Bella’s bed

Nope, we are not naming our daughter Bella. Sweet name, but this is
the story of how we came to find this bed in our nursery.

A week or two ago, I started second guessing almost everything on my
registries. One of my main concerns was the mini crib that I wanted
since a traditional bed felt too big for our room. If we didn’t have
that crazy diagonal wall for the back corner, we might could have
pulled off today’s conversion cribs, which will become a beautiful bed
frame once she gets old enough for a big girl bed. But that is not the
case. Plus there would not be enough room a twin-sized inflatable bed
for when Grandma comes to visit. That space is valuable.

I’ve discussed the mini crib before; it is on casters and can even be
rolled down the hall to watch football with Rocky. But one thing was
never clear to me. How long would she fit in the bed? Could she make
it to two years or to be a big sister? If not, then what would we do?
Buy another larger bed sooner? Seems like that defeats the purpose of
a small crib. Plus according to the Baby Bargains Book, which Is the
baby gear bible, the manufacturer had a poor score. Not because of the
mini crib, but just in general. I’m talking a C or a D here. And on
top of that, I had never actually seen a model of the bed in person.

Late January, when Ike and Laura took us stroller test driving, I
realized that I really did want a Stokke crib. But with the economy,
how could you ever justify the price? I lingered a little too long as
Ike proceed to enjoy registering me for everything from a princess
table and chair set to multiple bedding sets for the Stokke Sleepi.
The bumper pads are a pretty penny alone. Thankfully I was able to
delete Ike’s additions via the Internet. Why would we ever need five
Baby Bjorn carriers?

Then a couple of weeks ago, I grew addicted to the iPhone craigslist
application. And I found a crib. I lost the first Stokke crib, which
was a little closer to DC and a little less money. But I was
persistent in crib number two. I was not going to miss this
opportunity for a great deal. Unlike the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair,
the cribs do not pop up very often. I was worried about finding
another before June. Much less, before the end of March in time for my
baby shower, a perfect to receive sheets and such.

Last week, Taylor and I went to some massive baby store in Maryland.
This trip and her new mom knowledge was incredibly helpful. They have
lots of discount furniture, which I don’t really need any furniture.
So I wasnt really sure why we were going until I got there. The best
part of the trip was walking around the store and having her point out
bottles and pacifiers and all of those teeny tiny overwhelming things
I had never considered a year ago. And, of course, hanging out with
Taylor and Silas!

While there, we looked once again at standard cribs and then at the
Stokke. There was a noticeable size difference. The Baby Bargains did
give the Stokke Sleepi an A- minus for those who are space deprived.
The minus was for the cost, but thankfully I had found the deal on
craigslist, which also included the mattress, pads and sheets. Yes,
this was my crib.

So last weekend I borrowed Ben’s Jeep and headed off to Fredricksburg
by myself, which also coincided with the ACC Tournament. There was no
point in asking anyone to join me for the hour-long jaunt, and that
was only one way.

I finally made it despite a missing driver’s side mirror, traffic on
95 and a general drizzly day. When I knocked on the front door, Bella
was sitting on the couch watching Pippi Longstickings. She told her
dad that I was there. When he came to the door, I asked if he had the
crib. He did, so we went upstairs to check out the bed, which was now
waiting in the hallway.

As the three of us stood there, Bella leaned over into the open panel
of the crib, which is converted for the three-year-old-plus stage.
"Why is my bed in the hallway?" Uh-oh. Her dad mutters, "I didn’t want
to do this." He replied, "Your mother is out shopping for you a new
bed right now."

I looked down and said, "I heard you’re getting a big girl bed and so
is your littlr sister." Then I asked if she liked her bed. She said
yes, as she rolled around a little bit one more time. Then I said,
"Well, I have a little baby in my belly. Would you let her sleep in
your bed?" She replied yes, very sweetly. And then the question I
should have anticipated… "How did that baby get in your belly?"

Maybe I could have phrased my request a little differently. Maybe she
didn’t notice the bulge protruding from my abdomen. And maybe she
completely forgot the whole experience of her mom being pregnant just
over a year ago.

And without blinking an eye, I gave the most appropriate response
anyone can give to a complete stranger’s child when they ask you about
the miracle of life: "Magic." Her father quickly followed up with a
"You can ask your mother when she gets home."

About that time, her little sister woke up from her napped and
appeared from behind a waist-high door. Together they explored the bed
in the hallway, as I inspected it for wear and tear. Looks good to me.
As we started to go down the steep stairwell, Bella followed up with,
"I think I’ve got a baby in my belly, too." Oops! How long is she
going to remember that and where will this new fact pop out of her
mouth? Sunday School, play school or in line at the grocery store?

When I took off to pick up the crib, I never considered that the most
dramatic part of the day would be taking a child’s beloved bed and
facing some really tough questions about life. At least I have a few
more years before I can expect those same questions to start spilling
out.

It was somewhat of a relief to return to a group of guys, who took
time out from the games to unload the Jeep. Rocky called it a hamster
wheel and Hart said he could fit in it. We discovered from the
internet that there is a 176 pound limit, but I wouldn’t let him test
the limits. But it was easy peasy to wheel the crib right in through
the lobby, down the narrow common hallway and into our bedroom to test
the space, before finally resting in the nursery. No assembly required.