Smarter Than I Give Him Credit For

I keep going back and forth as to whether to move David into a toddler bed before or after the baby gets here. On the one hand it would be nice to able to completely take down the crib for a few months before handing it over to the baby so he doesn't feel as though he's being booted out to make way for a sibling (though in reality that's pretty much the case). But on the other hand he is still happy in his crib and more to the point hasn't figured out how to climb out. Most nights he still wakes up at least once and I hear him jumping up and down on the crib mattress until he eventually tires out and (generally) falls back asleep. I have a feeling though that if he had the ability to get free and get to his toys (not to mention the rest of the house) that would all change so we may well leave him there until he can climb out and let the baby crash in a bassinet or playpen in the meantime.

Anyway, today I thought I'd just broach the subject to see how receptive to it he was. I found some online pictures of toddler beds and asked how he'd like to sleep in a big boy bed like that instead of in his crib. He immediately selected the above bedding set with planes, trains, and trucks (real shocker there) and wanted to go get it right away but then he paused and I could see the wheels turning in his head. All of a sudden he gets really serious and asks, "Mommy, where Baby Brudder sleep?"

I was floored! We've told him that he's going to get a baby brother in the summer but not much else. Since he's still so young we're waiting until the time gets a lot closer to really try and prepare him for any changes that might take place and don't discuss it too much in front of him. I was able to (truthfully) explain that when the baby is first born he will sleep in a little bed next to me but David didn't seem completely satisfied with that explanation. He pronounced then and there he was staying in his crib and immediately lost all interest in "big boy beds." Sheesh! Why does he have to be so darn perceptive?