Erin's New Bed

Erin is a big girl now! She recently turned two and that means a lot of changes are coming her way.  One big change was the transition to the toddler bed. We decided that the best time to start the transition was when we moved into our new place. We figured it was a new place, new room.. so we thought we'd continue with that. We also have baby #2 coming in January, so that was another reason for our decision. Erin and baby #2 will be in the same room, which will be a challenge. Erin's old crib is in the room and I wanted to give Erin enough time to realize that she was no longer going to sleep in the crib and that her new bed was just as cool and even better.

The transition to the toddler bed starting off really well. The first night was a fail, which was expected. But Erin started sleeping in the bed on the second night. We made sure to fill her bed with a lot of her favorite dolls and blankets. It took her a little while to fall asleep, but she did (At night, someone still has to stay with her till she falls asleep). We were so proud of her! Every night before bed we'd remind her about her new big girl bed. We'd ask her if she likes it..and she'd respond "yes". We'd ask her to show us which one her bed was now..and she'd point to the toddler bed. She understood what was happening, which was great.

I'd say after a good 2 weeks of sleeping in her new bed, she started to regress. She'd start pointing to the crib, letting us know she wanted to sleep in it. She'd cry in her toddler bed, wanting to be picked up. It's funny because not once so far has she climbed out of the toddler bed. She just sits there and waits for us to come and get her. I wonder how long it will take her to realize that she's got more freedom and she's able to climb out on her own now. That's probably also why she might be scared/confused. She has all this freedom now and isn't sure what to do with it.

Currently, she's going back and forth from the crib and toddler bed. She'll at some point during the night end up in our bed. Her sleep has been in a funk the last week and she has been sleeping super late. Bedtime has been around 9-9:30pm (usually it's 7:30pm). We're hoping this is just a small bump on the road and we'll be back on track. I'm not too concerned about this little setback. We still have a solid 5 months before the baby is here and another 3 months (baby #2 will sleep in a bassinet next to me) till we need Erin to be fully transitioned to the toddler bed. Knowing Erin, she just needs a little more time to do things at her own pace (which is usually on the slower side). This is also the reason why I wanted to start the transition a lot earlier, giving Erin plenty of time without rushing her.

My only real concern is potty training. That's coming up real soon and I'm totally dreading it. And knowing Erin, it's going to be a very slow, messy and challenging process. Can't wait!