Big Girl Bed

 

We have a friends who are expecting a baby soon, and we offered to give them Jensyn’s crib.  It’s a beautiful crib, first used by my niece 13 years ago and now used by all three of our kids. 

I cried when taking these pictures.  This crib has held one of my babies every night for over five years, and it’s hard to let go of the baby days!  It was time to let go, though, since there’s soon to be a new little baby who needs a place to sleep.

Jensyn has LOVED her crib from the time we brought her home from the hospital.  She never slept well in the bassinet, but when I first set her in the crib, her little body relaxed and she slept much more soundly.  She still absolutely adores her crib, and we knew she didn’t want to give it up.  Her brothers were both in a toddler bed by 18 months, though, and we knew she could give it up.

We brought her into the room to watch while Daddy took apart the crib.  Her face went pale, and she just focused a wide-mouthed stare on the bare crib.  She watched carefully as Daddy took it apart.

We were very unsure about that first night in a big girl bed.  The toddler bed has been set up in her room for over a month now, but she has refused to sleep in it when offered the choice.  We were pleasantly surprised when we put her in the toddler bed on Friday night, shut the door, and only heard one brief whimper. 

The next thing we knew, it was morning…our sweet baby girl made it through her whole first night in the toddler bed without trouble!  (Her hair, well…we’re not sure her hair fared so well during the night, ha ha!)  I’m not sure if the pictures show it, but she was VERY proud of having slept in her big girl bed!

Her second night didn’t go quite so smoothly.  She’d gone without a nap on Saturday, and that always seems to set her up for a rough night.  She was crying at around 1 AM, and I found her sleeping on her tummy – with her bottom in the air – in the middle of the floor.  I rocked her back to sleep, but she woke up an hour later (in her bed this time) all out of sorts.  At least she hasn’t discovered the freedom to get up and play yet…that’s always the “fun” part!

Along with giving away the crib, we also sold the changing table/dresser to our friends.  It was a beautiful piece of furniture, which we purchased to match the crib, so it only made sense to let it stay with the crib.  We went shopping yesterday (which is why Jensyn missed her nap) and have narrowed down our options for a new dresser and a twin-sized headboard.  (I am blessed to have two sisters who work in furniture stores & are able to offer us a family discount!)  For now, Jensyn is sleeping in a rather empty bedroom and several boxes/crates of clothes, blankets, jammies, and toys are on the living room floor. 

So…that’s it for us…the crib days are gone for our family.  We are BLESSED beyond measure to have three beautiful, healthy children who have slept in this crib.  Now it’s time for another family to be blessed with a beautiful crib for their new baby!