The Great Escape (of the Little Man)

(Queue the background theme music.)

So it’s Friday night and I’m sitting the hotel bar at the Nebula’s having drinks with best-selling fantasy author Michael J. Sullivan when my phone rings. It’s Kelly calling and she usually doesn’t call unless it’s urgent.

“What’s up?” I said.

“Well, the Little Man managed to climb out of his crib. I heard a big crash upstairs, followed by the pattering of footsteps, and then ‘Mommy! Mommy!’ from the top of the steps.”

“Is he hurt?” I asked.

“No, he’s fine, maybe just a little shaken up.”

“Okay, well I’ll be leaving shortly.”

Indeed, the Little Man was just fine, although he did sleep in our bed since we didn’t want him climbing out of his crib again. What amazed me about it was exactly how he did it. I couldn’t imagine it. So on Sunday night, I put him in his crib again (to his great protest) and left his room. After a few moment of screaming, he stopped and I heard some shuffling. So I peaking in and saw that he already had his leg over the railing and was using that as an anchor to pull the rest of his body up. This time I got him before he went over.

So yesterday, Kelly took the Little Man for a walk and I lowered the mattress in his crib to the lowest possible rung. We put him to bed (again to great protests). About 5 minutes later I passed by his room. He’d quieted down but he saw me walk by (“Daddy?” he said softly) and he was just standing in his crib, much lower than usual because of the lowered mattress. I made it into our bedroom before I heard his voice again with a little more anxiety. “Daddy! Daddy!” he said. I turned around to go back to his room, but there was no need for his was standing right behind me. He’d escaped (unharmed) once again.

So it is with great pride (and mild annoyance) that I announce that the Little Man has graduated from the crib. We will be getting him a bed as soon as possible (which is good since his little sister will need the crib). Until we can acquire the bed, he will be sleeping with Kelly and that relegates me to the extra mattress we have on the floor of our bedroom for just such situation.

I thinking about changing is nickname from the Little Man to McQueen. (Lightning, not Steve, of course.)