How Elliana climbing out of her crib turned out to be a positive thing.

9.18.12

Who would have thought, that when my child, at the mere age of 20 months old, learned how to climb out of the crib, that I would be one to later say "YES!" It almost sounds absurd if you ask me. A little neurotic to the person reading this. Almost as though I have fallen off the normal people train.

You see, when you sit on the couch late at night while your family sleeps, you realize the little things that surprisingly turn out to be a positive thing in your life.

And things like my toddler refusing to nap in her crib? That right there...Positive.

You know, when it first happened, I though to myself, oh no. I also thought that it was just a phase. A one-day type phase that had come and gone. Truly. I thought this way. So when she started doing it, time and time again. Naps. Bedtime. You name it. I was quickly faced with the reality that yes, mama dear, you must do something about this.

After much shopping, browsing, and chatting with other moms that were in the same boat, Andrew and I finally settled with the day bed option. And I won't even get into the amount of money that this is costing us, because then I would have to look at numbers. And numbers? Make me nauseous.

But? It's totally worth it for my baby girl. No hesitation. Plus? It's a bed that she can grow into as a teenager. And she better.

So what do we do in the meantime? The time that it takes for the company to get our order, process our order, place our large package {or two} on a semi-truck and get it to me nice and safe in my little old home. Ah yes, that takes time. And in the meantime? We learn how to co-sleep.

I know I have written in the past about how we are an anti-co-sleeping family. Not because I don't believe in it, but because Elliana wanted no part in it. She absolutely could not sleep with us. And frankly, we never got any sleep either. So co-sleeping? I thought, was completely out of the picture. Again, mama is proven wrong.

We co-slept. Through the night. During naps. Every time those little eyes were shut for the night... it was in our bed. The problem is though, is that Elliana goes to bed at 730. And husband and I? Well we don't. And unfortunately, miss princess over here did not want us to leave the room. Which meant that either one of us, or both of us, were forced to lay in the bed with her until she fell asleep.

And then it happened. I fell in love with these moments. These times together. I cherished each nap, each bedtime. Each time I got a chance to stroke her hair. Touch her soft skin. Kiss on the most kissable tiny lips on earth.

I can't even tell you how many times I would just lay there and watch her. Times when I, too, should be sleeping myself due to work. Times that I had one hundred and one things to do on my list. But for me? All I could do is stare.

So when the big girl bed arrived? And when we put Elliana to sleep in it for the very first time? My mama heart was kind of, sort of, really broken. Because the little routine that we had going there for a couple weeks? Was now changed, yet again. And although its nice to have our bed back... there's a part of me that feels like something is missing.

And in the end.... here I sit. A crying mess, late at night, while my family sleeps... realizing that yes there are positive situations that come out of the negative. That the fact that my child learned how to climb out of her crib was in fact one of the best things to happen to us.

Because it motivated us to speed up the big girl room in the making.
Because it made us realize that our little girl was growing up.

Because it showed me that my little girl... will still forever be my little girl. Whether she's two. Or four. Or 18.

And if I want to sneak her into my bed at night sometime? Or sleep with her in her daybed? You better believe I will.

Because that girl? Is one amazing snuggler.
And I would have never known that had she never learned how to climb out of her crib.
You see what I mean?
Positive. Positive. Positive.