To the big girl bed. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the crib came down. My husband unscrewed every nut and bolt, slowly dismantling it piece by piece. And I will admit - as I watched I got a little teary-eyed.
I remember her first night in that crib. She was 10 weeks old and quickly outgrowing the bassinet I had tucked right next to my side of the bed since the first night we brought her home. I used to fall asleep with my hand on her soft belly so I could feel her breathe. Her legs, though, stretched to the end of the baby cocoon (the one I once called home when I was a newborn). So we decided to move her into the cherry crib we had carefully selected a few months before she was born. On that first night, I sobbed after we placed her in her crib and closed the nursery door.
This weekend she pounced into her Disney princess adorned toddler bed, just the way big girls do. She delighted in her pink comforter and her Cinderella pillowcase. She spent all day Sunday finding excuses to go upstairs so she could nestle into her new resting spot. It was really adorable.
When her first bedtime came, she joyfully crawled into her bed. "Mommy," she whispered. "Sleep next to me." After finally believing me when I said we both could not comfortably fit into her tiny bed, Princess agreed I could rest on the floor next to her. So I settled into a body pillow on her floor while my baby girl cuddled in for her first night in her big bed.
As we laid there in the dark, tiny fingers crept to the side of the mattress. "Mommy, hold my hand." When my fingers rested on her soft palm, it was as if she was that snuggly swaddled newborn tucked safely in her tiny bassinet again...only better. There were no tears this time as I closed that nursery door...only warm smiles for my daughter's latest joy.
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