Climbing into Bed

As mentioned in a previous post, graduating from her baby cot to a full grown single bed has in the planning for Eleanor for a while now. A few weekends of hunting through bed shops and we found something that will hopefully serve Nelly for many years to come. Being the practical sort we opted for a more conservative bed head and style over some of the sickeningly saccharine selections we were offered. Let's hope our little girl doesn't make us regret that decision by asking for a princess themed bed head for her fifth birthday.

Weeks of planning lull you into a false sense that you're prepared to see your little girl take another step to growing up. It was rather surreal experience to clear her bedroom of furniture and stand back while the delivery boys assembled her new bed in place. The emotional whiplash occurred when we finally made the put on the sheets and watched our baby girl lie in it for the first time, causing us to wonder if we made the right decision upon seeing her tiny frame swallowed by the expanse of duvet around her.

It quickly became obvious that while she could descend from the bed easily enough by sliding down, getting onto it was another matter entirely. Thankfully we had a spare step that we bought from Ikea lying around which has served comfortably as her "ladder" to climb in. While we were initially concerned about the amount of space we'd lose I think we managed to shift enough furniture around to settle at a comfortable if somewhat spartan arrangement for the bed room. At least it's reasonably child proof now compared to the cluttered mess we've ignored for the last two years.

The first night was trying as expected. To Nelly's credit she never once requested her dummies that she had just relinquished that afternoon. As a reward for donating her "dodos" to the possums, she woke up the next morning (after a respectable night of rest) to see a thank you present left by her furry friends. Fascinating that they knew Nelly is enamoured with Peppa Pig.

It's been a week now since the bed has been delivered and I cannot begin to describe how proud we are of how well Eleanor has made the transition. The week had not gone to plan either with Mummy spending the majority of it in hospital (everything is ok thankfully on that front) so our girl has put on a brave face in pretty adverse conditions. In a few short days we have progressed from distressing bed times to a pretty comfortable routine and I can only imagine that she will grow more comfortable with her new arrangement. Even more amazing is that she still hasn't asked for a dummy. Not once.

What a great daughter we have. She's growing up so quickly.