G's Big Girl Bed...

Our little baby girl has graduated to a big girl bed. Well, it's day 2, so I suppose I shouldn't speak too soon. It's been quite a new experience, lots of highs and lows in the past 48 hours. Paul and I had everything in position by the time I brought her home from daycare on Friday night. We recorded her reaction on my camera, which I'll try to post, but needless to say she took to the idea of a toddler bed right away. She kept thanking Paul and I (tank you....mom, tank you....dad) and was all smiles. We thought "hey this is going to be a piece of cake!". Even that first night she climbed up on the bed, on top of the duvet cover I had made especially for the bed (we'll introduce "covers" later) and then we laid her blankie on top of her, said sweet dreams, and our princess slept the entire night through until 7:30am the next morning (which was Saturday). Lots of praise, love, and kisses came next- she got to jump in bed with us, watch cartoons, drink some milk, and generally be spoiled as she was such a big girl!

Well, that afternoon, I can't say that naptime was the same experience. I made the mistake of giving her manderin oranges at lunch, which must have wired her because she was in NO mood to take a nap. And this is a girl who walks herself to her crib each and every naptime/bedtime, and tells US that it's time for her to go to bed, like clockwork. Paul and I both worked on stroking her back, comforting her, rocking her in the chair, but she wanted NOTHING to do with napping in the toddler bed. I had read a recommendation to use a pack-n-play as a backup option for the first few days of transition, so we pulled it out and set it up, but by then she had no interest in napping anywhere.

I can't even remember the last time Ginger hasn't napped during the day. Um, never. She has always liked (and needed) her rest. So, by 6:15pm that evening, on our way to the Olive Garden to grab some dinner, Ginger fell asleep in the car and there went dinner :) We grabbed takeout, came home, and put her to bed in the big girl bed where she slept soundly until 8:10am the next day when I went in to wake her up.

It is now 3pm, and we have had a (what I would call!?!?) successful nap transition today. I served a no-sugar lunch, no tv or cartoons after lunch, just books in her room with a dim light and lots of snuggle. Thankfully I had purchased a book called "Elmo and the Big Bed" and we read that about 3 times along with her "I'm a big sister" book. Lifesavers, I tell you. Upon putting her in her toddler bed, she did run off and opened the (cracked) door and jumped in daddy's arms. He rocked her and walked her back to her room, where he laid her down and put her blankie over her. She protested as he left and closed the door, but no screaming or crying, just a whimper.

She must have realized her new found freedom because for abouut 25 minutes she played, sang, whimpered, and jumped around her room. But then, after a few whimpers, it was suddenly quiet. That was 1:45pm. And now it's after 3. So I call that a success. I WISH for anything that we had a video monitor, as I don't know where she is actually sleeping at this moment (and I don't dare poke my head in, for fear that she wakes and I kill this naptime) so suffice to say that whether she is on the floor, in her big chair, or on her bed- she is sleeping.

This is a bittersweet feeling for me. I am thrilled that with persistence, she will hopefully transition nicely in these next 6 weeks before baby girl comes along. We've hidden her crib behind closed doors in baby girl's nursery so it is out-of-sight, out-of-mind. But I am a bit sad to think that I will never go and pick up Ginger from her crib anymore. I didn't cherish that last night the way that I should have- we kind of spontaneously put the new bed together and I never had that "last crib night" moment with her.

But, the show must go on. Ginger will be growing out of this toddler bed in no time, probably just in time to give it to baby girl #2, and then our plan is to bring the girls in a room together with the crib which converts into a full sized bed. So Ginger will get it back again in the future, but in a very different form!

Big moments at our house these days...

**EDIT** When she woke and cried out for me, I went in to find her laying on the cushy rocking chair. Oh dear...looks like this is going to take some time! :)