Big Girl Bed

Her first look at her converted bed.

She was happy with it!

So we made the switch to the toddler bed at the beginning of November, a little bit earlier than I thought I was ready for. When we bought Emery's crib, we got one that would be able to convert to a toddler bed in order to save some money. The reason we went ahead and made the switch was because of a lack of room. We moved the glider into another room so that there would be more room for her toys in her room. So that meant I no longer had a place to sit with her and read to her (other than on the floor, which I did for a couple of weeks). When she first saw the converted bed, she was excited to be able to run and get in on her own. The first night went well, and she went to bed without any issues. The next night, though, she came out once or twice before she went to sleep. I thought that I had solved that issue by closing her door until we went to bed, but as of last week, she has figured out how to open her door. At that point I realized that I was just trying to be in control, and she's growing more everyday, which means that I'm becoming less in control of her. Still, she's done pretty well since then, and has been going down more easily and with very few incidents.

I was surprised by one of the best things that has resulted from this new freedom for her. When she gets up in the morning, she comes into our bedroom and is content to lie in bed with us for a little bit. This is usually only on the weekends or non-work days, since we get up so early on work days. Previously, as soon as I got her out of her crib, she was ready to get up, so this has been a nice change. I was really struck by how much I enjoy her doing this on Thanksgiving morning as I lay with her between Jason and me, just thinking about what a blessing my little family is to me. And I actually look forward to seeing her little face looking at me when she's ready to climb into bed with us. As long as it isn't too early.