The end of the pacifier was another transition. When she was first born and whisked off to the NICU, they popped a pacifier in her mouth and she sucked on those darn things for about a year before I decided it was going to interfere with her teeth development. She basically fussed for 5 minutes, and that was it. She didn't even steal other baby's pacifiers at school; instead she ran around sticking them back into babies' mouths whenever she saw one loose, giving them each a little pat on the back for good measure.
The latest and most significant one for me was the transition to the Big Girl Bed. We've essentially had her in bed with us since we brought her home from the hospital. I was nursing her through the night, so it certainly had logistical benefits. But I also couldn't stand the thought of having her away from me and she turned out to be a fantastic cuddler, so she's been in our bed for the past 22 months. Tag was a bit taken back when I first brought her to bed with us and told him that we'd be co-sleeping with our baby, but he went along with it and I think came to realize the benefits in terms of getting a good night sleep. But he's been asking when she'll transition to her own bed, and I've been slowly strategizing on the best way to do it. I didn't want to make her cry through it and feel that we'd abandoned her. And I was fretting over not having her next to me all night....I would miss her desperately... But little by little, I made progress toward the end goal and bought a toddler bed. I also bought a twin mattress for her room upstairs so that I could sleep next to her on the floor and help her transition. As Ev continued to get bigger and take up more room in our bed (I always seemed to get smushed up into the corner as she dug either her skull or her legs into me) it seemed that it was time to make the move. So Tag wished me luck and Evey and I said "Night Night" and headed upstairs to her room and the Big Girl Bed that she was so proud of.
Well, the plan didn't quite go off as hoped. She continued to crawl out of her toddler bed into the bed with me, and I ended up getting crowded off the mattress onto the floor. Tag, all alone downstairs, had a hard time sleeping as a lonely only and felt a bit sad. So I decided to try Plan B. Moving her back into our room, I had her help me set up the Big Girl Bed at the foot of our bed, and she proceeded to collect all her blankets and her babies (including Roar the Lion) and nested and played in her newly located bed.
The first time she actually slept in it was during the day; she feel asleep in my vehicle and I carried her to her bed where she snuggled down for a good 2 hour nap. Fantastic start. But the true test would be the new evening ritual. That evening we gave her a nice bath, she brushed her little teeth, cuddled with us on the couch as we watched some television, and then we turned off all the lights and headed to bed.... She was still awake as I laid her down in her bed, whispering to her how wonderful her Big Girl Bed was, how soft her pillow was...and she looked up at me and laid there quietly. I sat next to her for a bit until I thought she was drifting off, and that was that. She slept in that bed until 6:30 am. Amazing !! It got a bit rough the next few nights (she's cutting some more teeth, and she has a stuffy nose) but last night was another decent night of sleeping in her own bed through till morning.
It just is so gratifying to me that we can follow her lead and transition her through these stages at her pace, making it peaceful and loving versus a forced and even scary battle. I love that she trusts us through these stages and also trusts herself enough to try something new. Continually in awe of this darling little wonder.
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