The Big Girl Bed Transition

I'm not sure this post will be interesting to anyone else, but I know I have other friends with kids doing this kind of thing, and I will probably want to remember it, especially when I have other kids making the transition. So. Without further ado, here's what happened during the week of CB's transition to the big girl bed! If this sounds like the most boring topic ever, feel free to skip this post.

Since the beginning of June, I've been talking up the big girl bed to CB. I knew I wanted to move her into it around her birthday (so I could make her a quilt as a birthday present). We bought a book about moving to a big kid bed (Big Enough for a Bed, featuring Elmo, if you're interested - mostly because it was really cheap and CB loves Elmo) and read it several times. We also pointed out big kid beds in other books, in TV shows or other kids bedrooms, etc. We pointed out the bed that would be hers when we were at Grandma's house (since she was getting my old twin bed, which my parents were very ready to get rid of). After we'd been reading the book for a couple of weeks, I went to Target and scoped out the sheets, then took her back and showed her a few options and let her pick out the ones she liked best. If it had been up to me, I'd probably have picked out the cute chevrons or ladybugs, but she was totally enamored with the horsie sheets, so we went with it. (We had a 15% off coupon for Circo sheets courtesy of the Cartwheel app, so I bought them earlier than we really needed them, but that was cool, because then when we were reading the book I would say, "Oh, what do Elmo's sheets have? Stripes! What do your big girl sheets have? Yes, horses!" and things like that.

Horsie sheets are so exciting.

About a week before her birthday, we swapped rooms with her. We'd been talking about it for awhile, because we'd decided that with a crib and a bed and a toy shelf and a glider and a book case, her room was going to be too crowded to play in. Meanwhile, our room didn't really matter, because a couple fewer feet at the end of the bed don't really matter for sleeping and working on the computer. We switched rooms and put her crib about where it had been in the other room, and she didn't seem to mind the new room at all. Then two days after her birthday, my parents brought down her new bed when they came down to celebrate her birthday with us, and we set up the new room with her new bed where her crib had been, and the crib on the other side of the room. (We considered waiting to swap rooms since little sister probably won't been in with CB for a couple of months, but I kind of wanted the crib to still be an option in case she had a hard time with the new bed.) We'd picked up one of those mesh bed rails the week before, and Eric brought home a little step stool to help her get in, then we put on the new horsie sheets with her crib quilt (the new one wasn't quite done yet, but I actually think the familiar blanket was probably nice for the first few days).

That night we had a nice long bedtime and read stories in her new bed together, then we did everything else like we always did it, and I just mentioned that she needed to stay in her bed and we'd come get her when she needed us in the morning. And like some kind of miracle baby, she stayed in her bed all night and slept fantastically. She didn't seem anxious about the new bed at all, and although we heard her chatting like always in her bed, she didn't get up or turn the lamp on or anything like that.

Nap time the next day was a different story. She didn't want to settle down and was crawling out before I even left the room, so I told her she could either stay in bed or go in her crib, and when she didn't cooperate, I stuck her in her crib where she wailed for a few minutes and then when to sleep. And then I was super anxious for that night because I was afraid I'd messed something up, but she was fine and slept in her big girl bed like a dream again. On the second day I decided to give her some books in her bed that she could look at until she got sleepy, and she looked at them for a little while and then would climb out and come and knock on her door and call for me, so I'd put her back in bed, same thing would happen, and finally I put her back in the crib again. And again, bedtime was just fine.

On the third day she immediately got out of bed at nap time, but quietly looked at books for about 45 minutes, then figured out how to open her door and brought books to me to read to her. (She hadn't been able to figure out the door until this point.) We had somewhere we needed to be that afternoon, so I went ahead and tossed her in the crib again because I didn't think it was going to go well with her breaking out every few minutes. That night she got out of bed for the first and only time, but she just tried the door until Eric went in and sang her a song, and then she went to sleep.

This is what her bed looked like when I took her back to her room after she broke out. I left her with about 3 books.

The next two days I tried the, "You need to stay in bed or you'll have to stay in your crib" and she immediately just said, "Crib?" and started gathering up her stuffed animals and blankets, so her naps were in her crib and she slept fine in her bed again, even on Friday, when we had a babysitter at bedtime. (I also managed to finish binding her quilt Thursday night, so she had her first night with her big girl bedspread, which I think she likes sleeping under but which might be too warm for summer, since she's always got it pushed off when I check on her at night.)

Her bed with the completed quilt, made by me and my mom. Part of the design is being foiled by the direction, but the bed guard would probably hide the other line that goes down the edge anyway, so we'll swap it later.

This is how she was sleeping when I checked on her after we got back from our date.

Saturday I was feeling pretty beat from a morning of going to a parade, so Eric put her down for a nap. When he asked her if she wanted to sleep in her crib or her bed, she said, "No." So he asked if she'd like to have quiet time and play quietly in her room until she was ready to sleep, and she was on board with that. She played for about 45 minutes, then climbed in her bed and put herself down for a nap, a thing I never thought would happen. (I feel the need to add that I discovered that night that Daddy hadn't been aware that she hauled a bucket with some crayons in there and had colored all over her new floor rug while she was in there, but thankfully they were washable and came out with a big of carpet cleaner and a rag.)  I was willing to try the same thing on Sunday, so I told her she could either go to sleep now or play quietly, then I showed her how her bed was all ready for her, turned back with her babies and her water, and she just climbed right in and went to sleep within about 20 minutes after quiet talking to her toys. (WHAT??) And she slept for THREE HOURS, which is insane for her (although the length may have had to do with a late night Saturday - our city had fireworks and we took her to see them). You have to understand that this kid has been taking two hours or more to fall asleep at nap time for a couple of months now. Bed time has always been fine, but nap time has been a real toss up and she almost always took forever to actually fall asleep, then only slept for an hour or so, provided she fell asleep at all, and if she didn't fall asleep she was a grumpy mess by dinner time. Part of this might be because I started pushing nap time back a little (we're now putting her down around 1:00 or 1:30 instead of noon) but I think part of it is this new freedom. We'll see!

Today was pretty much the same as yesterday - low fuss getting her into bed, and although not as long of a nap, it was a solid one. I'm trying not to count my chickens yet, but I couldn't be more thrilled with the way she's taken to the big girl bed. I can't believe the tiny baby we bought the crib for is about to be a big sister in her own bed, ready to make room for her little sister. Thank you, CB, for being awesome and transitioning so well, despite your Mommy's fears that you would never nap again. I hope I didn't jinx you by writing this. 

TWO YEARS!

Happy birthday to my sweet TWO YEAR OLD girl today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone and how much things have changed.

CB is such a sweetie. She's starting to have a little more attitude from time to time (she definitely knows the word "no" now and sometimes I think she says it just because she wants to assert her independence) but she's overall a really agreeable, loving, hilarious little girl.

Here, in no particular order are some of CB's favorite things at the moment of turning 2:

• Pink baby, the doll I made her for Easter with the crazy pink hair. She already looks like she's been around for YEARS and has been washed multiple times, but CB carries her everywhere. I'll be curious to see if she gets a little break since she got a second Mommy-made baby for her birthday this morning. (Seriously. The Elsa pattern from Wee Wonderfuls makes a doll that is just the perfect shape for little hands to carry and to tuck under little arms. I've made two for CB, three that have been given as gifts, and one that I'm still deciding about.) 
• Daniel Tiger. After a brief period of boredom with Daniel during which she preferred Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, DT is back in full force. Thank goodness for more seasons being available on Amazon. 
• Cheese, Noodles, Yogurt and ice cream. (Or, "tees, noo-nles, dodurk and i-meam") I think these might constitute her absolute favorite foods. She's not a bad eater for a toddler (although it very much depends on the day) but these are most definitely her preferred foods. (I have my friend Debra's Cream Cheese Chicken in the crock pot right now because you serve it over noodles and CB always eats about 5 servings, so it was no contest what I should make for her birthday dinner.) 
• The park - going there, sliding on slides, swinging, and making mommy climb the stairs. 
• Going for walks to see the horsies. She LOVES the horses around our neighborhood and going for a stroller ride to see them. She got a wagon for her birthday (thank you, guy selling a BRAND NEW RADIO FLYER on KSL for super cheap!) so I'm excited to see what she thinks of walks in that. (Daddy is already a fan because of the super long handle.) 
• Movie nights with popcorn. She LOVES watching popcorn pop and she loves snuggling up on my bed to watch a movie. Sadly, we only own like 4 kids movies so far, so we're working on that. She really loves Sleeping Beauty at my parents' house, and since that was one of my favorites when I was little, it's on my list to acquire. 
• Going to Mama and Papa's house. This is her favorite thing ever. She asks to go to their house multiple times a week. She loves to play with them and she loves to play with their toys, and she really loves is when her cousins come too. 
• The color pink, with blue and purple coming in close behind.
• Trying on Mommy's bracelets and necklaces, usually all at once.
• Getting her toenails painted and showing them off to everyone
• Reading books at bedtime, especially books where she gets to respond, and especially if that response is an animal sound.

Other things of note right now: 

• I think she inherited my ear for song lyrics or my memory or something, because she knows the words to a ton of songs. She'll mostly just sing the last word of each line or say the last word of each line in books, but sometimes I'll hear her singing more of the songs to her stuffed animals when she's going to sleep. Every once in awhile I'll test a book or song and my mind will be blown all over again because she'll know the whole thing, even if we haven't sung it for a long time. (I started this random testing a few weeks ago when I picked her up from nursery and her leader said, "She's very good at singing 'I Am a Child of God.' Someone must be practicing with her at home!" And I realized we hadn't sung it at home in several weeks, so she was just remembering it from week to week at nursery.) Her favorite songs for bedtime right now are "Baby Mine," "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus," "Heavenly Father Loves Me," and "You Are My Sunshine." 
• She's definitely going through a second language explosion right now. (Her first started around 15 months.) She's suddenly putting words together into phrases and short sentences and really starting to communicate, not just say individual nouns. She asks me if my food is good ("Mommy - noonles good?"), or where her toys are ("Hmm. Baby go?") She makes hilarious "Hmmmm. . . " noises when she's making a decision and her eyes roll up like she's thinking really hard. She's SO expressive in her face and her over the top intonations, and I can't get enough of it. (And it's probably my fault for being a crazy person on that front myself.) 
• She is starting to like picking out her own clothes, and sometimes that means she tries to put on Sunday dresses to play in the dirt, or winter coats when it's 90 degrees outside.
• She's really good at identifying colors and pretty good at counting to 10 (although she likes to skip 2, so often when she is doing a count for something it comes out, "One, Three, Four!!") 
• Her hair is much longer than it looks because it is delightfully curly right now. Both Eric and I had curls as kids, so I'm not sure it's going to last, but oh, do I love it now. It's so crazy and cute and unpredictable, and I love it. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

I love you, baby girl! 

A post of updates.

Oh hello there, sad lonely blog.

Here are the highlights of my life at the moment.

• I've hit 30 weeks with the pregnancy, which is AWESOME. It seems like it came so much faster than it did last time, and although I'm starting to feel a bit huge and miserable, 10 weeks doesn't seem like an eternity right now, which is a nice place to be. (I'm much less sore than I remember being with CB, probably because my body has made room for a baby once before and isn't protesting as much this time.) The baby was head down at my appointment yesterday, and she's wiggly as can be, and CB is finally starting to understand that there is a baby in mommy's tummy. Today she said, "Baby? Tummy?" out of nowhere, so we talked a little about how the baby would be her sister, and she said, "Baby sister. Tummy." She's stopped telling me the baby is in her tummy and seems to kind of get it when we listen to the baby's heartbeat at the midwife. Hopefully that will make it less of a shock when we bring little sister home.
• We're gearing up for CB's birthday, which is soon! I can't believe she's almost two. I'm working on finishing a quilt for her new big girl bed (actually my old big girl bed) so that we can make the transition this month and have room for little sister when she comes. I'm terrified of making the change, but the quilt is quite nice, and CB picked out some sheets with horses on them that she's excited about. 
• I really like making dolls. I made one for CB's birthday and then made one for her cousin who turned two yesterday. I'm starting to be okay at it, and I really like how they turn out and how they're all so different. It's a fun, cheap hobby that also leads to joy for my daughter (she really loves the last doll I made for her and carries it EVERYWHERE, and I had to hide the doll I was making for her cousin so she wouldn't cart it off too) and joy for my husband because it helps to quell my mom desires to buy lots of dolls and toys. The toys still make their way into our house (and a few other people's houses now that I'm getting more confident), but more slowly and less expensively, and hopefully more meaningfully since I'm making them myself with whoever gets the doll in mind. 
• This morning, after many weeks of searching, being disappointed because Costco sold out, trying to convince Eric that this is something we will use, etc. I managed to acquire a wagon. I found someone selling a Radio Flyer Pathfinder on KSL - brand new in the box for about half what it goes for on Amazon - and I jumped on it. It will be for the family, but we're going to reveal it on CB's birthday. 
• Daniel Tiger season 2 on Amazon Prime. Yes please. (Although for some reason on Prime it's listed as seasons 3 and 4. Not sure why.) CB was out of Daniel mode, but she's gone back and I was really tired of all of the episodes. New ones are nice. 
• Eric is nearly done with the craziness of early summer in the conference-filming business. We'll be excited to have him back a little more. 
• They started a little playgroup in our neighborhood, so I now actually know some of the other moms, which is nice. We really live in a very nice place. 

That's all for now. I imagine I'll try to post for CB's birthday. We're getting some 2 year pictures done tomorrow, so cross your fingers that she cooperates!