Tales of the Toddler Bed

About ten days ago, Angelica woke up from an afternoon nap and I went in her room to get her, and watched as she danced back and forth across her crib, laughing. Suddenly, she lunged for the crib rail and hoisted herself up on her arms, and almost toppled over the side. Fortunately she caught herself before she fell.

And with that, we decided...time to make the transition to the toddler bed.





I have to admit, I was probably taking the transition harder than she was. I worried that she wouldn't stay put. I worried that she'd be scared. I worried that she would fall out of bed in the middle of the night and get hurt. I worried that I'd wake up in the morning and find her standing naked in the middle of her bedroom, flinging around a dirty diaper and laughing.

Thankfully, none of the above (especially the last one) has happened. Yet. (And, as you'll note in the second picture, she was rewarded for her good behavior with brand new Dora the Explorer sheets, which has made her the happiest child on Earth!)

Instead, she gets in bed when I tell her to at night. We read her stories, sing songs, rub her back, and eventually kiss her goodnight and leave the room. She usually cries for 20-30 seconds and then falls asleep, in bed, without getting up.

My biggest concern of all was her safety if she were to wake up before us in the morning, but even that hasn't been an issue. She wakes up and sits in her bed, reading, playing with her stuffed animals, or just stays laying down, calmly, waiting for mommy and daddy to come get her.

My girl makes me proud.

Oh, and just because I think this photo of her is HILARIOUS...here's my cutie patootie almost 22 month old, making one of her classic funny faces. (I swear she gets this look from her father!)