In an attempt to make way for the new baby, we’ve made major changes with the kids’ room (with the help of craigslist). We decided to sell Elizabeth’s twin bed and pick up a toddler bed that would take up less room. A couple weeks later, we found a matching toddler bed for Susie. The first craigslist seller threw in the bedding with the toddler bed, and then I found another set of toddler sheets/comforter at a garage sale. And this week I finally got the room cleaned up enough to take a picture of the new set-up! =)
So far, Susanna is super excited about having a big girl bed, but not about sleeping in it. We’ve tried for about three nights to put her down with the big kids, and she does just fine through the family worship, prayers, and reading in bed. But as soon as the lights turn off, she’s trying to acrobatics with her new bed (only a little blood so far) and then begging to go back to her crib. Since we’ll have the new baby in the mini-crib in our room for the first couple of months, there’s no real rush to push Q out of her crib. The only problem is that her room is also our guest room, and we’re planning on quite a bit of company this spring. Normally, when houseguests come, we put her in the pack-n-play in our closet. But that won’t work too well with a mini-crib already hanging out in there. Since she’s going to have to sleep with the big kids when our new-baby-reinforcements are here, she might as well just move in there, right? The big kids were both so happy to move to their big kid beds that we’ve never dealt with a child wailing, “Back in crib!” Anyone have any advice?
The toddler beds look really cute! I can’t believe you found two that match!! It is really unusual for Susie not to be excited to be in her own bed like her older siblings. Maybe new girlie sheets would excite her?!
Cute matching beds!!! Not sure what to do about convincing her to sleep in it…maybe cinnamon rolls for breakfast if she goes all night?
What if you try naps first?…Or letting her pick out a special blanket or sheets?…Or you could take apart the crib so it is not an option anymore.
…Or could you or Derek lay or sit next to her until she falls asleep?
Another idea would be to put the pack n play in the big kids room until she gets used to the room and then transition to the bed. Just throwing things out there.
I have no suggestions…being out of my element, but I concur: Q looks none too pleased here.
Penny and I once stayed in a guest room with a sleeping baby (not ours). We were fine wiht it b/c it was not our kid (we didn’t have any yet), and he fell asleep early and slept well. So, my suggestion is not to panic if she wants to stay in her crib a little longer. Trust that she’ll be asleep by the time your guests are ready to sleep, and just ask them to be as quiet as possible. Maybe that will work??
We’re having a tough time getting Caleb comfortable with his toddler bed, too, Emily. He’s 2 1/2 now, and you know, I think every kid is probably a little different. He loves jumping on it and playing or reading on it during the day, but he gets tearful when we talk about him sleeping it — for naps or bedtime. Baby T #2 is coming soon, though (not as soon as yours!), and we want to transition him before the little one needs the crib. I’ve been talking about it more and more with him, but clearly he doesn’t want to make the switch. I figure at some point (soon), we’ll just have to commit and he’ll have to adapt… but if you do come across any good suggestions or methods, please share 🙂 I’ll be praying for God to give us both wisdom and compassion as we help our little ones make the transition.