Well, Clara has officially made the full transition from crib to bed. We never expected her to sleep in her crib for so long (we’ve been “at the ready” with a big girl bed for over a year now, since many of her friends started making the switch back then), but this girl just loves to surprise us and truly adored her crib. And we adored that she was sleeping soundly all night long (even after being potty trained, she was able to hold it ’til the morning). So we didn’t want to rock the boat for all of our sakes, and decided to trust our doc when he said “let sleeping kids lie – she’ll let you know when she’s ready.”
When she started taking “play naps” in her big girl bed, we took it as a sign that she was showing some interest. And then a few real naps followed the play naps, and then she wanted to try her big girl bed out during the night as well, and thus the transition began. Now she’s 100% in her big girl bed (and has been for the last month or so, which is why we’re finally confident enough to make mathematical statements like 100%).
Our biggest fear about the transition was that she’d use it as an opportunity to get up and play at night, or wake us up crazy early in the morning – but she has surprised us once again and has made the switch really smoothly. Except for a couple getting-up-to-put-another-stuffed-animal-in-her-bed incidents, she has slept through the night and through naps without issue. We’re thrilled and extremely relieved.
Half of me can’t believe that she was so happy to sleep in a crib for so long, and the other half of me can’t believe she’s now sleeping on a big twin sized mattress every night. How is she not still a tiny infant in my arms? You blink and they’re all grown up. No I’m not crying, there’s just dust in my eye.
The most exciting thing about this development is that we could finally move the crib out of her room. We waited about a month to do this since we didn’t want her to feel like it got ripped away from her the moment she was finished using it. And as we were moving it out, we told her how now it would make more room for fun things.
So here’s the blank in-between look that the wall was sporting…
… and here’s what it’s looking like now.
I know, I know – we said “make more room for fun” and then we put a dresser there. But the wall where the dresser used to live… well, we’re working on a complete wall o’ fun for her there. Plus Clara was so excited for us to hang the birdcages from her playroom up above her dresser in its new spot (between the striped toy baskets, the moose lamp, the play table and chairs, the daybed, and the pile of art that we’re planning to hang, this room is turning into a nice mix of stuff from her nursery and her playroom).
It still feels a little sparse though, so I think we might layer in some more art or put something in the birdcages (piles of ribbons? Clara is obsessed with ribbons lately…) so this wall isn’t finished, but I think it’s inching in the right direction.
As for how we hung the birdcages, we just used white plant hooks in the ceiling screwed into anchors to hold them nice and firmly up there. And when it comes to their placement, John just held them up and I stood back and said “there – no there! – ok, right there!” and we marked the spots on the ceiling, hung the hooks, and then adjusted the ribbon length on each one until we liked their hanging height.
Of course, during the whole get-the-hooks-in-the-ceiling part of the objective, our little assistant was happy to play with the birdcages. At one point she even picked both of them up and breathlessly said “I love carrying birdcages around.” I’d have a picture of that for you, but we were both laughing so hard that we couldn’t see straight. But I did get this one slightly before that moment…
Oh and this can be filed under “small details” but that bowl on the dresser full of blocks always bugged me because while the top of it was all glossy and red (it was originally just a white bowl from Ikea that I spray painted for a book project), the bottom was all splotchy and half-sprayed… which NEVER would have bothered me if it wasn’t visible, but since it has curved sides, you could clearly see the messy underbelly (scroll two pics up to see what I mean). So I finally did something I’ve been meaning to do forever, and painted the bottom a contrasting color.
It only took me twenty minutes, and I have no idea why I waited so long. As for how I got ‘er done, I rubbed the bottom of the bowl with liquid deglosser, just to get it paint-ready. Then I used a small brush and a test pot of paint that we’ve had around forever (Embellished Blue by Behr) to coat the bottom of the bowl. The small brush and thin application got me through it without any drips onto the front, and after two coats and some drying time, it was ready to rock out on the dresser again.
Here’s that side of the room from the doorway now. Oh and see those hooks on the side of the dresser? Those used to hold the wet bags for our cloth diapers, but I strung up two ribbons to hold hair clips for Clara. She likes snapping them off and on, so it’s sort of like a fun new activity for her. Such a funny gal.
Speaking of funny, it’s funny how you can get so used to turning the corner and seeing this…
… and suddenly it’s not there anymore.
But the most exciting wall of the room is still in progress (you can see the corners of a few items that we’ve added to the mix on the right of this room shot). I still have a few things to paint/hang/drill, but we’re hoping to have that all done and photographed for you guys on Thursday.
Until then, I’d love to hear about other people’s crib-to-bed switching experiences. Were your kids super young and climbing out of the crib? Is Clara going to end up in the Guinness Book Of World Records for Longest Holdout? Is your son or daughter in a toddler bed, or did they make the switch straight to a twin sized mattress? It’s amazing how kids all move at different paces for things like walking, talking, and bed sleeping (Clara was a really early-talker, but had no interest in walking for a while – and certainly liked her crib more than most). I love that they all move at their own sweet little pace.
Psst- We’re chatting about baby names (and what the bun would have been named if he was a she) over on Young House Life.
Katie says
I love it. I am so jealous of the size of your rooms. Our bedrooms are a fraction of that size (I don’t think my master is that big) so it makes furniture placement very difficult.
Congrats on your son! We have 2 boys and 2 girls, and I love the mix they bring to our family. Never a dull day. :)
Lisa says
I think you did the right thing by letting Clara tell you when she was ready. We moved my son out of his crib when he figured out how to climb out of it. I was brushing my teeth when he came to the bathroom door and announced, “Good morning Mommy. I had sweet dreams.” Fearing he might hurt himself by climbing out, we replaced the crib with a toddler bed by the end of the week. I am happy to say the transition was easy, if abrupt. His new bed looked like a car, which made it exciting for our little vehicle fanatic.
Lori says
I think it’s great Clara liked her crib for so long and that you went along with her and how she was feeling. We move our daughter from a crib to a twin bed early – 21 months – when she was starting to try to climb out. It was the wrong decision. She stopped taking naps and getting her to sleep at night was difficult for many, many months. Hopefully the lessons we learned with her can help us with our second baby!
OLD House Love says
It’s going to be really fun about two years from now – if not sooner – to hear you start commenting on the difference between girls and boys! Now, I was one who firmly believed in all sorts of opportunities for boys and girls, thus plenty of cars and blocks for the girl and dolls for the boy. HAH! She played with the blocks – the doll he used later for batting practice. Her first words including “kitty” and his were “ball, ball, ball.” As for the crib -she never climbed out. He always climbed out at a super young age. You are in for some fun! (PS Don’t mean to be too critical, but I think your toy selection was a little heavy on the girl side. Back in the day there wasn’t much that would have interested my son in the selection. Great quality choices though.)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, I’m hoping all the Legos, duplos, and things like the train table, latch board, and play kitchen will get used by the bun, but I’m sure we’ll get/build him things that meet his interest as he grows just like we did for Clara. Should be interesting!
xo
s
schmei says
Yay for all of you! I’m glad the transition was smooth. Our first turned 2 in October and we’re expecting #2 in April, and our families have been really pestering us about when we’re kicking #1 out of the crib. The answer is that we’re not. If he starts climbing out, we’ll transition to a bed, but he climbed out once and it seemed to freak him out – he hasn’t done it again!
If we have to get a second crib, so be it, but #1 was 4 months old before he slept in his crib the first time, so we figure we have until maybe August before we have to have an available crib, anyway.
Also, we don’t anticipate needing to buy hardly anything for this second kid, so a second crib wouldn’t break the bank.
Sarah M says
We ended up getting a 2nd crib for our daughter because my son was still sleeping so well in his. (They’re just under two years apart.) He transitioned out at about 2 1/2. My daughter is past two now and still LOVES her crib. She never keeps her diaper dry at night, though, so we’ll see what happens when it’s time to potty train… Was Clara keeping her diaper dry at night before you potty trained her?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, she seemed to have mastered that before we trained her.
xo
s
Kiran says
I’m just amazed she still takes naps! Both of my kids stopped napping at 2. That is SO not a good thing!
OLD House Love says
PS My two (who are the roomies together working on our family old house) appeared last night looking for extra Christmas decorations. They are throwing a joint Christmas party at the old house. Hopefully it will be still be there after the weekend is over!
Jenna says
Hi,I have been reading your blog ever since my hubby and I bought our house 3 years ago. We now have a 7 month old baby boy! So excited about your next your little man on the way. What is on the dresser that has the iPod in it? Is it a sound machine?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that’s an ipod doc that can play music and a sound machine track at night, so it’s nice and versatile.
xo
s
Beth says
I love that pic of Clara and John. And I really love Clara’s room! You’ve done a great job with it. You guys have been so blessed with Clara – great sleeper from day one, cinch to potty train, easy transition to big bed, looks like she’s a good eater, and still takes a nap at 3.5! I’m sure she has her challenges like any kid, but wow, she seems like a perfect dream child when it comes to all the basics. My son started climbing out of the crib at age 2, and didn’t sleep through the night until 2.5. Wishing you a continued happy and healthy pregnancy!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Beth! We’re gearing up for the bun to be a completely different experience, so that should be interesting! Haha!
xo
s
Amanda says
We have two boys. Boy #1 probably moved too early but it wasn’t terrible and I needed the crib for boy #2. I didn’t want to buy a second crib since I figured it would probably not be used for more than a few months anyway. Boy #2 HAD to be moved out of the crib when he was around a year old because he was climbing out and I was afraid he would hurt himself. I wish he weren’t such a climber, though, because he doesn’t like to stay in his bed, even now that he’s nearly 2. I usually find him asleep on the floor (most inconveniently right behind the door) or on his massive Costco stuffed bear. Btw, have you SEEN Costco’s big stuffed animals? They massive, like 5 ft tall when you hold them up on their feet. We have a bear but I know they’ve had other animals like moose (I had to look it up, that really is the plural of moose!).
YoungHouseLove says
Those sound awesome!
xo
s
Tina says
Ughhh my daughter is 2 and a half and has just now started HATING sleeping in her crib and wants to sleep in bed with me. I’m going to take this as a sign that she needs her own toddler or twin bed now. I’m petrified of her just waking up in the middle of the night and walking around the house getting hurt! So scary.
Your daughter’s room is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!
Alex P says
It looks great! It is so interesting how different kids are! We have two boys who are 2 and a 1/2 years part. Our first stayed in the cribed until after he turned three, but our younger one realized quickly that he wanted to be in his crib until 16 months!!!! We had to transition him in a toddler bed then because otherwise he was climbing out all the time and making me a nervous wreck :) I am interested to see what your bun on the way will do!
Evie says
Congrats to Big Girl Clara for making the move on her own terms! Her room is beautiful, and I can’t wait to see the wall you’re working on now.
When my second son moved from his crib to a twin bed, he was glad to sleep there, but he didn’t really realize that it was his own bed. We had bought a lovely 1940-ish maple twin bed at an estate sale, and I guess because he was there in that house with us, he truly believed that the bed would have to go back there, kind of like a library book has to be returned! I couldn’t make him realize that the Big Boy Bed actually belonged to him until finally I taped a good sized printed sign on it, proclaiming JOHN’S OWN BED. We read the words often for a few days, and then he knew. :-) John is now 31, so this story goes way back; I don’t think I’ve ever said it in public before. Hahah!)
kimc says
my daughter jumped out of the crib one day at 18 months. one minute there she was on the monitor, next minute – gone. I did an Olympic sprint over the gate, up 13 stairs and down the hall to her room to find her happily playing. So, there was no fuss no dwelling, agonizing, etc. That night the crib was taken out and a futon was put in it’s place.
Krista says
I didn’t even put up a crib for our 3rd baby! She is 4 months old now. My oldest didn’t sleep in one until she was 18 months old and becoming a big sister (never all through the night) and my 2nd never slept in a crib – so we didn’t even put it up this time.
Jeanna says
Way to go Clara!
Larita says
Sorry, no record for Clara. My son is a few weeks older than her and still in his crib. He will happily sleep in a twin bed, but since he shares a room with his younger sister who isn’t quite ready for a bed yet, I just haven’t moved in twin beds yet. Transition for both of them has been gradual; first naps on beds, then an occasional night. Now my son sleeps on a twin bed at Grandpa’s house; he actually seems more likely to climb out of his crib than a bed. Christmas break project is cleaning up the antique bed frames I have and figuring out how to get them placed in the bedroom so the kids aren’t able to touch each other from bed ;D
YoungHouseLove says
Aw I love it!
xo
s
Christy Niebaum says
Bravo, Clara!
Our Natalie is 22 months old and just recently started showing interest in sleeping in a bed. We visited my grandparents in Mississippi (BTW, a toddler saying Mississippi is hilarious) last month and they had a toddler bed for my cousin’s daughter. Natalie was fascinated with it and liked to take “play naps”. Her crib converts to a toddler bed, so we are keeping tabs on it and may switch things up in the next 6 months or so.
Henna @ HENNA BLOSSOM says
I LOVE that little space you’ve made for Clara. So charming and sweet. We didn’t move Mateo either until he climbed out (one handed because he is holding his friend, “Monkey” at all times). ;) Otherwise, I woulda kept him until kindergarten, haha.
Actually my last post was about Mateo’s crib transition! ;) http://hennablossom.com/guys-im-awake/
xo,
Henna
jeannette says
love, love, love. laura foster Nicholson has THE most desirable ribbon in the universe. pricey but so very delicious for a ribbon lover.
http://www.lfntextiles.com/servlet/StoreFront
Amanda says
Good for you for not pushing the crib to bed transition before Clara was ready. Our oldest hated his crib and was a terrible sleeper. I finally transitioned him to a real bed when he was 23 months, which corresponded with his weaning and a vast improvement in his sleeping. However, he didn’t speak a word until he was 27 months.
jeannette says
warning: yes, they have bees.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Sara Richins says
The room is looking so great. Fun but peaceful at the same time.
Our second daughter is two and a half and has been sleeping on a crib mattress under the children’s loft bed from IKEA for the past nine months. She used to stay in bed well, but for the last five months, she gets up in the night just to come get one of us to help her get under her blankets. The funny part is that she slams our door first and then wiggles the handle until we come out to help her. We’re trying to make her go back to bed by herself so she stops depending on us for little things like refilling a sippy or making the blanket straight (unfortunately we can’t afford real bedding, so she’s just using baby blankets that can’t be tucked in). Hopefully grandparents will purchase bedding for Christmas, and we’ll see if that helps us get more sleep. Might not make much difference in terms of sleep for me since I’m almost six months pregnant and am getting up frequently anyway. . .
Tracy says
Our eldest always had a twin bed in the room with his crib. Around 15 months we encouraged him to start napping in the bed. His choice, depended on the day. Overnight he still slept in his crib. Our 2nd child was born when #1 was 17 months, so #2 slept in a pack-n-play until #1 transisitioned to sleeping in a bed at night (about 20-22 months). I forget the specifics, but #2 gave up the crib shortly after #3 was born (so 30 months, age 2.5). With #3 (our last), we hoped she’d stay in the crib until age 3. Ha! She started climbing out at about 26 months. So we turned changed the crib into a toddler bed. The other kids went from crib to twin bed.
It’s a big motivator for the crib dweller to get out when older kids are roaming around!
Janis says
It’s looking so great in there! I love the white / cream bedding, it looks fuzzy? Is that a new addition as well?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes that’s a twin quilt I found at HomeGoods. It has little ruffles. I can’t believe my girl is on a twin mattress with a quilt!
xo
s
John says
You need a plaque saying “Clara slept here.” I’m sure you will be even sadder when she heads off to school. Who wouldn’t be.
Jen says
Ribbons totally triggered my comment. My daughter [almost 9 now] has a standing birdcage in her room, and has since around Clara’s age — it’s main job [other than looking cute] is to organize her jewelry! We tied bows on it [ribbon!] to punch her earrings through, and loop her necklaces, bracelets etc right onto the cage. We crafted a little birdie on a ring [dream-catcher inspired].
I’m amazed at how well it has transitioned from entirely play jewelry + hair baubles to a functional way for her to keep her necklaces and nicer things organized now…
Here’s a link:
http://teamcraunchatter.blogspot.com/2010/04/of-flight-and-freedom.html
This one shows the curly/hooks on the birdcage…
http://teamcraunchatter.blogspot.com/2010/03/creamsicle-kingdom-in-preview.html
YoungHouseLove says
Really cute!
xo
s
Rachel says
Our little active almost 2 year old was switched to a twin bed 2 months ago because we couldnt get him to stay in his crib bed. He would clib out of it all of the time, over and over again. He likes his twin bed and sleeps just fine there so we moved early by our little guy forcing us.
Erica says
I love Clara’s room! I had to show my husband the rain drops when you painted them and we both think they are so cool. I love that she has a play table in her room too. I wish I could fit one in our girls’ room. Our three year old daughter, Claire is still in the crib, even though we purchased her big year bed two years ago. She takes naps in her big girl bed, but she still sleeps in the crib at night. Since we have three children in a three bedroom house, our girls are going to share a room. Claire’s crib is in our room, and since she is our last I am content letting her remain in the crib as long as she wants too. It will be very sad to put the crib away after eleven years of constant use.
Melody says
Our youngest, Darby, is slightly older than Clara, and she recently transitioned from full crib to take-the-front-off-to-make-this-a-toddler-bed. Darby has been my only one, out of three, that typically gets up to ask questions after bedtime such as: “Why did we get a dog?!” (we’ve had him for 10 months.) or, “For my next birthday, I want to have a unicorn party” (she just had her 4th birthday a couple weeks ago.) I’m finding I’m more relaxed with her and finding more humor in the situation than I had experienced with my other two. And I look at my almost 11-year-old and 9-year-old and think how quickly the years go by.
Noelle says
I had a convertible crib. We took the drop side off when he was 18 months old and he loved it. I think it helped with the transition because it was still his same crib bed but he had the freedom to get up and walk around. At first I was worried about that too, he would get up and play, but he only did that ONCE, just because it was new and different. Every night from then on, he would just sleep. Once he was out, he was out. We never had a hard time getting him to go to bed, crib or toddler bed. He knew that lights out and songs meant sleepytime.
emily says
Gah. Can you guys write a book specifically about designing kid rooms? I have about 3.498 friends I’d like to buy it for!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that would be fun!
xo
s
Beth says
My girls shared a room (they are a little over two years apart). When my youngest was about 2 1/2, she began climbing out of the crib and sleeping with her sister in her double bed. After about 2 months of not sleeping in the crib at all, we asked her if she wanted us to take it out of the room so they would have lots of floor space to play and she very decisively said “Yes”, so we took it down. That night, she laid in the big girl bed and sadly wailed “My bed, my bed” with tears just rolling down her face. The next day she was fine and never looked back! They are now 15 and 17 and we still get a good chuckle out of that story.
Jenny Bailey says
My oldest was three+ when she switched from a crib to a twin bed. My youngest is about to turn three and I see no immediate chance of her getting out of her crib. She’s happy, we’re happy. Both of my girls have always been 90th percentile for height (I’m 5’9″ and my husband is 6’3″) and strong like bulls so they were capable of climbing out, just fortunately not interested.
Nikki says
I love Clara’s room! My girl Claire will be 3 on Saturday, and she made the switch from crib to toddler bed a couple of months ago. We were like you, she was sleeping through the night and we didn’t want to mess anything up! But one day during nap she climbed out of her crib and we got worried, so we converted her crib to the bed that night, and she was totally fine with it. For now, she’s fine with the toddler bed, but eventually we’ll switch it for the full-size bed we used to keep in that room.
You’re so lucky Clara doesn’t need diapers at night anymore! My girl is potty-trained for the day, but she wets her diaper every night, so I haven’t been brave enough yet to try her in panties all night. Maybe soon!
Leigh says
I’ve wanted to ask forever — where did you get the fabric for the curtains in Clara’s room? I love it.
YoungHouseLove says
Those are just curtains from ikea that used to be in our guest room. I don’t think they sell them anymore but I wish they’d bring them back!
xo
s
Jesse says
Can you please divulge a little into this liquid deglosser that you refer to? I went looking for some at Home Depot and no one seemed to know what I was talking about. I have a glossy door issue that I need to address. There are about 15 of them and I REALLY do not want to sand them all down.
I also live in Toronto, so that may add to the accessibility of product issue (we don’t have Hobby Lobby/JoAnne’s up here).
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
The one we like is by Next, but any brand will work. It’s just a tin container that says “liquid deglosser” that is sold in the same spots as mineral spirits, so just ask where those are and you’ll hopefully see it!
xo
s
Nicole says
Our daughter was hanging by a leg the day we HAD to convert from a crib to a toddler bed. She was fine, but it was scary. She was almost 2 at the time. We moved around the time baby #2 was due and just set up a new bed in the new house so we could take back the crib. The pink and purple features helped with transition :)http://www.lifeasalindquist.blogspot.com/2013/07/faithys-big-girl-room.html
YoungHouseLove says
So scary! Glad she was ok!
xo
s
Jamie J says
My son William was almost 3 when he moved into his toddler bed. He loved his crib so much and found it super cozy. Although he loved the new bedding for his toddler bed (which he helped pick out) and would lay on it for story time, etc., he still wanted to sleep in the crib. We eventually had to break him of it when we needed the crib for his baby brother, who was born in March. Luckily, he did not give us a hard time about it, and now loves his big boy bed…. but I sometimes wonder if he would still be in a crib if we had not decided to have another baby! PS – I love the colors you painted the Ikea bowl! So fun!
Sabrina says
I’m wondering…
1. Do you stay with her until she falls asleep?
2. Do the twinkle lights stay on all night? If not, does she have a nightlight?
3. When you traveled what did she sleep in? Obviously she was too big for a pack n play for the last year.
Raffi is 2 years 3 months and some days he seems ready. Other days he loves his crib. I think we will be doing a slow transition like you. When we travel he sleeps in a bed with one of us. When he wakes up early to use the bathroom he sleeps the rest of the night in his bed. But the rest of the time he’s in his crib.
YoungHouseLove says
We just tuck her in and read a story and turn off the lights (the twinkle lights don’t stay on) and we turn on her sound machine. We close the door and she falls asleep on her own. As for travel, until this past month she has actually still loved her pack & play! But we recently ordered an inflatable kid mattress from amazon that her friends have and recommended to us, so we hope she likes that.
xo
s
Margo says
Such a sweet story, thank you for writing it. Where is the dresser from, I love it!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a secondhand find (craigslist) that we refinished (stained the front and painted the top).
xo
s
Kim says
Can you tell me what type of iPod dock you have on Clara’s dresser and how you like it? We’ve been looking at them but I don’t think we’ve seen that one before…
YoungHouseLove says
It’s called an iHome dock, and I think we got it at Target or amazon.com (can’t remember). It plays music or a sound machine track on a loop from the iPod so it’s pretty convenient.
xo
s
Jackie says
Put feather boa’s in the birdcages!!! You could probably just cut one in half to use a piece in each.
YoungHouseLove says
Fun idea!
xo
s
Ashley says
Looks great! Can you share what type of iPod dock/speaker you are using in Clara’s room? I don’t recognize it, and we are in process of looking for one.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s called an iHome dock, and I think we got it at Target or amazon.com (can’t remember). It plays music or a sound machine track on a loop from the iPod so it’s pretty convenient.
xo
s
Lisa says
My son just transitioned out of his crib too. He turned 3 in November. Though he is a real adventurer in terms of climbing, jumping, and daredevil acts in general, he never tried to get out of his crib. But he’s so tall (people think he’s 5), we could tell that he was kind of uncomfortable at night, plus he started talking about his big boy bed. We also were preparing ourselves for a difficult transition, but we were thrilled to find that he LOVES his bed. He actually has my old twin bed from when I was little with faux brass rails at the headboard. It’s crazy laying down to read books with him in my old bed.
But the only disconcerting part about it was the first time he woke up during his nap. I heard him rustling upstairs and went up to find him standing at the top of the stairs (we have a gate up) half-asleep, head cocked to the side just staring at me. We now call this his “zombie pose”, which happens when he isn’t really awake, but still manages to climb out of bed and walk around.
Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says
Our boy and girl are only 20 months apart so this finally started happening much sooner than we ever thought possible…http://youtu.be/8FyEqrMf1io…which then led to this every morning…http://youtu.be/SeksUI9PzVk?t=41s…which led to us running and getting 2 toddler beds pronto. They fell in love with them immediately. My son stopped jailbreaking my daughter and they would wake up in the morning and play with each other so sweetly for like an hour or two before the sun would come up (or when normal folks would normally rise). My only regret is that we didn’t spring for one of those conversion cribs from the word go. We would have saved so much time, effort and money in the long haul.
Sara says
Hey! I just thought I would share how much I looooove my ikea KNODD “diaper bin” with my planet wise reuseable “trash bags” for my cloth diapers! I use the hanging wet bags to travel, but find the zippers super annoying! They probably don’t bother you because you’re awesome… But you never know if someone is looking for an alternative! Plus I put febreeze clips inside the trash can and get a whiff of (mostly) clean laundry scent.
Love the big girl room changes!
YoungHouseLove says
Love the tip!
xo
s
Chelsea says
My son started out sleeping in a Moses basket next to me, eventually we started sleeping in the queen bed in his room because all the wake ups were killing daddy with his long work days. So when he started sleeping through the night, or mostly, I tried putting him in his crib and he HATED it! When he turned one I switched it to a toddler bed and he still hated it! So I experimented putting him in the queen bed (meant as an extra/guest bed) and he slept the whole night through. I propped a bunch of pillows around him so he couldn’t roll out and that’s where he’s been sleeping, very soundly, ever since. He’s four now and he loves his bed! The best part is when people come to see him and stay with him, he loves sharing it with them!
Alicia says
I’m surprised to read here that so many older kids have kept their cribs. My son just turned 3 and has been in a toddler bed for nearly two years and is getting ready for a bunk bed. He outgrew the toddler bed months ago but we’re holding out for Santa. I always thought we were the norm but maybe not.
The beauty of them being in the big bed is they can wake up in the morning , do their own thing and let you sleep. The other day the kids let me sleep until 10 while they decorated the tree. It looks like Vanelope’s car on Wreck it Ralph but I love it! :)