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"  For as long as Bobby and I have owned our house\u2014eight years\u2014Ariana&amp;#039;s bedroom has been a nursery. It started as a nursery even before we were parents. We set up the room with anticipation and delight, while awaiting Josh&amp;#039;s arrival. I combed flea markets for distressed painted dressers, shelves and cool beachy accessories, and Bobby spent his weekends and nights creating a beautiful mural on the walls and ceiling. (OK, I knew he was handy but I never knew he could paint! Some things you don&amp;#039;t learn until after you&amp;#039;re married.) He painted a sunset, clouds, water, sky, sand, birds, trees, sailboats and even hot air balloons. It&amp;#039;s an absolutely beautiful scene. Since then, the tiny bedroom has always housed the painted yellow wood spindle crib that cradled all three of my babies through the years. But just the other night, Ariana started straddling the side of the crib and we knew it was only a matter of time before she took the plunge and ended up on the other side. She&amp;#039;s only 2 \u00BD, but for her safety, Bobby said it was time to get her a bed. Last night, he set up the bed as I wrapped the new quilted pillow shams around the pillows and grabbed the freshly washed fairy-princess sheets I bought earlier in the day. &amp;quot;This room doesn&amp;#039;t have a crib in it\u2014it&amp;#039;s always had a crib in it\u2014and now we don&amp;#039;t have a nursery anymore,&amp;quot; I said. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s just a bedroom\u2014Bobby, do you understand what I&amp;#039;m saying?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Yeah,&amp;quot; he said completely unfazed. &amp;quot;The crib we&amp;#039;ve looked at for eight years is gone.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;OK,&amp;quot; he said, not clear on why I was being so melodramatic and hoping my crib rant would end soon. My baby is in a big-girl bed. It feels like a major chapter has closed in our lives. I know I have three kids, but turning the corner every time I came up the stairs and seeing the crib facing the rocking chair always gave me a sense of comfort that we had a baby in the house. We were a new family with so much of life ahead of us. Sometimes when I notice time fleeting, I feel more than sentimental\u2014I feel scared.\u2014Julie Weingarden Dubin Were you sad about moving your little ones from cribs to beds? Were there other changes or stages in your children&amp;#039;s lives that felt bittersweet? Share your thoughts and stories in Comments. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a41427/bye-bye-crib-5225/?src=shelter_footer>