Big Girl Bed

Throughout my pregnancy and Hannah's first year I referred to a list of books for everything. But now that we've hit the 17 month mark I don't really have much reference material.

So as I looked at Hannah's crib that she has so artistically gnawed on, I wondered...when is it time to switch to a bed? Luckily we don't have to look at big girl bedroom furniture sets since her crib is convertible.

No, we are not in a rush to get her in a big girl bed because we need to hand down her crib.

I just have no idea when to make the switch. I think my niece did it around 2 but that's because she was getting ready to give her baby brother her crib.

So, when's the right time to make the change?

Rainy Morning Nap

Success!!! This morning, Hannah took her first nap in her crib since she was a newborn.

I have been working at it all week with up to an hour of crying per session but daddy seems to have the magic touch.

At this point, I will do whatever it takes to get her to sleep in her crib during the day. For a while I was nursing her to sleep in our bed just so I could get 30-40 minutes of my own during the day. And since the bucket car seat will shortly be on its way out, a sleepy transfer from car to home won't be so easy anymore.

So when daddy decided to stay with her (for all of 10 minutes) until she fell asleep I told him to go for it. Sure, the last thing we want to do is create those same associations we had to break at nighttime. But, for someone who has never spent a minute in her crib during the day I figure we need to ease her into it.

The number one thing I have learned as a parent (or at least as a parent to Hannah) is that nothing comes easy. You need to work at it. But once you get it, you realize it was worth the effort (and the 12 hours of nighttime sleep!)

From crawling to eating to standing, it really takes baby steps. And naps are certainly no different.

The downside? With all of these baby steps (8 months later) it seems that soon enough she won't be a baby anymore, but rather a toddler. How time flies...