Big Girl Bed

It was a big night here Tuesday night.  Someone spent her very first night in her big girl bed!!

Skip and I have been talking about it for awhile and as much as I would have liked to keep Little M in her crib until it is time for college, I knew it was something we should do before New Baby comes.  I really have been dreading the whole thing though.  Besides the fact that this is a big step for my little baby, I was also not looking forward to all the changes it would bring.  You see, Little M is a freakishly good sleeper.  I try not to mention it too much for fear of jinxing it!  But we put her down to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 every night.  She goes down without a fuss, and even if she doesn't fall asleep right away, she'll play quietly in her crib.  She then sleeps until between 8:30 and 10:00 am.  She also naps really well now.  We put her down at 2:00 and she naps until 4:00 or 5:00.  And I'll be honest...I did NOT want to give these things up!  I was prepared for her to fuss and constant get out of bed and I was just not ready yet.  But we felt it was the best thing for her, so I was just going to suck it up!

So Tuesday afternoon we converted her crib to a toddler bed.  I picked up a special 'Cars' blanket for her at Kmart and some new pj's.  We thought it might help with the transition a little bit.  We figured we would start with bedtime in the new bed, instead of naptime, since she is much more tired at night.  Both Skip and I went through her regular routine with her and tucked her into bed.  We sat next to her and said prayers, sang songs, kissed her goodnight, and walked out.  We closed the door all the way behind us, as we always do, and knew that even if she got out of bed she would have to stay in her room, but would be safe in there.

We headed downstairs and immediately put on the video monitor to stalk keep an eye on her.  And you know what...she did great!  She was awake until almost 10 pm, but she didn't get out of bed once.  Wahoo!!  I was so happy and relieved.

Little M did great her first night.  She did wake up early the next day, around 7:30, but stayed in her new bed all night.  She also napped for two hours yesterday in it without a fuss!  She did have a little problem last night...a few tears around 9...but I sat in her room with her for about 1/2 hour and then she was fine. She slept until 9:00 this morning.  Wahoo!!  I'm sure we'll still have some bedtimes or naptimes that are difficult, but overall Little M seems to have adjusted pretty well to the new bed.  Now if you'll excuse me I'll be crying in the corner that my tiny first born sleeps in a bed now! {sniff, sniff}