big boy bed

We spent the holiday weekend here in VA so we could all get some rest and spend some time together...away from working together. One of the things I've been wanting to do is to get Cole's big boy bed so we could slowly move him out of his crib before Bean 2 arrives. Cole is a very sweet and mellow boy and I think he's going to be a great big brother, but I still am concerned with making the transition as easy for him as I can.

We had shopped for beds once before and Cole was completely disinterested. On Sunday however, he was one motivated little shopper. It probably helped that IKEA was not very crowded. He climbed in all the display beds, loaded with pillows and blankets. He would lay down, give a little wiggle and announce "not too bad." He was cracking himself up.

We bought a nice plain, but very mod, frame, and a good, but not too hard mattress. We had brought 2 cars and managed to squeeze it all in our durable 4 door Saturn. Tony couldn't see out the back, but it fit!

We put the bed together yesterday and Cole was very excited. I pulled out the cool robot sheets I had purchased with a giftcard from Pottery Barn Kids last winter. Cole helped me make his bed and then climbed right in.

We had bought rails at Babies R Us but they won't work with the bed frame. The beauty of IKEA is that the bed is very low to the ground and there is a little ledge along the sides of the mattress, like a little warning that you are too close to the edge. I hoped that with Cole being a little older than most kids who transition to a toddler bed that maybe he wouldn't need the rails.

I had expected that Cole would still want to sleep in his crib for awhile. He's always liked it and has never even tried to get out, so I thought we would let him get used to the idea for awhile before we expected him to sleep in his bed. To my surprise, he took a nap in his bed yesterday (with Tony at the beginning), and then wanted to sleep in it again last night! He slept the whole night without falling out or getting up or anything. In the morning when he woke up, he came into our room and announced "Hi Mommy Daddy." Tony thinks he looks smaller when he's in his new bed, but to me he got a lot bigger this weekend.