New Year, New Room

     We have been attempting to work on transitioning Laura to a big girl bed for some time now. Ideally we wanted her to be fully switched over and comfortable well before Baby #2 arrived so she wouldn't feel like she was being displaced. We started around 18 months by taking the side off her crib. At the time, we didn't own a bed rail, and she ended up falling out (maybe 8 inches to the floor) once or twice. It was enough to scare her, though, and put an end to all sleeping in her crib unless the side was on and properly secured. So, we tried again maybe two months later, and bought a bed rail for her this time. But the damage remained. Every night, she would faithfully get out of bed and curl up in a heap on the floor directly behind her door. And if she didn't feel like going to sleep yet, she would just bang incessantly on the door. Finally, one night after banging for about 2 hours in the middle of the night, I gave in, and at 3am had Josh put the side back on the crib yet again. He swore it was not coming off until our second baby was ready for a big kid bed.

      Thursday night, after our company left, we spent the evening taking apart our guest bed and assembling what will be Laura's new big girl bed. I have slowly been working on decorating her new room, too, and although it's not finished, I like the way it is turning out in there so far. Laura and I spent the majority of the evening in there making her new bed, organizing her dresser, and playing with her toys in the gloriously large open space she now has (this room is notably larger than the nursery). She really seems to like it. We'll see how that translates to her sleeping in there, though.

    The nursery is now almost eerily empty. There is one sleep sac hanging in the closet that Baby Thumper received for Christmas, and a bunch of empty hangers. I'm sure by this point in my pregnancy with Laura her closet was half full already. Other than the top drawer of the dresser/ changetable that is filled with our cloth diapers (which Laura is still using), all the rest of Laura's things have been moved over. Last night it really hit me hard as to the fact that we do not have a baby anymore. I'm glad another is on the way, because even as it is, I am really starting to feel the void. Laura is talking so much now, and can really get her point across most of the time... she is definitely more like a child now. And for someone who doesn't overly enjoy the baby phase, I sure seem to be having a rough time with the idea that my baby is growing up. Don't get me wrong, she is really fun right now, and probably the most enjoyable she's ever been, but her new room has made me realize once again that I am having a hard time letting go of her babyhood.

 

Laura's little reading nook :)

Still To Do: 

• Make curtains
• Letters spelling LAURA for shelf above bed
• New lamp shade 
• Remove baseboard heater
• Replace stained carpet
• Replace window