Movin' on up!

Well, it was time to officially move Madeline out of her crib and into a bed.  She's been too big for her bed for quite some time now, but I rather enjoyed keeping her in her crib for one reason: she was trapped.  Madeline is a GREAT napper.  She's rough to go down at night, but she'll sleep for three hours (sometimes more) most days.  I was concerned that she wouldn't nap so well in a new bed and not do well with the transition.  I've learned that Madeline doesn't like change.  At all.  But it was time, so we went with it.

Craig took Madeline to a Macy's Outlet to buy two mattresses.  We had gotten a STEAL of a deal on the split queen box springs there and were hoping to save some money on the mattresses.  Turns out, the deals aren't there anymore, but the trip got Madeline so excited about her bed that she was bouncing off the walls.  She was in mattress overload and couldn't wait to get her bed set up. Later that day, Craig and Madeline went to Costco to buy the mattresses and then came home to set up the bed. We got out Madeline's tools and she "helped" daddy with the assembly.

See, she's helping!

 And helping with the walls...

 And with the trashcan...

 

 

I got in on the action, too.  As you can see, it was already dark outside and Madeline was tired. Overtired actually.

'

 But eventually the bed was set up and Madeline was in heaven.  And yes, this is what Madeline sleeps in.  She doesn't like pajamas, or at least the ones I purchased with feet (and actually those I purchased without feet), so we let her wear too-short pants and her *red* shirt.  Thankfully, she does understand if things are dirty and she can't wear them.

She quickly fell in love with the new bed, but spent that particular night in the crib.  She was just too sleepy and needed the familiarity.  The next day, however, she took her nap and went to bed in her new digs.  During the week, she slept in the crib a total of three times and we officially moved out the crib the following (this past) weekend.

Madeline, along with her menagerie, have much more space to sleep now. I'm happy to report that she does fabulous in her bed and even waits for us to go get her when she wakes up.  She's napping like a champ and sleeping well at night, too.  She hasn't fallen out yet, but the trundle is pulled out to break her fall should she roll off. The transition has gone soooo smoothly!

It's hard for me to believe she's in a bed! My sweet girl is an actual girl.  And by her age, she's still a toddler, but I can see a little girl and the baby is long gone.

Madeline has gone through a lot the past several weeks with Gabe's NICU stay, staying with grandparents, and then being thrust in the big sister role and having to split our time with a baby brother.  But she is doing so well.  Sure, she has her meltdowns where she emphatically tells me to not pick up Gabe, but cuddle with her instead/pick her up instead, but she is also really good, too.  She's asked to nurse but I tell her it is for Gabe and she is OK with it.  No tears or complaints and a good hug is a sufficient alternative.  She helps me out, tells me when Gabe spits up or rolls over, and brings me things when I request them.  She also places random animals in Gabe's bouncy seat, his car seat and his swing.  Recently, she asks me to rock her and burp her, which I oblige, and we also hear her burp her animals or just randomly fake burp - all of which are followed by "uh, excuse me (bear, Manalain, Gabe, etc.)." Craig has even seen her try to nurse her bear.  But she loves Gabe, wants to hold him and kiss him.  She gets upset with me for spending so much time with him, but has never associated Gabe as the cause of mama's attention and lashed out.  She gets angry with me, not him (thankfully).  She's just such a big girl now!

Next up? Potty training.  We're done with cloth diapers for her simply because she can hold it so long and then urinate so much that the cloth can't keep up anymore and I'm not going to invest in hemp liners to mitigate this.  I'm resizing the cloth to fit Gabe and he'll be in the diapers before he's two months.  I think I'm going to have to just remove her diapers from her and give her no other option.  She refuses to even sit on the toilet! I'm certainly not one to push a child before they're ready, but she has all the knowledge of going to the bathroom but none of the motivation. She's not even 2 and a half yet, so I'll give her some time still in hopes of her falling in love with the toilet....but I'm not going to hold my breath on that happening either!

p.s. there are WAY more animals on her bed now than in that last picture.  Her extra sleeping space appears to be dwindling...