Gigi sleeping soundly in her big girl bed.
In preparation for our trip we decided to transition Gigi out of her crib and into a toddler bed/big girl bed. It's sounding like we have some travel cribs lined up during our vacation but we wanted to be prepared for whatever was available. This is my first time ever attempting to transition a baby out of a crib so I didn't know how it would go. I knew that it could be challenging and that it would involve establishing a firm boundary where the walls of the crib used to be. We have the Gulliver crib from Ikea which transitions really easily into a toddler bed. The front simply comes off leaving the crib mattress exposed, like a daybed. I opted to leave her bumper on as a little reminder where the edge of the bed used to be but once it's firmly established we'll take that off too. The first night she was thrilled/terrified. She climbed out twice and though it was so much fun... and I have to admit that hearing her little pitter patter down the hallway and hearing her giggle was kinda cute. But I wiped the smile off my face and laid her back down in bed. She only got up one more time... then came the tears. She was not happy to have her fun squashed, and she was a bit scared of her new un-surrounded surroundings. I went in a couple of times to calm her down and assure her that she was safe. It's now been almost 10 days and she fully respects the boundaries that we've established for her. When she wakes up in the morning or from naps she doesn't get out but calls for us and waits for us to come and get her. She has only fallen out once and she kind of stumbled towards the door where I simply turned her around and tucked her back into bed. The Gulliver crib/bed is so low to the ground I'm never worried about her hurting herself by falling.
I'm so happy that this transition has gone well. I think it will help as we travel around Europe because she won't be expecting to be enclosed. Now if only I could prepare for the jet-leg!
