Bye-Bye Big Bed

You have to promise not to judge us if you read this, and if you do judge us, with your perfect parenting prowess, you have to come here and be us for the past 2 weeks and then you'll change your mind. Got it. Good. Here we go:

Yesterday, Husbandguy put Lulu's crib back in her room and propped her big-girl mattresses in the corner. See, it wasn't working out, this sleeping on real mattresses. She hated it; she said she was scared; she woke up EVERY NIGHT (starting before we put the bed in her room) screaming herself hoarse, inconsolable, miserable, 4 or 5 times a night. And during the day she was impossible, difficult, mean, cranky, tired, just generally unpleasant. So Saturday night, after both HG and I had gone in to try (without success) to calm her a couple of times, HG asked her if she wanted her crib back. This is not a question I would have thought to ask because I'm all stuck in what-the-experts-say land, and They say not to go backward. But it was the best choice, turns out. Thank goodness HG doesn't read or heed parenting advice from strangers. She helped him rebuild the crib while I was at church and then was a different kid after that. She still doesn't listen well (because she's 2), but she has been more cheerful and easy-going and relaxed. She napped peacefully in her crib after lunch, and she did wake up once last night (yelling, though, not screaming), but she went right back to sleep when I reminded her that we'd changed her bed back so she wouldn't wake us up all night. It worked.

She had been excited about the mattresses, said she wanted them, told her teachers and friends and everyone about getting them, but the reality was apparently different than she was expecting. So this is going to be like the potty I guess. The mattresses are there when she's ready, but it's going to need to be her choice entirely because it's too exhausting for everyone to try to force her to like it.