Crib to Big Girl Bed {My Biggest Parenting Blunder}

Exhaustion has been taken to new levels around here folks.  I am now solidly 8.5 months pregnant and the struggle to sit, stand, and/or sleep comfortably is epic.  In addition to that, being the parenting GENIUS that I am, I decided that now (40 days away from newborn) was the time to transition our two year old to her “big girl bed.”  Turned out to be a big girl mistake.

Some of my Instagram buddies may remember back in November when the hubs and I happened upon this STEAL of a deal at the Restoration Hardware outlet.  In fairness, we didn’t really have a choice.  It is regularly a $1200 bed (ridiculous) and we bought it for $95 out the door.

“It won’t be too long before she needs a big girl bed…  let’s get it!”, we said.  Fools.  That was obviously six month ago.  We hauled this thing through our move and have been just staring at it sitting in the guest baby’s room ever since.

A few weeks ago I had an epiphany that we could put Lila in her “big girl bed” and use the mattress from her crib in the baby’s room.  I’ll save that $40 by God!  So “saving” $40 turned into spending nearly $300 for all of the stuff we needed to go with said big girl bed.  An 8″ foam mattress, matelassé quilt, twin sheets, toddler pillow, a bedrail, a mattress protector, and 55 pillows to surround the perimeter (and basically make it just like a crib again.)  *eye roll*

We decided that Mother’s Day was the day.  My sweet husband went to get some stuff for the platform at Home Depot (there’s another $50) and we (he) disassembled the crib and assembled the bed in her room.  I was only slightly annoyed that making this was so difficult that it should require a contortionist and nearly sent me into labor.  But then I was REAL annoyed when the bed rail made the whole ensemble totally ugly.  Sigh.  Oh well, at least it would keep her in the bed.  RIGHT?!

That evening was spent with joyous two year old squeals about her “big girl bed”, while she jumped on it.  We were still optimistic at this point.

The bedtime routine was a little rocky, but eventually she did go to sleep in her bed.  We fell asleep stupidly thinking we’d been victorious.

My eyes shot open when I heard Lila’s bedroom door open at 2 a.m.  I ran to get her, thinking she would be scared, only to find her standing in the middle of the hallway announcing that she’d pooped.  Not scared.  Demanding.

Once we handled that situation, Daddy came in to lay with her (the perks of a big girl bed, we thought smugly) to put her back to sleep.  And after a short while, back to sleep she went.  With only a minor road bump, we woke up feeling victorious once again.

Yesterday I had the brilliant thought that my U-shaped pregnancy pillow and two king-sized pillows would make her feel more crib-like and block her in better.  So I spent about two hours (and another $50) rounding up the supplies to make it happen.  I padded the walls of that bed so much that she should have felt like she was back in the womb, much less the crib.  We were optimistic still.

Cut to 3 a.m.  Only this time it wasn’t Lila’s bedroom door opening…  it was ours.  Now that crap will make you jump right out of your stretch-marked skin, let me tell you.  We were too tired to fight it, so Lane lifted her up in the bed with us.  That’s when she began demanding milk.  Then she wanted to watch Mickey Mouse.  “No Lila, go to sleep.”

3:00 a.m. – Daddy tries to put her back to bed.  Not feeling as optimistic.

3:30 a.m. – More milk.

3:45 a.m. – She’s back in our bed distributing a barrage of face pokes, playing with the dog under the covers, asking for Mickey Mouse again.

4:00 a.m. – “I NEED MY PURPLE PUPPY!”

4:15 a.m. – “LILA BE STILL or I’m taking you back to your room!”  *Daddy takes her back to her room.  She immediately jumps down from big girl bed and runs back to our room.*

4:30 a.m. – We put her back in her bed and lock the door to her room.

4:32 a.m. – She exits through the jack and jill bath and the baby’s room and runs back to our room.  We are preparing the white flag of surrender.

4:45 a.m. – We put her back in her bed and lock both doors.  We spend the next 15 minutes watching her run in circles from door to door and listening to her scream on the baby monitor.

5:00 a.m. – Daddy goes back to lay with her in the now despised “big girl bed.”

5:00 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. – I lay awake wondering where I went wrong in life and count down the minutes until my alarm went off.

So now, after as much coffee as a pregnant person can drink and still feel like a decent human, I have purchased a new super-comfy foam crib mattress that will arrive on Thursday.  Until then, we plan to reassemble the crib this evening and take her old mattress back out of the baby’s room.  At this point I feel GREAT about my plan to save $40.

Sleepy parents everywhere – the moral of this story is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  I spent enough on this new foam toddler mattress that it should be cozy enough for her to comfortably sleep there until ohhhh…  college?

Sleeplessly Yours,