Big girl's bed

Thursday night saw a milestone in Elizabeth's life - her first night without the bars on the front of her cot-bed. I've been keen that we should get her used to the idea before we go on holiday next week, because she's really too big for our travel cot and we don't know what sort of cot will be provided in the cottage we're renting.

So, for the past week or so, we've been taking the bars off before putting her to bed - in fact, since she found out it's possible, she's insisted they come off in the morning. But once she's been put to bed she's always asked to have them back on. It was difficult to refuse when they were propped up at the foot of the cot, but on Thursday I had hidden them out of the room.

After her bed-time story, she likes to have the book under her pillow. When I went in to get her up this morning, she was sitting up in bed reading Sharing a Shell. How long before she realises she can get out of bed?