No bassinets, no pack and plays, no bouncy chairs, no basket of diapers and wipes for middle of the night diaper changes. The only thing 'baby' that remains in our room is a toy or two left over from weekend play time, the flock of rubber duckies in our bathroom tub, a very small sock smuggled in by a very small dog, and a baby monitor keeping my girl tied to me while she sleeps…
...In her own bed. That's right. It only took 7 months.
I thought it would be one of those moments where I cry hysterically all night clutching the baby monitor, running to her room every half hour to make sure she is still breathing, and making any excuse to bring her back into our room. But it wasen't… no exactly, at least.
I still lay in bed and listen to her breathe over the monitor and if I can't hear the steady rhythm, I push Matt out of bed to go watch her chest rise and fall. I still make Matt promise me that she'll be okay every night before we go to bed. It's only natural. For peace of mind.
I have not made any excuses to bring her back to our room when I can't handle it. Mainly because I've handled it well. That, and in an effort to have my bedroom back in one piece I broke down the pack and play and moved it out into the living room, so, there is no where for her to sleep anyways since Matt has put his foot down about co-sleeping. For now.
It's strange, the de-clutter of the bedroom. We moved the furniture around before she was born to accommodate the massive amounts of baby equipment you think you need in your bedroom for a 7lb newborn who does nothing but sleep, eat, and poop and now it's an empty hole. We need to re-rearrange and fill the gaps.
But I like it. I like walking into her bedroom on Saturday morning and watching her sleep heavy on pink and white gingham sheets in the crib that her daddy and Paw Paw built months before she was born. I like hearing her giggle, coo, and talk to herself over the monitor as she stirs awake in the rays of sunlight streaming in through the window. I like watching her gaze at the mobile I made for her with flowers, butterflies, and ribbon hanging over her and swaying in the breeze of the paddle fan.
To be honest, I wish I had done this earlier. I wish I knew that this step in my daughter growing up wouldn't result in some catastrophe but rather less creeping around in the mornings while I get ready for fear of waking her up, less stubbed toes and bruised legs from running into her pack and play in the middle of the night, and the pleasure of using the room we so lovingly prepared for her last spring that up until now, was pretty much just a baby stuff storage unit.
Oh but now, now it's the place were we tuck her in, give her kisses, and say prayers. A place for early morning play, getting ready, and snuggling while we rock in her glider. It's her bedroom.
I guess we both claimed our own rooms, and it's working out beautifully.
5 comments:
My baby is 7 months now, still co-sleeping but my back is ready for the transition. I'm going to start with nap time. Your post is encouraging. I've done this before but it feels like so long ago I don't remember how we went about it.
such beautiful pictures! We still haven't made the switch with our 7 month old bc she'll be sharing a room with her 22 month old sister and I'm not sure how it's going to work :/
Where did you get the wall shelves in her room? I've been looking for some to put in our girl's room and those would be perfect!
That is an achievement... one I thought we'd get to by the start of January at the latest. Not yet, though. Looks like she's got a beautiful room.
Pretty room. I love listening to Drew talk and play by himself through the monitor also.
I do need to reclaim my bedroom too.. it's been neglected of cleaning dusting and decorating for WAY too LONG!!
We just did this also! Audrey had been waking up 2-3 times a night (not for nursing) and sometimes she would be up for a 3 hour stretch. Steven put his foot down and said it was time. I slept on the floor the first night (for my own peace of mind) and she only got up once at her usual time and then the next night she slept all through the night! I jumped out of bed when I woke up and saw the light coming through the window and she was just snoozing away. I miss having her in my bed but my back doesn't!
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