BIG girl bed!

We have kept Teia in a crib much longer than we expected. There was no reason to move her out. She hadn't climbed out (except for attempts during the odd temper tantrum), she was sleeping well and whenever we mentioned it, she'd say "I like my crib." And she still fit it, despite being really tall for her age. But right before Christmas Teia announced she was ready for a big girl bed. We decided a big girl bed and Christmas Eve might not be a great combination so we told her to wait, for just a few more days.

So right after Christmas, Teia, Grandma and Mommy set off to get some bedding for the big transition. Mommy had found some cute woodland animal bedding to match the animals on her wall and thought that might be just perfect. But once Teia spotted the horsey sheets, that was it. I checked in with her a few times, "are you sure these are the ones you want? Do you want to look at any others?" She chanted her reply "horseys, horseys, horseys." Horseys it is.

She was pleased as punch.

It has gone really well. We have only found her asleep on the floor once and she has never needed her "crash mat," unlike Kai who ended up on it quite a few times. It didn't take her long to figure out that this bed allowed her total freedom. So instead of lying in it when she wakes up hollering for someone to get her up which was her usual custom, she opens up the door and either goes in and wakes Kai up or comes into our room. Naps have become a little more challenging b/c she now has the option to play, or raid her bookshelf and "read" in bed, or just leave. 

I do think there is something to be said for waiting until a kiddo is ready for a big transition like this. We patted ourselves on the back that this was a cinch b/c Teia told us when she was ready. A few days later we felt even better about ourselves when she announced before bed that she was a big girl now and no longer needed her susu. But our self-congratulations were short-lived, PSYCH - she wanted that susu back the very next night.