big move--that's a wrap

As of this morning, I am fairly confident in saying that Rachel has successfully moved to sleeping full-time in her big bed! Last night and tonight, I made a point to go straight downstairs after our bedtime routine, so that she had to put herself to bed, which she did! It occurred to us that the previous night or two, she seemed most upset to find I had left after she'd fallen asleep. So, when she woke up in the middle of the night, the first thing she did was go check where I had "fallen" asleep, only to find a vacant spot, which was difficult to see I guess. Last night, though, she woke up and cried some, called for us, but then went back to sleep fairly easily. She stirred another time, but I don't think she even bothered to get out of bed that time. She's doing great at naptime as well, and her nap has become exactly what it was in the crib (just over 1 hour, waking up fairly content, but a little whiny).

And now, looking back, this really was not a difficult transition for Rachel after all. It was a little difficult for me, and my back is paying for all the naps and nights spent lying on the floor waiting for her to fall asleep, but, overall, it was about as easy as I guess we could expect it to be.

I am super proud of my baby girl, and she seems super proud of herself. I hope our next little girl is as agreeable! I really can't wait to see what her personality will be.

So here's the rundown of the strategy I used to get Rachel in the big bed/new room (mostly for my own future reference):

• Talked it up for several days before the move.
• Helped her move her toys to her new room after her last nap in the crib.
• Let her play on her new bed before the move.
• Stayed with her and lay my head on the bed until she fell asleep for two sleeptimes. Put her in her crib to go back to sleep upon waking in the night.
• "Slept" on her big bear on the floor just beneath her bed until she fell asleep for two sleeptimes. Put her in her crib to go back to sleep upon waking in the night.
• "Slept" on her big bear, moving farther from her bed and closer to the door each time for ~five sleeptimes. Put her in her crib to go back to sleep upon waking in the night.
• "Slept" on her big bear outside her door (there's a gate on her door) until she fell asleep for two sleeptimes. Put her in her crib to go back to sleep upon waking in the night.
• Left the bear in her room, and read a book in the hallway outside her room with my back to her until she fell asleep for 2 sleeptimes. Put her in her crib to go back to sleep upon waking in the night.
• Went away immediately after bedtime routine, and did not return until morning, even upon waking in the night.
• Rewarded with a popsicle when she slept all night in her bed for 3 nights.
• Promised to reward with a sticker chart now that she seems confident.

All of this, of course, came with lots of conversation. I let her know exactly what my plan was, step-by-step, to try to avoid any surprises on her end. I try not to "trick" Rachel when I can avoid it, so I told her each night that I stayed, that I would only be staying until she fell asleep. She still seemed sad to find me gone, but at least she wasn't betrayed, I guess. We also talked a lot about the big bear, and the popsicles. Another thought I had was that I wanted her to get used to being in charge of her own bedtime, so, even when I stayed with her, I truly pretended to be sound asleep, allowing her to get up and play and do whatever until she was ready to go to sleep. Otherwise, I could see the future of me running up and down the stairs and policing her every move, which is not what I want to be doing. I don't mind sneaking in and clearing toys from her bed after she's asleep--that seems much less stressful to me--and I just write it off as her winding down process.

Anyway, these last few posts have been pretty boring, probably, but this was a fun problem-solving exercise for me, and I wanted to document it for future reference (how many kids will I be transitioning??...who knows?).

Since you've made it this far, here are three recent pics of Rachel. Serious Rachel Rachel with her birthday present from Aunt Mamber...it blows bubbles!

Rachel's piggy tails! I love it!!