Yup, that's my baby, all excited about her new big girl bed.
Hubs and I went back and forth for a while about whether or not to convert the crib she never used into a toddler bed. For the past 28+ months she's slept in bed with Mommy and Daddy so realistically we're probably not going to be using the crib for baby W but we felt like maybe we should keep the crib as such just in case. So that left us with deciding whether to buy a toddler bed or a twin. Finally we decided a twin would make more sense because it will last longer. Then I remembered my mom proposing a deal several months ago to trade my sister's (who will be 16 next month) twin bed for the full size bed (Hubs' old bed) that's in our "guest" room. We would be better off not spending money if we don't have to, plus, it'd be helping my sister finally get a bigger bed, so I called my mom to see if the offer still stood and she said "Yes!". Yay!
Last week we picked up the goods and Hubs and I set up the new bed right away. Auria was so excited and we told her we'd go pick out some bedding as soon as we could. She wanted to nap in her big girl bed so I grabbed some blankets to throw on the bed and she snuggled right up (see above picture). She doesn't usually move much during nap time so I wasn't worried about her wiggling out of bed but I moved the monitor into the room just in case. Nap time in big girl bed = impromptu success!
We went out later to pick out bedding and we found the two great options at Meijer - Hello Kitty & Minnie Mouse. Hubs and I really liked the Hello Kitty set but my girl knew what she wanted right away, and despite her Daddy's best attempts to sway her opinion, she insisted on Minnie Mouse! The point of paying the outrageous cost for the tiny comforter and sheets is to encourage her to want to sleep in her big girl bed so I finally convinced Hubs that it was best to let her choose the one she wanted, haha! After thinking about it I decided I prefer this set anyway because the comforter is reversible so maybe that will extend it's life and I can pretend we're getting a little more for our money ;)
We weren't able to get home and get everything washed before bedtime but thankfully she wasn't too disappointed. I wasn't sure if she'd be interested in trying out the big girl bed (let's start calling it the BGB because that's less typing) for bedtime but we asked and she excitedly said "YES!". I figured since it's a major transition just being outside of Mommy & Daddy's room that I should plan to sleep with her so that's what we did. She fell asleep quickly and didn't wake at all through the night. My back was killing me the next morning though so I knew we'd have to see how she fared solo the next night.
We got the new bedding on the bed before nap time and she was super excited to nap in her new, adorable BGB.
That night, we got her settled in her new bed and I told her I'd come back and check on her in a few minutes. I immediately went into our bedroom and watched the monitor like a hawk to see what would happen. To my surprise, she quickly fell asleep without a peep.
Hubs and I took bets on when she'd wake up - he bet on 1:30am, I said 12:30. I "won", although it's not much of a victory when you're the one waking up in the middle of the night. Ok, maybe I would have been up to pee anyway but that's not the point. Anyway, I went in and laid down with her and she went right back to sleep. A few minutes later I snuck back to my bed but then she woke again around 2:30 so I stayed that time just so I wouldn't have to get up again before my alarm went off to get up for work. All in all I was still impressed that the night went so well!
Well, my friends, the part where Mommy gets emotional came with last nights experience. We did our usual bedtime routine and then when it was time for bed we asked if she wanted to sleep with Mommy & Daddy or in her BGB and she enthusistically chose her bed (yay!). She hopped down from our bed and told Daddy she wanted him to read her a story and the emotions began. Emotional moment #1: She kissed me goodnight and said "I love you, Mommy!" and closed the door behind her. She didn't need Mommy to tuck her in :(
Hubs read her a story (while I watched via the monitor, of course) & tucked her in. When he came in our bedroom we wondered how long until she fell asleep. Again, it didn't take long before she was out. As we were getting ready to go to sleep I told him if she woke up I would just bring her back in bed because my back couldn't handle another night in her bed. He agreed that was a fine plan because the alternative would be him having to try and squeeze his giant self into her tiny little bed, haha. A few hours later I heard a call for Mommy over the monitor so I jumped up and headed into her room. As soon as she saw me she laid her head back down and fell asleep. I sat there for a minute and then headed back to bed, expecting another call a couple of hours later. Next thing I knew, Hubs' alarm clock was going off! I hurried to check the monitor in disbelief... did we really make it through night 3 with just one mile waking? Yes, we did! Emotional moment #2: How is this so easy? Why is my baby girl so big? Am I ready for this?
I know I should just be thrilled that this process has been so smooth. It will really be best for everyone when the baby arrives if A is in her BGB in her own room. It will be less crowded in bed, she won't be interupted when the baby wakes frequently through the night, etc. but the Mommy in me that's slept snuggled up with that girl since the day we brought her home is a little weepy. I'm sure it's also partly because these are our last few weeks with her being my only child and although her independence is good, it's hard for me to let go. (I know, I can't even think about the years to come...)
I'm so proud of my sweet, big, independent girl! We'll see if she continues to do so well, although I must admit, if we have a "relapse" and she ends up back in bed with us tonigh, I won't be sad about it one bit.
Oh, and today I'm 35 weeks! AH! We have an appointment with the midwife tonight so I'm excited to talk about what else we need to finish up to prepare for this birth!! :)
