When you’re the parent of little ones, it feels like a lot of milestones revolve around sleep, like the first time they sleep through the night or when they sleep in a bed instead of a crib. Today host Jenna Bush Hager is celebrating that her 4-year-old son Hal is finally sleeping in his own big boy bed … but not without a good bit of criticism. Jenna revealed last year that the preschooler was still sleeping in his crib, and she had kind of given up on making him sleep in a regular bed. But now, it sounds like Hal has taken matters into his own hands.
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Hal made the decision while his mom was out of commission.
This week on Today with Hoda & Jenna, Jenna shared the good news. She explained that Hal told his dad that the time had come while she was quarantined with COVID-19.
"I was pushed away into my room, watching all that was on television," she explained before she added that Hal was "free" to be himself.
Jenna was absolutely shocked at Hal's decision.
"So Henry heard him say, 'Daddy! Daddy!' and he went in and he said, 'I’m ready,'" she said, imitating Hal calling to his dad. "And Henry said, 'You’re ready for what?' and he said, ‘I need to move into my big boy bed!'"
They then shared a video of "little angel" Hal sleeping soundly in his bed.
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Jenna worries that she's 'overbearing' as a mom.
Hal has been in his crib since he was born, but Jenna shared that his big boy bed has been "waiting" in his room for two years.
"It all happened without his mother’s help," she quipped. "And that leads me to wonder if I’m too overbearing."
Sometimes kids need space to make their decisions.
Hoda, who is a mother to two young girls, commented that sometimes when parents are "out of the picture," it gives the kids space to finally make big decisions.
"We think no changes are going to happen without our urging or cheering or guidance," she said.
Jenna admitted she felt 'shamed' about Hal's sleeping arrangements.
Jenna revealed Hal’s previous sleeping arrangements in October on the show, which she claimed led to a lot of "shaming." It was that criticism that led her to push Hal a little more to move into his bed.
"I said, 'OK, Hal, I think it’s time. Some friends have said it’s time to move,'" she shared after his move. "And he said he was not ready. He was scared."
That's when Hoda reminded her that it ultimately doesn’t matter where he sleeps because "when he’s 20, he won’t remember sleeping in a crib till he was 4-and-a-half."
But as Jenna pointed out, Hal will luckily have this conversation on film to know that it did!
