Bye bye cot

Kiki Green - 31 Jul 16

So… an entire month not at home, two weeks in Spain followed by extended time in the south west for a wedding.

Sounds idyllic, but not quite.

Our nearly two year old vomited at the airport and that set the tone. A virus, meningitis scare, trapped hand in a car door and lots of projectile vomit later and she’d become accustomed to sleeping with mummy and daddy or at least one of us. She expected it.

Now back home and thankfully in good health after a course of antibiotics – and the loose bedtime routine we’d had was long gone.

Every time we gently lowered our sleeping toddler (at almost two stone) into her cot her eyes pinged open and she wailed uncontrollably until she was in our spare bed with one of us, or both of us if we were away.

Parents with crooked necked that haven’t shared a bed (alone) in about six weeks isn’t a nice place to be.

So, a trip to Tesco beckoned and we purchased a Peppa Pig bedspread and as if by magic the cot was converted into the toddler bed.

Taking the bumpers off the cot was emotional – but something had to give.

Every time I’ve been to the loo this afternoon, a glimpse into the nursery and the sans cot landscape is a stark change that pulls on my heart strings and gives me pangs of sadness.

I may never see a cot with a baby in my house ever again. I’d like to, but that’s a different story.

So – bed constructed earlier today,
I then read a bit about the cot to bed transition online.

It talked of the importance of sticking to the ‘already established bedtime routine.’ Oooops.

It also said it was best to talk to your toddler for at least a week about the big girl/boy bed. Again, oops.

I hopped onto Amazon and hit next day delivery on a copy of ‘A Big Bed of My Own.’

We took our little one upstairs late this afternoon to allow her to discover her new big girl bed herself.

She beamed and uttered in her sweet soft delighted tones ‘Peppa!’

She sat on her bed and played a bit with some books and a stuffed bunny.

She didn’t want to come downstairs for her evening meal.

When we asked her after she’d eaten whether she’d like to go back to her Peppa bed, she said yes.

OK.

Strap me in. I suspect it’ll be another bumpy ride.

She said she wanted her milk in her bed.

Here we go. The husband is sat on the nursery floor now as she drinks and looks at books.

Fingers, toes and everything crossed.

If she sleeps on her own in her bed it’ll be a miracle.

It will also be sad because it officially means she’s not my baby girl anymore.

We start IVF again in a few weeks.

Whether she’ll sleep in her bed and whether I’ll ever see a baby of mine in a cot again are up in the air.

But one thing’s for sure I’ve cot everything crossed.

I mean got.

Oh dear.

Cross your fingers for me please. On both fronts!

BREAKING NEWS (from iPhone image from upstairs): She’s asleep!!!!!

Now I’m on tenterhooks expecting her to wake screaming at any second between now and 7am tomorrow.

Saying goodbye to the cot is tough.

Two hours in and so far so good.

She looks so grown up and peacefully asleep in her bed.

I’m so proud of my baby in her big bed.

*prays please stay asleep in your bed!

Both my husband and I have made it into the marital bed together without a small companion.

It’s a marathon not a sprint. Please keep your fingers crossed.

UPDATE: Wailing from the nursery just after midnight.

I went in kissed her and put my head through the tiny gap between the Lindam safety side and the bed head to place my head on the pillow next to her.

From wailing and saying mummy, she now wailed for gaga (her word for daddy). She would not settle.

My husband joined me in the nursery.

We exchanged hushed tense words as we disagreed about the next step.

He wanted to relocate to the spare room with her. I felt super nanny, the three day nanny and any other expert would berate us for this course of action and write us off as crap parents. I told him I’d stay in the nursery all night if it meant she slept in her own bed.

He slumped off back to the marital bed. I gave it a couple more minutes as her wails went up a few notches. She’s a determined little lady.

I then reluctantly relocated to the spare room with her. Within ten minutes she was silently asleep on the spare bed.

I snuck back to our bed. I told him he’d have to move her back.

He tried. She wailed. He then lowered the safety side and pretended to lie in the minuscule toddler bed with her, head on her pillow, arms against her body to give the effect of him lying down next to her.

By 1.45am he was crawling stealth like, like a cat, out of the nursery back into our bedroom.

From there SHE SLEPT THROUGH!!!

At 8.30am I went to the nursery. She was lying in her big girl bed and her huge eyes were open. She saw me and smiled, happily, maybe even proudly.

I was so pleased. We almost cracked it on night one.

Just need that book now from Amazon to help with tonight….

DISCLAIMER: This is an account of the first night in her bed. As I said, it’s a marathon not a sprint and we’ve got potty training on the horizon…..

Kiki Green

36 - mum of one post premature menopause thanks to a lovely donor! Currently a full time mummy to my daughter - would love a sibling for her, formerly in TV, radio and comms. Future??? Loves chocolate a g&t and to laugh!

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