From the moment we were expecting our first child, I knew one day we would have a trundle bed. I love trundle beds. I have always loved trundle beds. This great love affair must have started when my mother would read us the Little House books. I could picture Mary and Laura snuggled up in their trundle bed while the winter weather beat against the little cabin in the woods of Wisconsin. With that cozy picture nestled happily in my brain, I was quite susceptible to the Pottery Barn Kids catalogue pictures of a little white wooden bed with a matching trundle bed peeking out from beneath it.
When our first two children turned out to both be girls, I envisioned them sharing a room with a twin bed and a trundle bed. However, when it came time to replace their toddler beds with "real" beds, those two girls had their hearts set on bunk beds. That didn't stop me. I bought bunk beds with a trundle bed. After all, baby number three was on the way and it turned out she was going to be a girl too. Why not three girls in one room. And even if we decided against that, wouldn't we need an extra bed for sleepovers and the occasional visit from Grandma. I also thought that while the top bunk would be Meg's, she might opt to sleep on the trundle bed for awhile. That turned out not to be the case. The top bunk of our bunk beds is so enclosed she has always been completely safe there (the two-year-old brother of one of her friends refers to it as Meg's cribby because it looks more like a crib than a bed). It also helps that Meg is a sound sleeper and never wakes up at night (in other words, no middle of the night ladder climbing).
For months, the trundle bed went unused. Right up until Meg broke her finger. Once the doctor determined she needed a full cast over her hand and top part of her arm, ladder climbing any time of day became just about impossible. Oh, how grateful we've been for that trundle bed over the last few weeks. Each night I pull it out. Each morning I push it back under the bed. And in between Meg has a safe, cozy place on which to sleep. An added benefit is that the girls must keep their floor free of toys and dress up clothes so that I can pull the bed out.
Last night as we were reading from a Little House book, Meg became so excited by the mention of a trundle bed. "Hey," she said, "They have a trundle bed just like me." I don't know how much use the trundle bed will get after Meg gets her cast off in a few weeks. Meg and Clare do have plans for Baby Anne to move into their room when she is bigger so they can have a "sleeping room" and they can turn her room into the "play room." Perhaps we'll do that for awhile. But then a few years later, I suspect one of them will make the play room into their own bedroom. Then the other two will separate the bunk beds into two twin beds and move them to opposite sides of the big "sleeping room." Then everyone will have as much personal space as they can get. But with any luck, there will be nights when they all pile into one room again for late night talks and that trundle bed will be pulled out once again so they can all be together.
I love trundle beds. And I do so hope this trundle bed will be a happy memory in my daughters' childhood.
When our first two children turned out to both be girls, I envisioned them sharing a room with a twin bed and a trundle bed. However, when it came time to replace their toddler beds with "real" beds, those two girls had their hearts set on bunk beds. That didn't stop me. I bought bunk beds with a trundle bed. After all, baby number three was on the way and it turned out she was going to be a girl too. Why not three girls in one room. And even if we decided against that, wouldn't we need an extra bed for sleepovers and the occasional visit from Grandma. I also thought that while the top bunk would be Meg's, she might opt to sleep on the trundle bed for awhile. That turned out not to be the case. The top bunk of our bunk beds is so enclosed she has always been completely safe there (the two-year-old brother of one of her friends refers to it as Meg's cribby because it looks more like a crib than a bed). It also helps that Meg is a sound sleeper and never wakes up at night (in other words, no middle of the night ladder climbing).
For months, the trundle bed went unused. Right up until Meg broke her finger. Once the doctor determined she needed a full cast over her hand and top part of her arm, ladder climbing any time of day became just about impossible. Oh, how grateful we've been for that trundle bed over the last few weeks. Each night I pull it out. Each morning I push it back under the bed. And in between Meg has a safe, cozy place on which to sleep. An added benefit is that the girls must keep their floor free of toys and dress up clothes so that I can pull the bed out.
Last night as we were reading from a Little House book, Meg became so excited by the mention of a trundle bed. "Hey," she said, "They have a trundle bed just like me." I don't know how much use the trundle bed will get after Meg gets her cast off in a few weeks. Meg and Clare do have plans for Baby Anne to move into their room when she is bigger so they can have a "sleeping room" and they can turn her room into the "play room." Perhaps we'll do that for awhile. But then a few years later, I suspect one of them will make the play room into their own bedroom. Then the other two will separate the bunk beds into two twin beds and move them to opposite sides of the big "sleeping room." Then everyone will have as much personal space as they can get. But with any luck, there will be nights when they all pile into one room again for late night talks and that trundle bed will be pulled out once again so they can all be together.
I love trundle beds. And I do so hope this trundle bed will be a happy memory in my daughters' childhood.
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