Monday, April 14, 2008

Sentimental

There are some monumental moments with your child that you just don't forget. The first time he crawls, her first word, the first time they say "I love you."

This is a picture of Elijah helping his daddy put up his big-boy bed. He moved into it just a month shy of turning 2. I was pregnant with Alli, and because of my complications, could no longer lift him and so we decided he was ready to sleep in a toddler bed.As you can tell, he liked it instantly and we had no problems with the transition.Well, after putting up a toddler bed in Alli's room about 2 months ago, when we had house guests with a 4-year-old girl, she has wanted to sleep in it. Dan put her to bed in it a couple of times, and she fell asleep with no problems, but I wasn't ready for the transition, so I went back in after she was asleep and moved her into her crib. I guess I was being a bit sentimental and I wasn't willing to move her before she was 23 months, the same age that Elijah was when he moved.

Well, this weekend my resolve to wait wavered a bit, and so we allowed her to sleep in her big-girl bed to see how she did. Of course she did fine, even though she is only 21 1/2 months old, so today I took down her crib (wiping tears as I type) and rearranged her room. Here is the result, with Elijah christening her bed with her.

The complete picture:

Now I just have to decide what to do with this:

Should I put it in the closet? I don't want to lose the storage, but she is getting too big to change up there, and too heavy to lift! Or is it ok to leave it out, even though she is a "big girl" now? Any thoughts?

7 comments:

Jana said...

I was just thinking about how time flies and Ella will be in a toddler bed. I am not looking forward to it!
About the changing table, I say that if you need it keep it out. Use the top for more storage or a bookcase. Love the pictures of her bedroom. It is adorable!

Anonymous said...

We used a changing pad on top of the dresser when the boys were in diapers. Later, we put the dresser in the closet to make room for two beds in the boys' bedroom. When the boys got bunk beds, we took the dresser out of the closet and back in their room.

shudson said...

I say leave it and just use the top for books or decorations like a lamp and/or piggy bank. :)

Missy said...

How funny that I am in the same transition stage as you right now, and I'm clinging to the crib. With the new baby on the way, we are trying to decide if Liberty should sleep in a toddler bed and give her crib to her little sister, or if we should buy another crib. Sigh. I don't want Liberty to sleep in a big girl bed yet.

shudson said...

I must be such a cold hearted mommy. It doesn't make me sad at all to get rid of the crib. Ethan is not ready yet, but I look forward to when he is. I guess I just think it's so cute to see them in those little toddler beds. Plus his room is so small, it will seem much larger without that crib! Madison switched at 2 but I think Ethan will take longer. We tried the other night and as much as he loves being in it for fun, when it came to bedtime he must have gotten up 15 times. I finally just threw the mattress back into the crib :)

Crazy Mom said...

You need to come over and see my changing table now - It's used for storage for the kids' toys in Victoria's room. The top doesn't have too much on it - a CD player, and "night-light" lamp, and puzzles....I think that's all. I'm so proud of you making the transition! :)

Donette said...

You know, I think I will just leave up the changing table, for storage and for the fact that it is just too heavy to move!

And Stephanie, don't get me wrong, part of the reason my resolve wavered was that I was sick of the crib! And her room does seem way bigger now that it is out of there!

Also part of the reason I hesitated was I didn't want to fight keeping her in bed, but (knock on wood) it hasn't been an issue yet . . .