I Don't Wanna Grow Up

After MUCH debate about when to buy Andrew a "big boy" bed, we decided to buy him one on Monday. I've been agonizing over this decision and going back and forth on the issue for months (my friends actually laugh at my unwillingness to move Andrew to a bed...). Andrew doesn't seem ready to sleep in and stay in a bed (our experience with him learning how to climb out of his crib kind of underscores this) but I also worry about how he would handle it if we tried to switch a couple of month's after the baby is born. I think (based on what I know of his personality) that he would NOT handle it well if we told him he got a big boy bed and that cribs are for babies, and then proceeded to give his crib to the baby (which is what I was leaning towards doing). Anyway, John and I decided that we would buy a bed and do a very gradual transition. We decided that sleeping in the big boy bed would be a privilege, one that would be lost if Andrew kept getting out of his bed. He'd get a couple of chances, but if he didn't stay in his bed, he'd end up back in the crib. So that's the plan...

So Monday night we went to Target and let him pick out a fun comforter and sheet set. Shockingly enough, he picked the Thomas the Train bedding! There was actually an adorable planes, trains, and trucks set at Bed, Bath, and Beyond that I LOVED but I couldn't justify spending that much money on bedding for a toddler, especially considering the fact that this train phase could end in a couple of months, and then I'd have to make him use the bedding for the next ten years just to get our money's worth. After Target we went and bought Andrew a nice little twin mattress, since we find toddler beds to be kind of a waste of money and want to buy bunk beds in a year or two anyway. So we strapped that bed to the top of our tiny car and drove it the thirty feet it took to get home. Andrew was SO excited and kept petting the mattress and saying "nice, nice!" He, by the way, picked out a very nice queen sized mattress for himself, but we had to tell him to keep dreaming. Anyway, I spent a large part of yesterday washing new bedding and setting up the frame and bed, and rearranging the furniture in Andrew's room. At one point I was actually worried about making myself go into labor or something, but I just really wanted to get it all done because Andrew was so excited. I think the hardest part of it all was putting the stupid safety railing on the bed (we know without it that Andrew would roll right off that bed), it was so irritating!

So excited for his "nice choo choo bed!"

After we got the bed all set up, Andrew was SO excited and kept climbing into bed and saying "night night mommy!" Since he was so excited, I thought he would be mad if I made him nap in his crib, so I put him down for his nap in his bed. Well, as I expected, after maybe two or three minutes he came wandering out of his room. What did surprise me, however, was that he'd been crying. I took him back into his room and told him that since he didn't stay in his bed, he had to sleep in his crib. Ya know what? It turns out he WANTED to sleep in his crib and was happy when I put him in it. Huh. I'm thinking this may be even harder than I expected, and that's saying something.