Night Night, Sleep Tight

When it came to being a new Momma, there really weren’t a whole lot of things that I was a stickler about, except for Charley sleeping in her own bed from the get go.  As far as sleeping goes, I am NOT a good sleeper.  It takes forever for my brain to shut down, I hear EVERYTHING and Craig snores like a freight train.  Being sleep deprived was/is my biggest concern about parenthood, so the last thing I wanted was for Charley to be in our room or bed, get used to being there and never leave.   I hear stories of people that opt for the “family bed” and though it may be sweet to cuddle and snuggle, it sounds more like a living nightmare to me!  Some how I just blinked and we have gone from Charley sleeping in her crib, in her car seat in her crib, lowering the crib, rocking and re-rocking to put her to sleep, singing numerous verses of the “I Love You” song, to going to bed awake with kissies in the bed after watching just a little bit of TV with our ritual good night’s, all the while keeping her in her crib.  I know she is a big girl in so many ways, but using the crib this long was the last way to keep her a baby.  She does so many things on her own these days only allowing us to assist occasionally, but as much as I love seeing her grow and become independent, I secretly loved that she needed us (literally) to put her to bed and get her up each morning. 

I should probably confess that I am on an airplane home from Denver right now, and I am a little tearful.  Maybe it’s because tonight is the eve of transforming her “nursery” into a big girl room, but knowing my baby girl is growing up so quickly has me a tad emotional!

She may not be a baby anymore, but there are a few things that I can guarantee won’t change regardless of the bed size….

1. Mr. Cat (hospital gift from Granny Martha and Granddaddy Charlie), Pluto (aka Pueto pronounced with Hispanic flare), Sofia and Clover will continue to snuggle with her every night.  To be exact, one of her bedtime friends will be on the “other side” in case she wants to turn over….her words!

2. Kissies in the bed….given in the order in which she requests depending on who is present at bedtime.

3. Special Momma/Charley chat that goes like this:

Me, “what are you Mommy’s?”

Charley, “sweetheart”

Me, “and…?”

Charley, “I…LOVE…YOU!!!” (ahh, it melts my heart!)

4. On-going dialog of “good night Princess, I love you, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite, sweet dreams” that goes back and forth until we finally close the door.

5. Night time prayers…some times long or short depending on her mood or how sleepy she is that night.

So far, so good in the new room.  I was super worried she would be out of her bed before morning on the first night, but she actually waits until we go in and get her in the morning before getting out of bed...hallelujah!!!!  She says, “I doing what I supposed to do!”  After about a month of sleeping in her big girl bed, Charley gave me a tour of her room...after refreshing her lip stick, of course.