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| The room as it has been for the past year. |
We've been working on making Mabel's room a bigger part of her life. Although we've had it decorated and set up for her, we have been co-sleeping since she was about 4 months old. We started transitioning M to her own bed about 8 months ago, then the first trimester icks kicked in and I wasn't up for any sort of change. As my belly goes from giant to gargantuan, and since we went from king sized bed to queen, sleeping has been a little tight. Now we're back at transitioning, which hasn't been particularly easy (neither C nor I thought it would be). I've been sleeping in her room, so I'm still close by, but told her at the outset I would sleep in there 8 times. Other than that, we've been trying different tactics to make our little one feel more like her room is her special place.
One of my first thoughts was to let her pick out the sheets for her bed. I started looking around at sheets online, but decided I wanted to feel them before splurging on sheets. I also couldn't imagine a good way to present the options to Mabel in a way that felt tangible. By the time we'd receive the sheets she would've forgotten all about them, and the novelty of making her own choice would've long lost its sparkle.
Garnet Hill Painted Ponies ($68 for twin sheet set); Land of Nod Field Guide ($69.00 for twin sheet set); Circo Pretty Horses ($17.99 for twin sheet set at Target); Land of Nod Princess and the Pea ($79.00 for twin sheet set)
M and I took a trip to Target and made it to the bedding section just in time for an emotional collapse of her 3 year old spirit; sobs followed by a determined declaration that she was not going to sleep in her own bed. I realized the choices were far too overwhelming, the change was too forced feeling, and we went home without the sheets. Fast forward to yesterday: another trip to Target. I had it in my mind that we were going to pick out a set of solid sheets for her bed and use fabric markers to make them her own. Straight to the solids, I asked if she liked the pinkish color they had, she said she wanted the blue ones. Blue it was! En route leaving the sheets, though, we saw another set with a cute little horse pattern and she said she wanted those, too! Success!
We're 3 nights into the transition, and it's been tough on all of us. I know co-sleeping is a touchy subject and everyone has a different opinion, but there are many different approaches to parenting. Plus, as my dad says, "There are enough ways for everybody." So yeah, we're finding our way.