by B. Sigala

Created on: December 04, 2009

The day my daughter moved from a crib to a "big girl bed" was full of emotions for me. I was so sad that my little baby was to big for her crib, but when I walked in to her room one morning and saw her standing in her crib on her tippy toes trying to get a leg over the top of the crib, I knew the time had come to convert her crib to a bed.

As my husband disassembled her crib and turned it into a bed I stood there and thought of all the times I stood in her room and watched her sleeping in her crib and all of the times I got her out of her crib for her 3:00 a.m. feedings. Then I thought to myself how happy I was to have my healthy daughter who was growing up so fast and I thought to myself that this was a great day! She was growing up healthy and happy and for that I was happy...very happy!

After turning her crib into a bed I still left it pillow free. I wanted to get her used to sleeping in her bed before I added anything knew. I also left it free of blankets because I didn't feel comfortable having a blanket in her bed. I made sure she was in proper sleeping clothes for the season. The crib I had converted to a day bed and then into a twin size bed. I converted her bed to the day bed (closed in on the back and head and foot area) and placed A LOT of pillows on the ground just in case she fell out of her bed during the night. Even thought her bed sat very low to the ground I still wanted the pillows there for some extra protection just in case! When I placed her in her bed for the first time after it was converted I made sure to place her as far to the rear of the bed as I could!

I checked on my daughter numerous times through the night and she slept great. She didn't roll too close to the edge and didn't even try to get out of her bed in the middle of the night. I was happy that this went so smoothly. I know not everyone will have this easy as an experience, but I guess the key is to expect the unexpected. I planned ahead with the pillows and placing her close to the back of the bed and it ended up working out great. I wish you all luck and always remember to have patience!

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