From cradle to cot - my tiny tot is growing up!

Little Red celebrated his 5 month birthday on Saturday so last night we decided to honour the occasion by finally moving him into his cot. Having put the "transition" off as long as we could, we eventually took the plunge after realising that he was 1) the only baby in coffee group still in a cradle and 2) now playing footsies with the safety bars every time he had a stretch.

So! Up went the cot, out came the mattress and on went the sheets and blankets and boy was it big. We put Little Red in there after setting it up to see just how wee he still was and you pretty much had to squint to find him.

As the night grew ever closer I became slightly apprehensive. While he is a reasonably good sleeper (averaging a 7-8 hour block each night) he's one hell of a stirrer and will quite often get me up to pop his dummy back in around 2 or 3am. Having slept right next to me in his cradle or, when he's really lucky, in bed with me and Nick I wasn't sure how well I would fare having him *shock! horror!* across the other side of the room. I had gotten so accustomed to knowing he was within a metre's reach of me at all times that I felt uneasy having him now about 10 metres away from me - yes, we have an enormous bedroom.

The kid may as well have had his first day at school for the way I was carrying on. I felt as if I was standing on the doorstep bidding him adieu as he jumped in his car and drove off to college, only to return in mid-semester break with a girl on his arm who he claimed was the love of his life (which reminds me of something my Mum always used to say: your kids are only ever on loan to you). My baby was growing up! 

Talk about separation anxiety. On my part, not his. At 9.30pm on the dot after having guzzled his bottle I gently removed our slumbering angel from the arms of Nick, took him upstairs and tucked him in and wham! He was out like a light not to wake again til 6.30am. No early morning grizzles for his dummy. No footsies. No nothing. Just a perfectly content, sleeping bundle. 

I do sit here wondering if it's all too good to be true. That it was just beginners luck and tonight I'll be making the trek from our bed to his in the cold, eerie darkness of the wee morning hours to scramble for his dummy and pop it back in before he gets too worked up. In some ways (I feel it now, but possibly not at 2am) I kind of hope he does need me to make that trip. I don't know how I feel about him being settled and happy in his cot so far away from me. Surely he would feel the same? A little sad that he's not right next to me anymore? Hrm. Perhaps I should lay off the helicopter mum antics.

So, I guess we find ourselves at a milestone. As much as I miss having Little Red close, I do hope the cot thing works out as smoothly as it did last night. I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed my 8 hours of unbroken sleep. Let's see if I get it again tonight.