Big Boy Bed

Ever since we decided to add a second little to our family, the plan has been to have the two share a room once they were old enough (i.e. when #2 was sleeping through the night).  Sprout isn't quite there yet, but we're hoping it'll happen some time in the next few months.  Anticipating this, Jen and I started talking about what kind of bed to get for The Bean (toddler or single), how to arrange the room, etc. etc.  We went window shopping at Ikea and poked around online for ideas.  I even went as far as to pick up a (free!) pine bed frame to see if that might work in our space.  It was too big, but it got the ball rolling on the "big boy bed" plans.  

Just over a week ago I found a bed online that looked pretty good.  The free shipping sealed the deal.  A mattress was ordered using up the last of some Toys'R'Us gift cards we had.  As luck would have it, both arrived this past Friday.  The Bean didn't know it was coming, but was super-excited when he woke up and we told him that his "big boy bed" was in the box leaning up against the wall outside his bedroom.  (7:00am delivery!  Crazy!!)  He wanted to see it right away.  I explained it was in pieces but promised it'd be put together when he got home from daycare.  

I spent pretty much every moment Sprout was napping that day putting together the (somewhat-difficult-to-put-together) bed and trying to figure out a layout for the bedroom that worked.  Fortunately all this was managed before The Bean got home a 5:00pm.

Sprout and I sat in the rocker in his room and when Jen and The Bean got home I called out, "We have a surprise for you!"  The Bean came bounding into his room, paused, gasped, and excitedly exclaimed "MY BIG BOY BED!!!"  He ran over to it, jumped around on it a bit (we've since quashed that), practiced sleeping on it, read books on it, got out his cars and drove them around on it... basically just camped out there for a good hour or so.  :)  

Once bed time came he seemed a little less sure of things but we could tell he wanted to sleep in his new bed and gave him lots of extra cuddles, rocking, and even lay beside him for a bit.  When I was leaving his room he said to me "Mommy's going to check on me.  I promise."  He settled pretty quickly and when we went in later that night to check on him, he was all cuddled up in the corner of his bed holding his blanket.  He slept through until the morning and we greeted him in the morning with lots more cuddles in his new bed.  We were so proud of him!  

We're still giving some extra cuddles before he goes to sleep, but he's adjusted incredibly well.  He's only gotten out of the bed once, Saturday at nap time, which resulted in him being put into his crib to sleep.  (He was very mad that put him back into his crib, but he had been given fair warning.)  

Let's hope Sprout is ready to join her new roommate soon!