Charles is 3. God, that pains me. Where has the time gone?
He's still in a cot. Not even a giant cot-bed type cot. It's a cot cot - a very lovely one which has been furnishing our house now for over 6 years - as Rosie's SIX! Don't even get me started...
So it's time to move on. I've several reservations. Firstly, as you may have gathered, I'm not too good at the 'whole children growing up' thing. I must be the only parent who is saddened at the speed with which a child potty trained and no-longer needed nappies. No longer needed ME! I'm further gutted by the fact that we hardly need a buggy these days - buggies that have littered our tiny terrace for over, gulp, 6 years - but I'll miss them, these hunks of clutter, these nuisances, because what they say, in all their now truly banana-stained finery is, "I have a BABY". But now I don't, do I?
Secondly and, if I'm honest, more importantly, the child is going to be de-caged. On the loose. When we put him to bed he generally sings for half an hour, has a little chatter - it's all fine really. We get on with our life downstairs; working, eating, drinking - all to the sound of our youngest's dulcet tones. But what will happen when he's no longer barred in? Much as I love your singing my dear, I love my evenings too, and what's more I need to WORK!!
I know there's people who'll say it won't occur to him to get out, well pah! I remember you telling me that with Rosie. Either you're lying or I have an Einstein child on my hands because it occurred to her, several million times. Actually only last night did she come down at 9pm to tell us when she stands on her heals in hurts. The solution was simple... GO TO SLEEP!!
So we'll go for it, we have to. Soon now we'll be cot-less, evening-less and sleep-less but it's gotta be done. Wish us luck!
But you never know, you may well have one of those miracle children who stay happily in their own beds. My 3 year-old sleeps in a cot bed next to ours with one side taken off, which he can easily get out of, but it's honestly never occurred to him to try it on at bedtime. Which is a good thing, as my second and third children were (and still are sometimes) bloody nightmares (sorry - typo - that should naturally have read 'little darlings') when I was putting them to sleep. They're all different.
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