Monday 25 January 2010

Cot - farewell my friend

If there is ever a seminal moment in a child's life, it's the transition from babies cot to big grown-up bed.

This normally occurs somewhere around the child's second birthday, which means that the child has no memory of the move, making it more of a seminal moment in a parent's life, as they lament the end of the baby years.

Which is exactly what I'm doing at the moment.

And I'm emotional.

For Edie, this transition has been, somewhat fraught, not to mention rather slow, starting more than a year ago and ending last night with the listing of it on e-bay.

I almost cried.

Edie may have already turned three, but she has show no signs of wanting to make the transition into her big girls bed, if 'Mummy, cot'. *wail, sob, sob, wail* 'Mummy, cot, pleeeeeease', is anything to go by.

Silly, maybe, but it has been more than just a place to sleep. For a child such as Edie, who lists her best friends as 'pillow' and 'thumb', 'cot' has been her little sanctuary, a place that she has always welcomed, never ever resisted and on numerous occasions, has had to be forcibly removed from.

But the time has come. She is now as long as the cot itself and, I hate to admit it, almost as wide.

It is, however, still in her room, and until e-bay works its magic, there it shall remain, a reminder of happier times. And I say that because last night at 2 o'clock in the morning, I sat cradling a crying child who had, unfortunately, thumped to the floor from her newly-slept in bed. The presence of 'cot' was not welcome, causing, as it did, even more tears.

Little Edie, we will never forget your cot. I was even tempted to write a poem, 'an ode to cot', but having sat here for the last half an hour trying to work out what rhymes with cot other than bot bot, I realise that I am, erm, not a poet.

So little cherub, this will have to do.

You were a baby.
And now you're not.
Hello bed.
Goodbye cot.

26 comments:

  1. I'm sorry you're sad. But I did laugh at your little poem...so cute. I hope you're going to write that out & stick on her wall. Aww, grown up Edie, in a grown up girls bed..xx

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  2. I sold my daughter's cot then when the person left with it I sobbed. I knew I was crazy but I sobbed anyway and it felt better. I could have used that poem... !

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  3. Aahh that's so sweet. I remember getting tearful when we gave away my son's cot. It's a little rite of passage. My 2 year old is still in hers though and I haven't quite got round to thinking about it yet. Hope Edie sleeps better tonight.

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  4. that's so sweet. I couldn't move on from our cots fast enough-- and then regretted it every time.

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  5. A lovely poem, and what better word than bot-bot!! I remember Amy's transition, it was easy because she kept climbing out of her cot and was desperate to get into my bed. So I bought her one of her own. Sorted. Sort of.

    CJ xx

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  6. That poem is perfect; brief, and to the point. Who said you're not a poet?

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  7. I love that poem Emily, it's Milligan-esque in its comic simplicity! You should post it on Judith's Room... We had the opposite problem with No 1 Son... he HATED his cot and when we put him in his own bed he didn't like that either. All he wanted was to go in our bed. For the first three years of his life, I looked like Droopy (the cartoon character. In case anyone's too young to remember).

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  8. awwww i hate getting rid of baby things especially cots. 4yr old stayed in hers until she was nearly 3 but 3yr old was out of hers before she was 2!! 2year old has slept in a bed since 18months becuase her sisters sleep in big beds. i think they all take their own time to move on. great poem too xxx

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  9. Love the poem. Gets it just right. Poor cot, hope it goes on to have another happy owner. x

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  10. Awww I love the poem! I found it really traumatic with my first but by the time I had my second I was like "wahey, somewhere else to sleep when the kids invade my bed!". Sorry :-S

    Mel xxx

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  11. Ah its so sad when you reach those real "Goodbye Babyhood" moments. Especially when your little one is so attached to the cot! I looked back at some photos of SC in her cot the other say when she way tiny and I remember thinking she'd never fill it! How quickly time flies! xxx

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  12. Ok had to laugh at the "bot bot". Unlike you I couldn't wait to get rid of the cot, it was definitely easier with my second child than my first I think. The one thing I didn't like is once we got rid of the cot it was bed invasion for us, we would quite regularly get little bed time visits in the middle of the night. Good luck with the transition.

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  13. I'm afraid I hung on to Sally's cot, long after she'd moved into a bed, her mum had moved out, and life had moved on. And then her baby brother came along!

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  14. Gulp I know what you mean. We found a load of photos yesteray of when the children were younger, oh god so sweet! -we were on holiday too. Remember sun, swimming pools, warmth? I plastered them all over the fridge, now I cry everytime I walk past. Get rid of the cot, move on, us sentimental folk don't need reminders.

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  15. We moved Toddlergirl out of her bed about 6 months ago to free it up for Babygirl but had to move her back when we found her crying to climb back into it shouting 'mine cot' ... perhaps we'll manage it one day !

    Do like your cot ode - will borrow that one !

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  16. I think that is a perfect poem, sums it up beautifully

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  17. I love your little poem. It's very, ahem, poemish.

    I bought a cot that's going to transform into a junior bed and will last until little L is seven. She looked a bit lost in it to begin with, but there'll be no separation anxieties for the next years to come.

    xx Deborah
    PS: I missed you!!

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  18. I had to comment on your daughter's name...Edie
    That is my name and I thought it was dead to the world. I am glad it has been resurrected. Actually my name is Edith, but I prefer Edie I am the primary caregiver for my 2 toddler grandsons 4 days a week. Please check out my grandma blog...Thanks
    www.generositiesoftheheart.blogspot.com

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  19. Hi, I have saved your blog spot - as I really like it, its down to earth! I like your stories as they are so personal! Love the poem about the cot! Thanks Kelly

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  20. Lovely poem ;-)

    All these milestones are bittersweet aren't they?

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  21. I couldn't get rid of the cot we used for our two .... because it was my cot! My dad had kept it (because he couldn't bear to let it go) and when my daughter was well on the way, he renovated it and presented it to us, much to my delight. My husband wanted to keep it so that he can do the same. So it's up there in the loft, waiting until we become grandparents!!
    Loved, loved, loved your poem by the way.

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  22. I bought my daughter a cot-bed and she stayed into it until she was about four. I bought her a beautiful bed and took the cot down. I thought all was well until she refused to sleep in the bed. I had to assemble the cot-bed again. Maybe I should not have done that. Thankfully her friends jumped on it and it broke, and suddenly the bed seemed the more attractive option. But then I had to invest in sidebars so she wouldn't fall out. Then she started wandering into my bed late at night. Oh dear, I'm not helping matters am I?

    They are growing up, that's the issue. Sometimes it's tough for parents to see those baby years disappear.

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  23. Ohhhhhh... The spud hasn't grown out of his cot yet, it's converted to a cot-bed but we reckon he'll be out of in in six months or so, he's already nearly touching top and bottom... I know I'll be arguing to keep it for ridiculous reasons but I'm sure it'll go on eBay just the same.

    Great poem, have you told it to her yet?

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  24. The morning we moved to America, a friend came round to take away the cot I'd sold her (she didn't need it, but was selling it on for me). She and I stood in our hallway, with our 2 year olds in our arms. They'd been born 2 days apart. She and I were long-standing friends, and got pregnant (with my 3rd, with her 4th) at the same time, and joked about being in the maternity hospital together. And then we were! Our daughters had had 2 years as best friends.

    Saying goodbye to her, while watching our husbands try and fit the cot into their people carrier, is one of my saddest memories. It seemed to signify such loss. The end of our era in Scotland, the loss of friendship that inevitably involved, and the end of the cot era for me. We knew youngest could cope in a bed, so there was really no point taking a cot to America with us).

    Saying goodbye to a cot is always emotional, so I'd been dreading it anyway. Then it just seemed all too much, when it got swept up with so much else.

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  25. Love your poem, by the way.

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  26. chin up! I sold a playpen to a guy that wanted to use it for his labrador puppy!

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