My baby is growing up: Moving to a bed
When I had Libby, a friend of mine kindly gave us a cot bed for her. The intention was that she would use it as a cot until she was big enough for a bed, then I’d take the side off it and she would have it as a bed. What I hadn’t planned for was the arrival of a destructive baby.
Lia was about six months old when she managed to break Libby’s cot bed. I’m not sure exactly what she did, but she managed to go straight through it, which meant that Libby had to go into a big bed that day, without much warning. Luckily, Libby can sleep anywhere and transitioned to a bed without any problems.
Lia has never been quite as good a sleeper as Libby, she needs the perfect conditions – she must be in her cot, the room has to be the right temperature and perfectly quiet with the window open exactly 97.43mm and the wind blowing in a South-South-Westerly direction.
Now though, it’s time we started thinking about getting Lia into a bed. She is ready for potty training – it’s really me that’s stopping that process, I just don’t have the time to do it. When she’s potty trained, she’ll need to be able to get out of bed at night to take herself to the potty or toilet. So I’d like to coincide potty training with moving to a bed at a similar time.
We’re on holiday at the moment, and instead of borrowing a travel cot for her, I decided it was time to try out a bed. The first night was a little difficult because she was in a new place, but since then she has done remarkably well in a bed and she’s definitely ready to make the transition at home.
I really like the range available from The Junior Fine Bedding Company for little people going into a bed. I’ve also been reading some of their information and according to experts, as soon as children can walk they should move to a duvet and pillow instead of a sleeping bag, as sleeping bags can restrict their walking and be a bit dangerous if they try to shuffle about. Lia is getting on well with a little duvet on holiday but I haven’t given her a pillow because they are quite soft and fluffy and I’d worry about her sinking her face right into it. I’d rather buy a specific junior pillow, along with a junior duvet. With the transition to the bed taking place at a similar time as potty training, I’ll be buying a waterproof mattress protector as well.
This holiday has been a really good introduction to a bed for Lia and I’m keen to keep up the momentum when we get home. So I suppose it’s time to say goodbye to the cot and start looking for bunk beds. Whatever happened to my baby?
