A big bed for my big girl

it seems crazy that i'm even talking about or even thinking about a bed for Gemma already. But this pregnancy is flying by (i'm almost half way done!) and I feel like i need to get productive before it's suddenly 2 weeks before my due date or something (did that make sense?).

The crib Gemma is using right now is a hand-me-down from my cousin and is nearly 10 years old. So it's not a fancy convertible crib and it has so far done its job very well. When baby comes, he/she will be in our room for approximately 2 months in Jesse's old cradle. after that, he/she will have to move on to the crib and into a different room. Of course this is just all what I'm hoping/expecting will happen, which I know doesn't mean it's necessarily going to happen... just wishful thinking. 

so Gemma could be as young as 21 months when we need her to move out of the crib. But of course I don't want to daunt her with the new baby and make her feel like she is being kicked out of her crib. A kind coworker of Jesse's gave us a toddler bed awhile back and it's sitting in the basement as we speak. 

But i am not a huge fan of the idea of changing beds more than necessary, so we've decided to get Gemma a big bed (like a normal twin sized bed). We'll get one whenever we find one we like and then set it up in her room while she still sleeps in her crib. Our plan is to do our bedtime routine on the bed, but put her into the crib to sleep, so she is used to having the bed in the room. Then hopefully, if she is willing, we can move her into the bed even just a few weeks before baby arrives so she doesn't have to adjust to too many things at once.

I've spoken to a few people who have had to move their toddlers out of their cribs early and it sounds like the consensus is that moving them to a real bed is actually not that difficult or that hard for the toddler to adjust to as long as you do it "right".... and what i described above is what people have suggested (as well as the online parenting "experts"), so i am going to give it a go. Now the challenge is finding a bed and bedding that Gemma will absolutely love so that she will want to actually spend time on her bed. 

as always, advice is always appreciated if you've gone through a similar situation. if not advice, just sharing what your experience is great too. Have a happy Family Day! (if you're in AB, SK, or ON)