I mentioned in Ava's thirteen month post that our co-sleeping days were coming to a close, and Ava's crib days would soon be among us. I am proud to say that Friday night was the first night she successfully slept in her crib. She woke up after four whole hours of crib sleeping. I nursed her in the rocker, and laid her back down to sleep. I didn't do anything special, nor did I try placing her in the crib during nap time on Friday afternoon. We got ready for "night night" the routine way we always do, but instead of laying her down on my bed, I carried her to the nursery. I really didn't expect Ava to sleep in her crib so soon. I told myself I would actively try, but if she wasn't comfortable, I'd take her out. Well, that didn't happen. I could hear her make a few little noises on the baby monitor, but that was it. I kept tiptoeing into he room to check on her pretty much every fifteen minutes. It didn't help that Cooper would tag along too. I thought for sure the sound of him galloping around would wake the baby... it didn't!

I had the drying running when I put her down, I figured a little noise in the background would be best. Normally we'd use her sound machine, but I didn't want to take it out of our room to put in her room, just to bring it back when she woke up. Well the sound machine is currently in her room. It took me a while to get the socket protector off, and I remember thinking that she would for sure wake up. She didn't. I really didn't expect for this transition to happen so smoothly. I plan on trying every night from here on out. Since Ava is clearly ready for the change, it looks like I have to jump on board too. Consistency is really going to be my best friend in this transition.

I know Justin is going to be thrilled about the progress that we've made. This is definitely a decision I've grown to become content with. After all, it only took us six months to really start this transition. The best part about this entire ordeal is that Ava bug seems to really enjoy the new independence. I didn't want to force her into making a change, and it looks like we won't have to. Have any of my readers successfully gone from co-sleeping to using the crib? If so, I'd love to hear about some of the methods you use. Feel free to leave comments below or email me.

Happy Monday all!

♥- Leilani

From co-sleeping to the crib

This transition has been a bit harder than we thought. Initially we'd planned on co-sleeping until Ava was six months, but with such instability while moving, the age increased to nine months. Here we are just 10 days short of Ava being nine months old, and we are no where near ready for such a huge switch. Bug is young enough to not know exactly what's going on, but old enough to know that the crib is a foreign object. Today is truthfully the first day we've attempted to put her in the crib each time she goes down for a nap. I know consistency is going to be our best friend with such a huge change, and we are hopeful we will have our baby in her own bed within a couple of weeks.

If somehow Ava is throwing out signs that she's just not comfortable with the idea of the crib, than Justin and I have opted to continue to co-sleep. Truthfully, having a baby in the bed isn't that much of a hassle. Ava has grown used to having her parents close, and I feel really bad about taking that security away from her. She won't be a baby forever, and she won't be in our bed forever. Once Justin goes back to work, I'll continue to try to get her to nap during the day in her crib. Even if we revert back to co-sleeping, I don't want the crib to be foreign to Ava. We spent a good chunk of time thinking of ways we can make our Lover bug feel more comfortable in her crib... this was Justin's idea..

It was so cute to see these two in there. I didn't think that having her daddy in her crib would make a difference, but it turns out I was wrong. I really love that my husband is willing to do anything to make our daughter smile. He can't stand when she's unhappy, and I know he'd (attempt) to move mountains for our girl if he could. I'm really excited this morning because I will be seeing a dear friend I haven't seen in quite some time. She made ballerina decorated letters for Ava's room, and I can't wait to hang them up in the nursery. If you are expecting, or looking to gift someone, check out Colorful Characters on Facebook. Mary does an excellent job, and I'm sure once Howl baby #2 comes along, we'll be looking to her to create more colorful letters for the next nursery.

This week I managed to score a "free" mini session with a wonderful local photographer.  I saw a lot of the work she did for former classmates of mine, and instantly I knew I wanted to book a session with Chelsea Giraldo Photography. Check out her Facebook page, I love her work. I'm excited to have pictures taken of my little family. They will be the first set we've had done in 2014, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. Alright all, I'm off! This is the last weekend we have with Justin before he goes back to his normal work schedule, so we are going to make the most of it. Happy Friday all! 

♥- Leilani