Three days ago Brooke announced that she needed to sleep in her "big girl bed", not the crib anymore. After she climbed into bed and fell asleep, I cried.
Now, I know that she isn’t a baby anymore, and we’ve had the toddler bed in her room for 3-4 months now, but she wasn’t trying to get out of the crib. All I had to do was put her down at nap or bedtime and she stayed put and fell asleep quickly. It wasn’t a big deal to me that she wasn’t in a bed. I remembered all too well how it went with Luke…
When we moved into our current house, Luke was 24 months old and we needed the crib for 4 month old Brooke. He was in and out of the bed and screaming at the door every time I put him down. He was contained in his room until he learned how to climb over the baby gate (about one month). After that he was in our bed or on our floor all the time. He still visits us every few nights.
I wasn’t looking forward to that with child #2, but what do you say to your 2 ½ year old when she demands to sleep in a big girl bed because she’s not a baby? I mean, she’s got a great vocabulary and she’s been potty trained for 3 months now! What else does she have to do to prove to me that she’s grown up?
So far once she’s asleep she’s stayed in her bed. However, as the days have gone on she has found numerous ways to put off going to sleep. She comes the door and cries “Oh Heather, oh Heather, oh Heather…” or “I need to go potty” or “I need a story” or last night’s new one: “Mommy, you’re my best friend and I just need you…you’re my best friend….” all while shedding a great many tears. I’m trying to stay tough; a threat with being returned to the crib usually stops the fuss and keeps her in her room (“I can’t sleep in the crib!!! I need to sleep in my big girl bed!!!”)
Now it’s time for the crib to be removed from her room and I’m sad. Not just because it takes an extra hour to get her to bed, but because my baby is no longer a baby. She’s a big girl and time will never go backwards…
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