Big boy breaks in a big bed

In parenting, there are big victories, and then there are little ones.

And any self-respecting mother will not quibble over the mini-ones. A win is a win. Period.

In the midst of Pregnancy Prep 2.0, one of the instructions I got from the doctor was to avoid lifting objects of 40 pounds or more. (At the time my pregnancy was confirmed, an ovarian cyst also was discovered, hence the extra precaution.)

The only problem? My 3-year-old weighs 35 pounds and is growing like a weed. Compound that with the fact that he’s still sleeping in the crib in the nursery, which in exactly 6 months, will be occupied by a new resident.

So we had to act fast to get our toddler moved to his new “big boy” room.

I know changing spaces at this age can be a delicate process, so I constructed an elaborate plan that spanned several weekends.

First, I needed to clear out all the clutter and junk that was residing in that room. Next, we moved in the bed and dresser, bought a new mattress and got fresh bedding.

Next, I moved all his clothes into that room, so he would start to realize it was his space, at least on some level and that we needed to go in there for part of his daily routine.

He seemed indifferent to the whole process, and I remained skeptical that this transition would happen prior to Number 2’s arrival.

So I sweetened the pot and moved all his toys over. That seemed to get his attention. Suddenly he was splitting his time between the “big boy” room and the “regular” room.

Within the next week, I dared to test out if he was willing to sleep in the new space.

When I turned out the lights for the first time, he freaked and said it was too dark. I had a stroke of genius and grabbed the small string of Christmas lights from the nursery and plugged it in.

And that was it. Seriously. All that build up; I was totally prepared for psychological warfare stretched out over months.

Like I said, a win is a win. I won’t be looking this gift horse in the mouth.

— Sarah Leach is editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com or find her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.