Her Own Room

By necessity, Charlotte has always shared a room (and most often, the bed) with us until now. Our new place has two bedrooms, one more than our condo did. She's almost two, we have the space, and so it was decided that she would have her own room now.

In some ways I was really ready for it. To have our bed back to ourselves. To be able to sleep in any position I want and not worry about disturbing the sleep of a little one who wants to be snuggled up to mama just so.

But as I set up her room on move-in day, tears sprung to my eyes. An era has come (or is coming) to an end. She's growing up SOO fast.

She's done surprisingly well with it. I think there are a few factors contributing.

Most important, she's in a big "do it myself" phase.

Too, I think she has noticed that some of her little friends and cousins have their own rooms and own beds. Her favorite TV character, Miffy, has her own too, and there is an episode she likes where Miffy decides her teddy bear needs his own bed.

Lastly, before we moved, I talked regularly with her about our new house and how she would have her own special room.

All but two nights since we've been here, she has started the night in her own little toddler bed. She's had a few wakeups per night (she's teething her two year molars and we haven't quite figured out the right combination of pajamas/blankets/fan to keep her from getting too hot or too cold), but she easily goes back to sleep in her bed. When she wakes up she doesn't usually cry, just calls out "Mama!" over and over. Last night I waited to go in, listening for sign of true upset, and found out that she will sometimes go back to sleep without me coming to help her.

So far, I've brought her into bed with us at that last wakeup of the night where the early morning light has awoken her but it's really too early to be up. If we lay down and snuggle and nurse, she will sleep until 7:30 - 8:30 with me.