Hi friends!

In mid-August, Paige left her babyhood behind and began sleeping in a big girl bed in her new big girl room. I was given the advice to start her in a big bed sooner than later so she doesn’t feel competition with the baby. This made sense to me, so we went ahead and did it. We excitedly ordered the furniture when she was with us at the store; she seemed to like climbing up onto the bed and looking around from up “high.” We got to work back home and replaced the ugly carpet in the room with oak wood flooring to match her old room. After much deliberation, we decided to paint the room the same color as her old one. I was gonna do a melon/orangey pink color but it just didn’t feel right. Anyhoo, the day the bed was delivered was quite exciting, and she took ownership right away. She kept saying “big girl room!” and “my bed!”. We’d talked about getting her a new room for quite a while, so I knew she was ready for it.

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A few days later, when it was time for her to sleep in her bed for the first time, Mr. H&S took her crib apart. Before he did, we had Paige go in the room and say “thank you” for being such a good crib and to say “bye bye.” She patted the crib and said “bye bye” and “thank you.” She also gave it a kiss, which made my throat tighten. We explained that it’s a baby’s bed and she’s not a baby anymore, so it had to go to a baby who needed it (of course, we are keeping it and storing it for the next baby).

After her goodbyes, I took her downstairs and Mr. H&S hid the disassembled crib in our closet. When she came back up to get ready for bed, she went in the old room and noticed the crib was gone and looked puzzled. I said “Remember? Crib had to go to baby’s house!” and she said “oh” and sort of shrugged and went about her evening like nothing happened. This was a nice trick for her to visually see that the crib was no longer an option for sleeping. Knowing her, she would have screamed for her crib if she knew it was there to sleep in. We went about our normal routine, just in her new room instead. She was thrilled to sleep in her new room and she slept great! I was terrified she’d keep getting up or would cry, etc. but she just fell asleep like normal. Phew! Another milestone under her belt (and mine). I’ll admit, I cried a little bit. But I’m so proud of our girl. She’s taking all these changes in stride and that’s a huge deal. Hooray!


“Owl is in the tree!!!!”

Since that day, she’s done well in her new room. One thing that has changed: her naps are getting more sporadic. I can hear her playing in her room over the monitor, but I’ve chosen to just let her do what she wants. The door is shut (and there’s a knob cover) so I know she’s safe in there. She usually stays in bed and plays with the crazy bevy of toys there with her. I usually let her stay in there for the full 2 hours her nap would have been so that I can have my break and she gets her own “rest time.” She never complains! She seems happy to be lost in her own world in there, singing songs and making up stories for her loves. Sometimes she falls asleep after a little play time and sometimes she falls asleep right away. It’s always different! The days she doesn’t sleep usually mean that she goes to bed earlier (6:30-7:00). If she got a good nap in, she goes to bed by 7:30-8:00. She typically wakes up anywhere between 6:30 am and 7:30 am depending. It’s funny — at night time she rarely plays. She usually just chatters and sings to herself for a bit and then falls asleep. It’s hard to see in the dark, so I guess that limits her play abilities! Ha!


“Tree!!!!”

Another change is we’ve installed the safety bed rails that many toddlers use. They run three-quarters the length on each side of the bed and I like the peace of mind they give me. She never seems to sleep near the edge of the bed, but at least I can rest easy knowing she won’t fall out in the night. We also just put the crib back together and back in her old room for the new baby. Paige saw it and said “Baby’s bed is here!” and didn’t even seem to care much. Phew! I was worried she would want to revert back, but no problems .

So, that’s our “big girl bed” adventure! All in all it was a pretty simple change and it taught me that kids can be much more flexible than we might think sometimes (as long as we, the parents, act confident!).

Have you transitioned your child to a regular bed? How did it go?

Mrs. Hide and Seek part 5 of 13

1. Role Play by Mrs. Hide and Seek
2. The Birth by Mrs. Hide and Seek
3. The Birth, Part II by Mrs. Hide and Seek
4. A Nursery for Paige by Mrs. Hide and Seek
5. Big Girl Bed by Mrs. Hide and Seek
6. Little P's Big Girl Room by Mrs. Hide and Seek
7. What You Talkin' Bout? by Mrs. Hide and Seek
8. Playroom by Mrs. Hide and Seek
9. "Free Play" Used To Be Just Play by Mrs. Hide and Seek
10. Antepartum Depression by Mrs. Hide and Seek
11. Noah's Nautical Nest by Mrs. Hide and Seek
12. On Stay-at-Home Motherhood and Positivity by Mrs. Hide and Seek
13. Stay at Home Mom Style and Fashion by Mrs. Hide and Seek

Transitioning to a Toddler Bed part 1 of 8

1. Big Girl Bed by Mrs. Hide and Seek
2. Traumatic Toddler bed Transitions by Mrs. Train
3. Transitioning to a Toddler Bed - What Not To Do by Mrs. Bee
4. Transitioning a 22-month old from Crib to Twin Bed by Mrs. High Heels
5. Adventures in Crib Vaulting by mrs. wagon
6. Adventures in Crib Vaulting: One Week Later by mrs. wagon
7. Transitioning to a Toddler Bed by Mrs. Jump Rope
8. Transitioning to Toddler Rails - In Two Takes by Mrs. Grizzly Bear