I should have known...

When it comes to Leighton she does nothing half way and does it when she makes up her mind to do it and then we never look back.

Take walking for instance. She never "practiced" by taking two steps falling, getting back up and trying again. Nope. Just woke up one day, let go of the couch and hasn't sat down since!

Walking!

Then there was weaning her from a bottle. At age one I decided we should start cutting back the bottles and replacing them with sippy cups. After maybe two days of replacing one bottle a day with a sippy cup I was met with a tantrum and her throwing her bottle across the room. I was floored; what was going on? She had decided she was done with bottles and never looked back.

This is seriously probably the last time she ever took a bottle.

Oh and who can forget potty training? We fought for one week over it, I quit, determined to come back to it the following week and what do you know, she was all about it. It clicked on day 3 and while we had ups and downs for the next several months she once again never looked back!

So what is the point to this walk down memory lane?
Well, I have been dreading transitioning her to a toddler bed. I felt like I would rather potty train her again than do this transition and that is saying a lot! Everyone around me seemed to do this with ease, but you don't know what it is like trying to put this girl to bed. Screaming and crying ourselves to sleep is the only way around these parts.

I tried way back in December to transition her, but I was big, fat and pregnant and not in the mood. I had to lie in there with her until she fell asleep and then nap time would only last 40 minutes on a good day. Oh heck no! So after 3 days of that I put her back in her crib and thought I would deal with this later...we still had at least 4-5 months before I needed that crib!

Currently, since we are moving, I decided I would just wait until we moved, put her toddler bed in her new room and say "welcome to your new life sister!"

I have been talking up her big girl bed to prepare her, but every time I asked her do you want to sleep in your big girl bed she would say "no, Leighton's crib!" Then last Friday {May 20th} she asked to nap in her big girl bed! I was so hesitant because I need nap time to go well, but decided since she brought up and was willing I couldn't confuse her by saying "no." From then on she has been solely sleeping in her big girl bed for nap and nights! No looking back! I should have known that is how she rolls and don't know why I dreaded it so, it was beyond easy. I guess because I didn't have to do a thing, that is the best kind of transitioning.

First big girl bed nap, for real this time.

We did have a rough first night, she woke up screaming at 1230a. Chad slept on the floor of her room, which was so funny until 230a when I woke him up to come back to bed. Then she woke up again at 3a screaming, and as usual we had to let her finally scream it out. By 430a all was finally quiet...until 630a! However, since then she has been great and she loves the freedom to get in and out of bed and do her thing.



I am so proud of her and a bit sad because she seemed to hit a bunch of big girl milestones all at once. I keep looking at her and then Micah wondering when she got so big and how I seemed to miss it all? I just want her to stay this age forever. I love the toddler years! I am really trying to live in all the moments with both kids even more so now, you just never know when it will be the last time they do something.

I'm a Big Girl Now!