Big Girl Bed
Sometimes a negative little thing in life can turn out to be a surprisingly positive thing. Like a toddler refusing to nap in her crib? That right there…positive. I never thought that when my child – at 20 months of age – learned how to climb out of the crib, I would be the one to later say, “Yes!”
When it first happened, I though, oh, no! I also thought it was just a phase, a one-day thing that will come and go. (Truly, I thought this way!) So when she started doing it time and time again (naps, bedtime, you-name-it), I was quickly faced with the reality that yes, Mama, you must do something about this now.
After shopping, browsing, and chatting with other moms that were in the same boat, my husband and I finally settled with the daybed option. And I won’t even get into the amount of money that this is costing us, because then I would have to look at numbers, and numbers make me nauseous.
But, it’s totally worth it for my baby girl. No hesitation. Plus, it’s a bed that she can grow into as a teenager. And she better!
So what do we do in the meantime? The time that it takes for the company to get our order, process our order, place our large package (or two) on a semi-truck and get it to my little old home? Well, in the meantime, we learned how to co-sleep.
I have written in the past about how we are an anti-co-sleeping family. Not because I don’t believe in it, but because Elliana wanted no part in it. She absolutely could not sleep with us. And frankly, we never got any sleep, either. So co-sleeping, I thought, was completely out of the picture. Again, Mama was proven wrong.
We co-slept. During naps. Through the night. Every time those little eyes were shut, it was in our bed. The problem is that Elliana goes to bed at 7:30, and my husband and I…well, we don’t. And, unfortunately, Miss Princess did not want us to leave the room, which meant either one (or both) of us were forced to lay in the bed with her until she fell asleep.
And then it happened. I fell in love with these moments. These times together. I cherished each nap, each bedtime. Each time I got a chance to stroke her hair, touch her soft skin, kiss on the most kissable tiny lips on earth.
I can’t even tell you how many times I would just lie there and watch her. Times that I, too, should be sleeping. Times that I had one hundred and one things on my to-do list. But for me, all I could do was stare.
When the big girl bed finally arrived and we put Elliana to sleep in it for the very first time, my mama heart was kind of, sort of, really…broken. The little routine that we had going there has changed, yet again. And although it’s nice to have our bed back, there’s a part of me that feels like something is missing.
I sit here late at night (a crying mess while my family sleeps) realizing that – yes! – there are positive situations that can come out of the negative. My child learning how to climb out of her crib was, in fact, one of the best things to happen because…
-it motivated us to speed up the ‘big girl’ room in the making.
-it made us realize that our little girl was growing up.
-it showed me that my little girl will forever be my little girl, whether she’s two…or four…or eighteen.
And if I want to sneak her into my bed at night or sleep with her in her daybed? You better believe I will!
Because that girl is one amazing snuggler. And I would have never known that had she never learned how to climb out of her crib.
You see what I mean?
Positive. Positive. Positive.
From Mrs. to Mama is a blog about a mom enjoying the everyday blessings that life has to offer, all while keeping her toddler, newborn-to-be and husband happy. On the side, she blogs, photographs, attempts DIY projects, home renovates, cooks, cleans, and takes care of ICU patients at night.
