Sunday, January 22, 2012

Big Girl Bed = Big Girl Sleep?

A few readers have asked about Eliza's transition to the big girl bed and how her sleep has been since then.

The short answer?  Nothing has changed.  Not really.  Not yet.

I do have hope (hence the word YET.  See?), but so far Eliza's sleep habits are still pretty poor.  Well, I suppose her sleep is pretty typical for the not-yet-weaned toddler... but, still, pretty crappy overall.  She's waking anywhere from 2-6 times per night, and the waking has become more frequent since the introduction of the big girl bed.  So, yes, she is definitely still getting used to the bed.

What we do like about it is that we (and I use that term very loosely, and in fact I really only mean "I" ;)  can lay down with her (it's a twin bed) and help her get back to sleep by just laying next to her.  So, that's a definite improvement over the crib.  And, she seems to wake up less upset, I think because she has the freedom to get up by herself and isn't trapped in the crib.  Also, this means that she can walk into our bedroom and climb into bed with us without me having to go get her from her crib - so yay for mama not having to get out of bed (as much)!

Last night, she was so cute... I was brushing my teeth and I heard her bedroom door open (a sound that we are still getting used to hearing - it's surprising to hear her open the door!).  She poked her head out and said in her squeaky cute little tired voice "can you come in here?".  So I went in and tucked her in and  laid down next to her.  She fell right back to sleep.  It was the sweetest thing...she just needed me to be with her - how simple.  I am so happy to know that I can still meet such simple requests as "can you come in here?".

So, I can't give you all the update that I had dreamed I would be able to -- "The big girl bed solved all of our sleep problems! She sleeps through the night and wakes up bright eyed and bushy tailed!" (haha, okay just to be clear I was never delusional enough to think those things... but I will admit to having crazy daydreams of the sort :) -- but I can say that the big girl bed has been a great improvement and our girl feels SO PROUD to be sleeping in it.  We are proud of her, too!  She has gone through a lot of big girl changes over the last few weeks and she has taken it all in stride without any issues.  She continues to be a flexible, easy-going, happy girl.  So, even though sleep is still an issue, it's easy to forget about it when this face is smiling at you during the day:




2 comments:

Erin said...

Awww, that is just so sweet! Can you come in here...too cute. My sympathies on the sleep though. Last night was a 5-timer in our house and that hasn't happened since we weaned save for a cold! Each stage only happens once though, right? :)

Wendy said...

awwww - super cute face - I'm the same way - no matter what a crazy night and lack of sleep I've had, one look at their face and it all goes away (except for the under eye bags lol) - hope Eliza gets the hang of being a big girl in her own bed soon and you'll hear less and less of the door opening :)

Eliza's Stats

Birth: 8 lbs 5 ozs
Going home: 7 lbs 10 ozs
5 days: 7 lbs 13 ozs
2 months: 12 lbs 6 ozs
4 months: 17 lbs
5 months: 18 lbs 12 ozs
6 months: 20 lbs 13 ozs
9 months: 24 lbs 3 ozs
12 months: 26 lbs 13 ozs
15 months: 28 lbs
18 months: 29 lbs 3 ozs
2 years: 32 lbs
3 years: 34 lbs

Alice's Stats

Birth: 8 lbs 11 oz
2 Months: 13 lbs 10 oz
4 Months: 17 lbs 15 oz
6 Months: 20 lbs 4 oz