Goodnight Noises Everywhere

One of the many factors forcing us out of the nest in Evanston was that we had outgrown our apartment. And the main way we had outgrown it is that it did not have adequate sleeping space for our family. There was no room for a second crib, so at 6.5 months Hazel was still in her bassinet/co-sleeper, and Geoff's and my bed was too small (especially with Hazel often crammed in there with us) but our bedroom wasn't large enough for us to get a bigger one. Lots of people like having their baby sleep in the parents' room or bed for the first year or longer, but that always comes with the caveat "Do what works best for your family," and this was not working for us. I prefer having a newborn in there for 10-13 weeks or so, and then I want them in their own room.

So in the new house, it was time to change up everyone's sleeping quarters. Step one was moving Cora to a Big Girl Bed. To prepare her for the transition, we talked about it enthusiastically before the move, emphasizing that her usual blanket and loveys would still be with her. Her cousin Logan even sent her a message about how great it is to have your very own big girl bed.

I was nervous about it, but the transition went off without a hitch. On the first day in the new house we put the mattress directly on the floor so if she rolled off she wouldn't fall far, and then we went through her bedtime routine, and closed the door. We could hear that she had gotten out of bed and was playing in her room for a bit, but we turned a deaf ear to it and eventually she crawled back in bed and went to sleep. Only twice since we moved here has she come out of her room--I think she wanted to see what would happen--but I led her right back to bed without fanfare, and it hasn't been a recurring problem.

For the first few mornings she would knock on her door from the inside so that we would come let her out, but for the last several weeks she's been opening the door herself and then coming directly into our room to get us.

I wish all childhood transitions were this easy.

Step two is that Geoff and I got a new bed. King-size! Behold:
We love it. We do have more bedding for it, this is just the sheets. We have full bedding for Cora's bed, too, and we'll put that on when these balmy summer nights are over.

Step three:
Babies and sleep--just saying the two words together makes me need to vigorously massage my forehead with my fingertips. I never even set up the bassinet in the new house--Hazel slept directly in our bed for the first couple weeks so Cora could bond with her new bed and not go ballistic at seeing Hazel in "her" crib. We had the crib frame assembled, but hid the mattress in the closet, so it wouldn't look very inviting to Cora.

Once we got Cora squared away in her new bed, I started working, as gently as possible, step-by-step, on getting Hazel to be a happy crib user. First I got her going to sleep in there at bedtime. Then she started taking her naps in there. The final frontier is night weaning. At 8.5 months she's down to just one night feeding, between 1 and 3 a.m., and when we get rid of that I'll be a happy mama. As it is, our sleep is already loads better than it was before we moved, and that makes and enormous difference in how enjoyable our days are.

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Cora's bedtime routine (recorded for posterity): Pajamas, brush teeth, hugs and kisses for everyone, into the bedroom for usually three stories, lay down with "bear, green sleepy bear, pink sleepy bear, and pink kitty" and "the warm blanket," white noise machine turned on, lights off, sing one round of "Twinkle, Twinkle," and then out the door. From about six months to about year and a half, the final story was always Mem Fox's Time for Bed.

Hazel's bedtime routine so far: Pajamas and sleep sack, final feeding of the day, then into her room for a few board books always ending with Goodnight Moon, into the crib (where she immediately flips herself onto her stomach) with her "sleepy monkey," lights out, one round of "Twinkle, Twinkle," then out the door.