We were living in Miami when I became pregnant with Wade. Our home was a cozy one-bedroom garage apartment, surrounded by avocado and citrus trees. The little cottage apartment was barely big enough for the two of us, not to mention a new baby. As we planned for the new addition, we knew that our baby would be sharing our small bedroom with us – there was no other place for him or her – space was definitely limited. I was determined to purchase a full-sized baby bed; I wanted my baby to sleep in comfort, with plenty of room to grow.
The perfect crib found us in the baby department of one of Miami’s department stores. It was a simple style, painted white, with pink and blue spinning balls along the top of the headboard. Stenciled on the headboard panel were the cutest little puppies I’d ever seen. It was the latest design – both side rails went up and down, and the springs had three height adjustments, showing consideration for both a growing baby and the parents who lifted baby in and out of bed. The rail tops had a plastic coating on them, a safety feature for teething babies. I loved this bed at first sight, and even though we couldn’t afford it, somehow we found the money to purchase it.
David assembled it in our bedroom as soon as it was delivered. It fit nicely tucked into a corner of our bedroom, with enough room to spare for a small rocking chair beside it. I put a fresh crib sheet on the mattress, hung the nursery rhyme mobile my parents had given to us, and waited for baby Wade or Katherine to arrive. The crib and I were ready for baby.
Wade slept in the crib from the day we brought him home from the hospital until he was almost three years old. It moved with us several times over those years, and David became very proficient at assembling and disassembling it with each move.
By the time Wade celebrated his third birthday, he had made the move into a big boy bed. We were expecting another baby, and Wade was excited about becoming a big brother.
Before Brian was born, we moved into a house with a small bedroom that would serve as a nursery. David assembled the crib, and I cleaned it up and pulled out the crib sheets I’d stored away. Up went the same mobile that had been Wade’s, and we were again ready for baby.
Brian slept in the crib until he was big enough to climb in and out of it all by himself. Again, we took it down, stored it in the basement, and Brian graduated to a twin bed with rails on each side.
I knew that there would be no more babies coming our way, and thought often about my beautiful crib gathering dust in the basement. What should I do with it? My answer came one morning as a dropped Brian off at a neighborhood church day care center, where he spent one day each week while I worked a part-time job. The center was growing by leaps and bounds, and I noticed that the three cribs in the nursery room were occupied. I asked the director if she accepted donations. You’d have thought I’d offered her a million dollars! Yes! They’d love to have another crib, and hand-me-downs were most welcome.
I talked first to Wade and Brian about the idea of giving their baby bed to the day care center. Upon receiving their enthusiastic approval, we told David our plan. He agreed, and by the following week, the crib was being used by a cute baby girl. When I dropped Brian off at the center my next working day, he was delighted to see his bed with a sleeping baby in it.
I’ve often thought about that crib, wondering where it is and who is safely tucked into it. I'd like to believe that even after all these years, it is still on duty.
1 comment:
I don't know if you are aware that cribs no longer come with sides that can be lowered because they have been outlawed. Why a child could fall out!
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