bubs climbs out of the pack 'n play the first time. I put him back in and lie down on the floor next to it. I stay for about fifteen minutes, and try to remain positive. I say to myself, "I'm getting a mini nap now, so I can stay up past my 10:30 bedtime. This is nice." I count silently from 1-100 multiple times to keep myself from really falling asleep. He seems to be asleep, so I begin creeping out of the room (I think of myself as a cheetah when I do this, but I don't actually know if cheetahs are quiet and stealthy or not).

7:22 -- The bub climbs out of the pack 'n play again. I follow him downstairs where he does the unheard of and voluntarily lies on the couch in diaper-changing position. I think to myself, "Oh, he must have a poopy diaper. Good thing I'm finding that out now. No wonder he doesn't want to sleep. Though, hmm, I didn't think I smelled anything." I had not smelled anything because there was nothing there. I changed his bone dry diaper because I am wasteful like that.

7:30 or so -- We head back upstairs. I spend another 15 minutes lying on the floor next to the the pack 'n play. I am pretty sure that he is asleep and I am REALLY HUNGRY so I try to make like a cheetah and sneak away. The bub seems settled in the p 'n p this time. I head downstairs and heat up some vegetable soup. I turn on the TV and start my DVR recording of DWTS. Tom Bergeron has not even said "LIIVVEE!" yet, and I hear the bub running above me. Before my soup is even cool enough to sample, the bub is heading downstairs toward me.

7:50 -- New plan put into place. I will use tactic I've seen on Supernanny. Each time bub climbs out of p'n p, I will put him back in. The first time I give him a kiss and a "night night." After that, I am supposed to just say nothing and put him back in bed. After five or so rounds, I determine the bub is enjoying this game. I realize I should stick with this tactic longer, but remember, I am HUNGRY.

8:00 -- New plan: tough love. I clear the glider out of the room, cover the outlets (everything else semi-dangerous is already out of there), and place a baby gate in front of the open door. I place a blanket on the floor. If the bub climbs out of the p 'n p again, he will just have to figure something out. He can sleep on the floor or on his toddler bed (purchased about a month ago because we knew its day was near).

8:00 - 8:20 -- I sit on my bed and eat my vegetable soup while listening to the bub whine and cry. He has exited the p 'n p once more and is standing at the gate, trying to determine how to scale it. I try not to feel sorry for myself that I am eating soup on my bed while my bub cries. I try not to feel pissed at my husband, who is eating steak at a work dinner.

8:22 -- I start to worry that the bub will try to climb pack into the p 'n p and will hurt himself in the process. I enter his room, and he grabs my hand and leads me to the p 'n p. I say, "Okay, honey, you want to sleep in your baby bed? Okay? But you have to stay in it, okay?" I kid myself that now he will appreciate the p 'n p, stay in it, and allow me to have a second bowl of soup and watch DWTS.

8:30 -- Bub climbs pack out of the p 'n p. I explain to him that mommy is really HUNGRY. I don't mention DWTS because he's not familiar with the program.

8:35 -- It's time. I take the p 'n p apart. I show the bub his choices: the toddler bed and the floor. I kiss him night night for the eightieth time that evening. I leave.

Long story short. He cries. He whines. I go into his room a few more times and pat his back while he lies on the toddler bed. He spends many minutes at the gate, pleading for an exit. "Mom. Mom. Mom." Eventually, he falls asleep at around 9:00. I eat more soup. I am nice to my husband when he arrives home from his dinner. He has promised to take bedtime tonight. This afternoon, I reassembled the pack 'n play for his nap, experienced a shortened (five minute) version of last night's events, and then disassembled the p 'n p for good. He was asleep in his toddler bed within ten minutes. NTB. We'll see if the worst is behind us or not. Here's hoping.