The Big Boy Bed

We lost our big boy bed in the fire. From Kid One we'd been using the under the bed trundle as our transition bed. It was the perfect size for a toddler to climb up fearlessly and the top to floor measurement made Mom and Dad feel safe just in case of a learning-to-sleep-in-a-bed accident. When we replaced Miriam's bed we bought her a pretty little daybed with a trundle underneath, specifically with John Michael in mind. Now JM is very particular about his things. He likes order and he likes things to be just the way he knows them to be so I knew I would need to do some preparing to get him to transition from the crib to the big boy bed. The first night I presented the idea to him of giving Nathan his crib and gaining a big boy bed in the deal he got a panicked look on his face. "No!" he wailed. "This is MYYYYY bed!" He looked around the room and quickly formed an idea in his head - a great idea, "Nathan can have David's bed!" I left him in his crib, knowing that I had at least planted the seed of an idea. A few more times down Idea Alley and he should be a bit more receptive. A few nights later, I presented the idea again. "Soon Nathan can have your little crib and John Michael will get a big boy bed." I expected more of the same, another appeal perhaps to pawn the whole thing off on David or perhaps a cleverly devised stall tactic. Instead, he began to climb out of his crib and happily said, "Ok Nathan can have my bed. I'm going to sleep with Philip." I urged him back into his crib and explained to him that Nathan didn't need his bed for at least a couple more nights... sure wasn't prepared for that quick turnaround anyway! So the very next day we moved beds about the house and now John Michael has his big boy bed and Nathan can snuffle and snort his way through the night all he wants while we remain blessedly unaware of his nocturnal noises.