Moving the Baby to her Room

My baby has been spoiled recently. Normally, we move our babies into their rooms when they are somewhere between 9 and 12 months old. Not this baby. We moved right during that window and my one of my parenting rules is “Don’t make any behavior modifications two months prior to the move and three months after the move.” So, now that we’ve been settled for a few months, it’s time for moving the baby to her room.

This first little bit is a transitional time. We put her to sleep in her room for her naps and at the beginning of the night.  She usually wakes up sometime during the night, and at that point she comes back into our room in her pack and play. This is mostly because I’m too tired at night to put her back and risk waking the other children in the room. After a month or so of this, the baby will start sleeping longer and longer in her bed until she’s spending the night there. Then, we will have our room back to ourselves.

There are some definite benefits to having the baby sleeping in her room. First, and most obviously, we have our room back to ourselves. We will gain the space in our room from having the pack and play out of it. And we will have the pleasure of night weaning the baby. Needless to say, I’ve very excited for this change to take place. But, part of me is also a bit sad.

Moving the baby out of our room means that she’s no longer a baby, but really a toddler. When this transition is complete, she’ll be a full-fledged toddler. My last baby is turning into a toddler. She’s growing so quickly – soon she’ll be talking. I want to hold onto these stages. I don’t want them to rush by so quickly – but I’m also anxious to have some better sleep at night, at least.

It’s an interesting intersection of feelings. I know she’s ready to be in the other room. She’s definitely old enough, and sleeping in our room is starting to disrupt her sleep. I’m proud of how she’s growing and all the amazing things she has learned so far in her short life. I’m also happy she’s healthy enough to move into the girls’ room.

Mixed into all these peaceful and happy feelings is a sadness that she has to grow at all. She can’t be my baby forever, I know. But part of me really wants her to stay little forever.  I want to be able to hold and protect her. I want her to be trusting and innocent. But, I also want this little miracle of mine to show the world what she can do.  She’s got so much love and curiosity; I know she’ll do great things. I guess the answer is to enjoy where she is right now in her growth, celebrate her triumphs, and be ready for the next stage. . . . like moving into her room.

Are there any stages that your children have passed through that have caused you to feel this bitter sweet mixture of feelings? I’d love to hear about them, let me know in the comments below.