Taylor's "big girl" bed!!

This is monumental for Taylor. Monumental because she seems to fight anything having to do with being a "big girl". We originally thought of trying to get Taylor out of her crib around the time that Erin was born, and then we thought, are we nuts?? She likes it in there, she doesn't try to climb out, she sleeps through the night, why fix it if it ain't broken?! So in her crib she stayed. Ever since she turned three we have been talking to her about it (along with potty training and getting rid of her binkie, but that's a whole different post, grrr). She has gone back and forth between really wanting to go into a big girl bed, to not wanting anything to do with it. Then a couple of weeks ago, she learned how to climb out of her crib. She only did it with me in the room (or right outside) so it wasn't an issue at bed/nap time or in the middle of the night, but rather a reminder that maybe she was really ready to be out of her crib. We also thought that maybe one step in the "big girl" direction might give her a little nudge towards other "big girl" milestones (again - the dreaded potty and binkie departure). So we went back and forth between wondering if we should move her to a twin bed or put her right into a full size bed (her crib sides become a headboard and foot board for a full size bed).

Anyway, last week we went to a friends son's baptism followed by brunch. This family also has a three year old girl whom Taylor has played with off an on since they were babies. At one point during the party, Taylor and Dave were in Alexa's bedroom and Taylor saw that Alexa had a "big girl" bed (aka - toddler bed - crib with three sides). She thought that was REALLY cool. We went home bummed, thinking it would be nice if Taylor's crib had the option of converting to a toddler bed. Then I got to thinking, "wait, her crib IS a convertible crib, it MUST have that option". We got home, looked at the crib instructiuons and guess what? It converts to a toddler bed!

That night we ask Taylor if she wants a bed like Alexa's. She says "YES!!". So Dave goes to get the tools to take the side of the crib off and Taylor starts to freak out "no, no , no......don't take the side off". We were thinking it was going to be a bust, but we told her that we would just see what it was going to look like and if she didn't like it, we would put the side back on. So Taylor watches Dave like a hawk while he transforms her crib into her bed. When he is done, she asks "is it going to be loud?". Turns out that she was skeptical about this transformation because she thought it was going to be loud! She hasn't ever liked the sound of vacuums or power tools, and she thought Dave was going to have to use a drill - lol. Well, he didn't, and imagine Taylor's surprise when her crib changed into a bed without any noise!

The outcome? She loves, loves, loves her bed!!! She told us to put that missing side of her crib away. Bedtimes have been smooth, she doesn't climb out and chase after us. She asks to go to bed, wants to play in her room, drags her sister into her "big girl" bed to play. It's such a great milestone for her. We did have to put up a bed rail on one side because she still sleeps right up against the side, but the fact she can climb in and out herself is all that matters.

Now......if only she would use the potty......sigh. Here are some pictures!

Look at me!


I can see you!


Jumping out!