Big Girl Bed

Tonight was Miriam's first night in her big girl bed. Here she is asleep. And no I didn't go in their room and turn on the light to take a picture--I just used the flash. Yes, I used the camera flash in their room but they are 2 and 4--they would sleep through a train driving through our house.

Miriam did really well. She didn't get out of bed despite Madeleine trying to entice her. Madeleine knows that the only reason that she can get out of bed is to go potty. So every few minutes I would hear Madeleine ask Miriam, "Do you need to go potty? I can take you to the potty." Miriam never took the bait. I finally yelled up to Madeleine to cut it out.

Miriam handled the bed just like she handled sleeping in her crib. She laid there and read her books and talked quietly with Madeleine. Miriam is a real talker and talks herself to sleep--she will be carrying on full conversations with Madeleine long after Madeleine has fallen asleep. And she did the same tonight.

The move out of the crib is one of the parenting issues that is really aided by today's technology. Prior to making the transition, I bought a video baby monitor. This allows me to see and hear all that she is doing. It is even equipped with night vision so that it has a clear picture when the lights are off. It was great--I knew that when I heard a thud on floor it wasn't her getting out of bed, just her water cup falling. And, over the next few days, when she does try to get out of bed, I will be able to immediately go to her room to respond. All in all I know that this will be a long process (I was just lucky tonight) but so far we are off to a good start. She is excited about her bed and I am hoping that Madeleine will be a good role model (Madeleine rarely gets out of her bed at night).