...because home doesn't happen overnight.

toddler transition 1

A few weeks ago I put Mabrey down for her afternoon nap and jumped in the shower. I hadn’t even wet my hair when she threw back the shower curtain and said, “Hi mom! I get outta my bed.” She had climbed out of her crib for the first time ever. She was so proud. I was so, so sad. There went my babygirl and my opportune shower time. Sniffle, sniffle.

Needless to say, we skipped naptime that day and later on in the evening I converted the crib to a toddler bed. For those who don’t know already, it’s the Ikea GULLIVER crib and I have nothing but good things to say about it. It’s affordable, practical and has clean lines & a small footprint. The ability to convert to a toddler bed was the final selling point for me.

toddler transition 2

Removing the one side was quick & easy. It took me all of twenty minutes. My favorite thing about it was that other than the accompanying toddler side rail (which I stashed in the nursery closet for the past two years), I didn’t have to keep track of any other parts or hardware. All of the hardware I removed was used again to install the toddler side rail. LOVE THAT. I slid the crib rail I removed in behind the standing shelf in Mabrey’s closet. It barely takes up any space. DOUBLE LOVE THAT.

The crib-to-toddler-bed conversion left me feeling sentimental and a bit lost. Sentimental because I’ll never put a child of mine to bed in a crib ever again. Lost because, even though I have two older kids, this was my first experience with a climbing toddler. Neither of my boys ever showed interest in climbing out of their crib. They were both 3+ years old when I transitioned them to a twin bed in preparation for a subsequent baby’s birth. And they each handled the transition beautifully.

I’d like to say the same for Mabrey, age 2¾. She did really well the first week. I think she was just so smitten with the idea of sleeping in a “big kid” bed, she wanted to do it right. But, lo and behold, last week was rough. It was like she went to bed one night and something clicked.

Heyyyyyyyy. Wait a minute. I can get up whenever I want. I can get up WHENEVER I WANT. And turn on all of the things! And take off all of the things! And climb all of the things! And never sleep! And party all night long!! Yeah, let’s do that.

Steve was out of town last week. Figures. When he’s gone, Everett gets a little daddysick and likes to wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me his foot hurts and the only thing that will make it better is sleeping in my bed. I don’t mind. He goes right to sleep. But when he came into my room one night last week (for the second time that night), I had already been up with Mabrey a half-dozen times or more each night for the past several nights (including that night) and was on the verge of livid-exhausted. If you’re a parent, you know that feeling. You are so, so tired and you’re mad that you’re tired. You’re so mad about being tired that your anger wires you and the only thing you can do is lay frozen in bed thinking about how tired-mad you are and what you wouldn’t give for just five hours of solid sleep. Until another little person walks into your room or the baby starts crying again. Sleep deprivation. It’s a torturous thing.

Anyway, I hadn’t an ounce of sympathy for Everett’s daddy-missing foot. Gruffly, I told him to get in bed with me and go to sleep. Then I cursed Steve. Because somehow it was his fault that Everett’s foot was heartbroken and Mabrey was participating in what can only be described as “Girls Gone Wild Toddler Edition.”

By mid-week, I had removed the rocker and all lightbulbs from the nursery and was contemplating a padded room. Mabrey was miserable. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in over a week. She’s normally a very happy-go-lucky kid but had melted into a whiny bag of overtiredness. I was at my wits’ end. Then, I think out of sheer exhaustion, Mabrey finally slept through the night. As did I. Uninterrupted sleep is pure bliss.

We’ve had a few nights in a row of good, long sleeps. Mabrey is back to her cheery, cheeky self. Steve is home. Everett’s foot is miraculously pain-free. I think we’ve turned the corner. Fingers crossed.

toddler transition 6

toddler transition 7

I thought I’d share some pictures of the changes in Mabrey’s room now that we’re all in a better place ;) Don’t let her cuteness fool you. She was a hot mess less than a week ago!

The highlight of the transition has been bringing out the heirloom quilt my grandma gave me last year. Doesn’t it look like it was made just for this room? It was made by my great-grandmother, Mabrey’s great-great grandmother. Mabrey is her namesake. My great-grandmother’s maiden name was Larew which is Mabrey’s middle name. That quilt is pretty special.

toddler transition 3

I hung the Bright Lab lights months ago. I’ve mentioned them on instagram but don’t think they’ve been formally introduced on the blog.

toddler transition 8

Ironically enough, they are dubbed the Party Girl lights. How fitting.

toddler transition 5

The rocker is still in the living room. I’m not taking any chances.

In summary, the physical conversion of the crib to a toddler bed was smooth sailing. The actual transition? Notsomuch.

I’d love to hear your experience with the crib-to-bed transition. Was it an easy or difficult milestone? At what age did you switch your child(ren)? Was it different for each child? Did you use any sneaky tricks?

Sweet dreams all around! And if not, there’s always Go the F**k to Sleep. No, Seriously, Just Go to Sleep.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

80 Comments

02.February.2015

My little bug isn’t far behind yours at 2 1/2. About a year ago he kept trying to climb into his crib for awhile but the interest waned and it seems like the thought of climbing out hasn’t occurred to him yet. My biggest concern with transitioning out of the crib in the future is that my kid’s part tornado.and a sleep walker so he will fall out of most toddler beds, even railings. We’ll probably just make a new bed frame with high sides all around when we’re ready.

Now that the novelty of a big girl bed is wearing off and she’s sleeping, how has the morning changed? Is Mabrey playing in her room, or jumping on your bed first thing in the morning? Also that quilt is amazing. My Mother in Law passed on my Husbands baby quilt. It hangs over the side of the crib and my son asks for “Daddy’s baby blanket” frequently. I love how even little ones know when something is special.

02.February.2015

I’m usually up before her so it hasn’t changed too much. Although the morning after Steve returned late the night before she came bounding into our room, “Daddy got off his plane!”

02.February.2015

I’ll be watching to see what others say. I have 3.5 and 1.5 year olds sharing a room, each in his own crib. The elder was never interested in climbing out of his crib and he still fits with plenty of room, so we’ve left him as is/in the crib for now. The younger twice tried to climb out and fell around his first birthday… he wasn’t hurt, but he scared himself enough that he hasn’t tried it since, though he will climb up on the railing so he can see out better pretty much daily. He might give me trouble if I switch them to beds, since his personality is not a by-the-book rule-follower like his older brother. I’m hoping I have at least another year before I have to switch the younger to a bed though. I can’t imagine having to deal with an under-two year old wandering the house at night.

02.February.2015

We just transitioned our 21 month old son and so far it has been a pretty easy transition. It’s taking a bit of convincing to get him down at night, but he has been good about staying in bed and staying asleep so far! I’m hoping he doesn’t wise up and realize he has the freedom to come and go on his own!

My oldest climbed out of the crib when she was 20 months old, so we transitioned her and aside from a few nap fights the first week she did great! My little one is not quite 2.5 and she climbed out once before her 2nd birthday and has never tried it again, so we’re keeping her contained! We have the same Gulliver crib, so it is nice to know that we have the pieces we need to make the transition at any time.

02.February.2015

Do the lights plug in? How do they turn on/off? How bright are they at night? Might need some for my own little party girl!

02.February.2015

Dana – LOL funny!! Beckett always has the hurt belly or leg!! We need to catch up soon!

02.February.2015

I feel your pain but we brought about this transition ourselves. Our son was 23 months and we were expecting our second baby right after his 2nd birthday. We gave him a twin bed with extra long rail and it took a solid month before he realized he should stay in bed and sleep. He isn’t potty trained and doesn’t need to leave his room at night for any reason so we either shut the door (and keep out the cats) or put a gate on it. Otherwise he’d be helping himself to breakfast and our computers at 4:30 every morning!

02.February.2015

Interestingly enough, I converted this same crib for my 2 1/2 year old daughter on Saturday. While she’s gone to sleep no problem, she’s been waking up around midnight screaming (bad dreams) and also wakes up her 1 year old sister who shares the room with her. I know all about sleepless nights right now (yaaaawn). I love this crib too, it’s so cute, and having two cribs in one room, I love the small footprint as well. Cheer’s to better sleep (hopefully soon, in this household) :)

02.February.2015

My boy ended up sleeping on a pad of blankets in his doorway for like 6 months after we transitioned him. It was the only way he’d go to sleep, it made him feel better I guess. We just rolled with it. He’ s almost 6 now and we’ve been meditating with him every night and it’s working wonders! I’m sorry sleep has been so rough for you, but I wanted to thank you for making our sleep that much better with your Headspace recommendation :) Here’s hoping you continue to get good sleep, too!

02.February.2015

Being sleep deprived is the absolute worse. No idea how I did it when they were newborns. KJ, who is starting to break the habit, began hopping in our bed at night when we moved into the new house. I may have let it become a habit. I eventually hit my wall. Anyhow, the room is adorable! KJ has the bright lights and he uses them like a night light.

02.February.2015

There has to be something about a little girl with two big brothers! My third did the same thing although we had a few months of predawn wandering. Including out of the house at 4:30 am!!! She’s six now and still wakes with the birds. Now she will read or listen to an audiobook (a lifesaver to keep her from wandering!) until 6:30!
When they are being tough I just remind myself that we are raising strong, brave, creative and independent women!

Oh and my daughter has asked for a black bedroom for a while now. She likes the pics of Mabrey’s room so we might copy you :)

02.February.2015

Source question of course…. pillow details, please!

02.February.2015

Love the room – and that quilt! And I, too have a little girl (now 5) who used to be known to get up a dozen times before finally going to sleep. Even now she often comes once or twice after bedtime to tell me just how much she loves her parents. Oh-so-sweet, but so not what she’s supposed to do… gotta love it when they know just how to outmaneuver us.

Many quiet nights to you and yours!

02.February.2015

LOVE Zora Neal Hurston. Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of my favorites. :)

02.February.2015

Just an idea borrowed from my daughter, who has a 6 1/2y/o and a 3 year old. She recently bought this clock from amazon. It allows you program the light to switch from yellow to green at whatever time you desire. Green means it’s OK to visit Mom and Dad. It it’s yellow you stay in bed. So far it’s working.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003D7KV0Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Although, in my experience, the only lasting solution to sleep upsets is time and patience. You can catch up on sleep once they leave for college.

02.February.2015

I have a 5 year old and a 22 month old. My 5 year old was like your boys, he stayed cozy in his crib until he was 3 years old. The transition wad super easy. My 22 month old however, started climbing out of his crib at 18 months old. It was terrifying. I seriously lamented my lost precious and coveted shower time. We resisted converting the crib to a toddler bed for a few months because I just felt he was too little. But alas, he didn’t stop climbing out and we became terrified that he would get hurt. Our routine now is to put him to bed and half the time he climbs out and lays along the floor by the door so he can see the light. He inevitably falls asleep there And we have to put him in his bed. I put a toddler gate in the hallway so he can’t make it into the kitchen or anything if he wakes up and gets out of his bed (I leave the door open once he is asleep). The only downside is that my 5 year old shares the room with him and we have to have him lay down in our room until he falls asleep. But it has been working pretty good for us.

02.February.2015

Oh dear. I have a baby boy (14 months currently) who will probably be transitioned to a toddler bed at 21 or 22 months, whenever we start putting baby #2 in the crib in their shared nursery. So I think we are in for it.
And sleep deprivation? I’m so sleep deprived, I feel amazing when I get a solid four hours of sleep.
You described it perfectly.

02.February.2015

I hate cribs! I’m short 5’2″ on a good day! I attempted to use a crib with my first kiddo. We would nurse than I would put him back in his crib. When we lowered the mattress in the crib I always felt like I was dropping him into his crib! So we transitioned to a twin mattress(on the floor) VERY early on. With our second kiddo we didn’t even use a crib. We bought a second mattress for our daughter and put it on the floor. We nursed, she slept and I left. Now my kiddos are 5 and 4. They share a room with staggered bedtimes.

02.February.2015

I don’t have any kiddos yet, but my sister has three. Last week she called me mid-day out of sheer need to talk to an adult and started the conversation by saying, “I love when both of my daughters are standing at the top of the stairs during nap time telling me that the other one isn’t in bed.” So I don’t feel your pain – yet – but my sister does…

02.February.2015

true story: I read this post when I was up in the middle of the night for a pump session for my 10 wk old (I also have a 5 and 3 yr old so I get the no sleep thing) but before bed I watched Orange is the New Black. Anyway, I totally had a dream I was shopping in a little boutique you had that was basically your blog but a shop and I was looking at the black and gold speaker and those Bright Lab lights trying to really talk my husband into both and I saw one of the inmates (Pennsatucky) from OITNB shoplifting. I’m pretty sure I’m delirious from sleep deprivation.
p.s. I am the girl that recognized you (like 1.5-2 yrs ago?) in Once Upon a Child here in Miamisburg (if you could remember that)..

02.February.2015

We transitioned my daughter to a twin bed when she was just a few months shy of 3 years old. She never once tried to climb out of her crib, which we knew she was totally capable of since she had no problem climbing in on her own. We had it easy with her, she only got out of bed one time about a week after the move. She turned on her light, which I saw on the monitor and quickly told her to turn it off and get back in bed. Now we have kind of the opposite problem, she won’t get out of her bed without us for any reason, including needing the bathroom in the night! I’ve been telling her almost every night to get out and go if she needs to, but so far no luck! Hopefully she’ll get past that soon because in a few months she’s going to be moving rooms to a different level from us to make room for her coming sibling. :)

02.February.2015

I am so sorry to hear that the transition was rough. It sounds totally exhausting! On the bright side, I absolutely love Mabrey’s room. It is just so warm and inviting!

02.February.2015

My children, miraculously didn’t kill themselves growing up but believe me, they tried. They were climbing out of the crib before they could walk at one year old! Dr. Spock, in his book, called them early climbers and suggested putting fishermans net over the crib. I lived through this stage too, but wasn’t easy.

02.February.2015

Such a cute room and I love that quilt.

Could I also ask where her pillows are from?

This brought back so many memories when we transitioned Greta. We unscrewed all of her lightbulbs, removed all toys, and locked her closet. Her only option was to go. to. SLEEP! Haha. It was a rough transition for her, too.

02.February.2015

OMG.
That quilt…
Perfect.

02.February.2015

This now sounds terrible in retrospect, but we were so desparate for sleep with our oldest, we installed a babygate in her door to keep her in. Which she climed over. So then, 2 babygates, one on top of the other. Some mornings I would find her asleep on the carpet behind the babygates . . . but it worked! Number 2 shared a room with her big sister, so no baby gates. However, she is sneaky and creative by nature. I was so excited to get my new fridge with the freezer on the bottom. Thankfully, it has a door chime that sounds when the door hasn’t been closed properly. Two a.m., the chime goes off, the freezer is open, little one is eating a red popsicle in her bed in the dark. I think staying in their big kid bed is up there with sleeping through the night and potty training!

My eldest (now 9 yrs old) climbed/jumped out of her crib at 16 months old…freaked us out. We started staying in her room until she was asleep after that, and transitioned to a toddler bed when she was around 20 months old (because she was already potty trained), and had a sibling on the way. I stayed in her room until she went to sleep (on the floor next to her toddler bed), because she would not stay in her room alone and I’d find her asleep outside our bedroom door! She finally got the hang of it after a few months, just in time for her little sister to be born. We transitioned child #2 at age two and by then the girls were sharing a bedroom, though she never climbed out of her crib. Child number #3, a boy, is only 13 months old right now and not climbing out yet.

02.February.2015

Very apropos, because today I am converting the same crib to a toddler bed. The baby (okay, 22 months but still the baby) decided he could climb out and sort of tumbled out. so now it is a safety hazard. With our other 2 we moved to a mattress on the floor as soon as they could walk (around 13 months), since the kids tended to end up in our bed at some point during the night anyway. Now they sleep in their own beds, but the baby still wakes up and we have to get him (not every night, but nearly). Hence, toddler bed = we don’t have to actually get out of bed when he wakes up – if he is like the others, he will just come over, say “up” (our bed is pretty high), we pull him up. We’ll see. Getting to sleep still involves us rocking or sitting next to him, I imagine he will go to sleep by himself somewhere around age 3 or 4 if the other 2 are any indication.

02.February.2015

I got half way through this post and had to go rescue my two year old who had just climbed/fallen out of her crib. It sounds like this will be our experience shortly. Sadly I’m already sleep deprived as we have a 4 week old baby boy who is definitely not sleeping through the night!

02.February.2015

It totally depends on the kid, but they all have their nights don’t they!? I had one kid that never got out of his bed and a few others who weren’t quite so easy. None of them would ever turn on lights and play or anything, guess we lucked out in that department. They’d just creep into wherever we were and make tons of excuses as to why they needed to be there and not in bed. usually a hug or a back scratching does the trick ;) Lately, my kids are starving as soon as we say it’s bedtime. Seriously, it’s driving me crazy!!
Wait till they’re much older and it’s all we can do to get them out of bed. I hear teenagers sleep a lot. It will be here before we know it, right?

02.February.2015

We were so lucky with our daughter. She climbed out a couple times after she turned 2 and a half but then stayed in until right after she turned 3. We found her sleeping on the floor New Year’s morning. We changed her bed to a toddler bed and she did really well but rolled out a few times because she insisted on having so many “babies” in her bed. In less than a month we moved her to a twin bed with a rail and so far so good. She actually stays in and even calls for us to come and get her. I’m shocked she stays in because she climbs in and out all the time during the day. I love her room especially the color of the wall and those lights! May have to get some of those!

02.February.2015

Baby gates…anything for sleep! I like it.

02.February.2015

Mabrey and Greta would have a ball together, wouldn’t they?!

02.February.2015

The coral stripe cover is from West Elm several years ago. The indigo + pink is from etsy and I made the other Hmong cover from fabric I purchased via etsy. See it here…

https://www.housetweaking.com/2014/08/21/i-think-im-sewing-again/

02.February.2015

Oh no! Hang in there. It doesn’t make me any less tired, but it helps to know other parents are going through the same things.

02.February.2015

Good luck! At least the bed conversion will be easy ;)

02.February.2015

Yes, I remember you! And too funny about your dream. I hate the nights when I actually DO get some sleep but spend it dreaming crazy dreams and wake up feeling like I was watching disturbing movies all night long. Brains need sleep.

02.February.2015

When my kids were in the “getting out of bed “stage, I would agree to stay in their room with them as long as they stayed in bed. If they tried to get up or play in their bed, I would go to the door. They would rather I stay in the room than leave, so they were good about going back. I wouldn’t talk to them. Maybe sing (I was a music teacher at the time), but no interaction other than walking out the door. They got the picture and just lay there until they fell asleep. Not long.

02.February.2015

I feel for you. Sleep deprived moms unite!

02.February.2015

Oooh, thanks for the link. Sounds like an option if Mabrey regresses. Which I’m hoping doesn’t happen…

02.February.2015

I’m short too so I really like that the GULLIVER is quite a bit shorter than traditional cribs. I know what you mean about feeling like you’re dropping the baby. Haha.

02.February.2015

The coral stripe cover was a West Elm purchase several years ago when a local store was going out of business. The Hmong cover with pink embroidery was an etsy purchase. I made the other Hmong cover, seen here…

https://www.housetweaking.com/2014/08/21/i-think-im-sewing-again/

02.February.2015

Thanks for the reminder about raising independent girls! I guess I don’t mind losing a little sleep if it means she’s gonna rule the world someday. Haha.

02.February.2015

Feel for you! Been there… I don’t think you can stop them getting out of bed when it’s a novelty. All we did with our first and second was when they came into our bed for ‘cuddles’ was give them maybe 10 mins and then say, Okay time to go back to your bed now, and I’d take them back, settle them down. And then just do it repeatedly (up to about 9 times a night) until after a couple of weeks maybe it worked. It’s lovely to cuddle for longer but I’d just never get any sleep at all, which is dangerous frankly (when you’ve got to drive etc).

02.February.2015

It is the worst! The ball lights are the only lights I don’t mind her turning on because they give off such a dim, pretty glow – just like a nightlight. But I usually turn off all her lights when I go to bed (if she’s asleep) regardless. Hope you’re resting well!

02.February.2015

So happy to hear you are seeing benefits from meditating!

02.February.2015

The crib is wonderful, isn’t it? Too bad it doesn’t have a “no wake” option.

02.February.2015

The lights do plug in. They’re on a loop strand with a toggle switch in circuit. They aren’t very bright but give off a pretty, warm glow. I let Mabrey use them as a nightlight until I go to bed. I turn them off on my way to bed if they’re still on. But for a while there, she was getting up and turning them off / on all night long. To see herself partying, I guess!

02.February.2015

I distinctly remember driving a few weeks after Mabrey was born and thinking, “This shouldn’t be legal.”

02.February.2015

We’ve done a floor bed (twin mattress on the floor) since birth and it has been awesome! We simply close the door for naps and bedtime. Some mornings I find her sleeping next to the door on the rug but 99% of the time she is in her bed. It’s tbe Montessori idea of the entire bedroom being the crib. So it’s totally childproofed and she can choose to sleep on the bed or floor or chair even if she’d like.
I’ve really enjoyed it because I’m still nursing (she is 20 months) and having the floor bed has made it cozy and convenient.
Also that quilt is AMAZING. I want to see a full shot…maybe I can convince myself to make a replica. :)

02.February.2015

Our daughter (and first) started climbing out of her crib at 18 months, this was SO not part of my plan. My super smart BFF and Mom of four said don’t worry about it and put her back in. I of course worried too much about her falling during one of her Houdini attempts and decided she would have to move to a bed.

I bought an adorable toddler bed, she hated it, would sleep anywhere but that bed. It wasn’t cozy enough. About a week into sleepless nights I was in a haze at Homegoods with my Mom and daughter and found this gigantic Serta brand dog bed. I put it on the ground in the store and she snuggled right up. Brought it home and the love continued. She called it her “doggie.” It went to friends’ houses and on road trips…like a pack n play only way more embarrassing to explain, but way easier to set-up. With “doggie” everyone slept and recently at 2 1/4 she just decided the big girl bed is for her and “doggie” has been retired. Thanks for sharing your story…made me laugh…b/c I can now. If we are lucky enough to have a second little climber, they will be going right back in the crib!

03.February.2015

That is really cute about the dog bed. :)

03.February.2015

Hi,
My boys are 18 and 13, so we are looooooong past crib transitions. But I wanted to comment, because so many mentioned their fears of kids running loose in the house at night. My 13 year old has autism. He doesn’t talk, but he is very smart, kind of like a “super toddler”. Sleep battles are a thing with him to this day. Our big wake up call came when he jumped out of his window one winter evening to get to his beloved garage door. We live in a tri-level home and by the grace of God he was not injured. But we never heard him and he might well have frozen to death that night, had he been too injured to run to the front door. Since then we have installed inexpensive stick on alarms on our doors and windows. They can be set to “chime”. That way you will always know if your child is out of their room. The other important thing at this time is to secure any and all furniture to the wall, so it doesn’t present a tip over hazard. I love the light globes you have, but they look like a serious entanglement waiting to happen, at least when she is this young. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she continues to sleep through the night for your sanities’ sake!

03.February.2015

My 2.5 year old just started sleeping in her big girl bed. We had some problems but I just told her that she could play as long as she stayed in her bed otherwise she’d go back to her crib. We had some close call nights where I was ready to duct tape the rail back on to get her to comply but she figured it out. The hard part? Her 6 month old sister decided to get terribly sick that week and mom wanted to run screaming from the house. Eventually we were so tired that one day we fell asleep in our bed all together. It was a major fluke because my toddler has NEVER fallen asleep in our bed, let alone when her baby sis is within arms reach. Climbed on mom and dads faces until we get up? Absolutely.

03.February.2015

The transition from crib to toddler/regular bed is the worst. For a long time my son didn’t realize he could get out even with the toddler bed, but sadly those days are gone.

Your description of “tired-mad” is perfect :) That was me this morning (after my 2yo was up at 11, 1, and 5:30, after which I never fell back asleep). I was definitely cranky with my 5yo for no good reason but I just couldn’t help it. You can’t have patience when you’re tired-mad!

Luckily a big mocha helped this morning so I wasn’t in a total fog at work.

Question: you mentioned adding a toddler rail, but I don’t see it in the pics?

03.February.2015

Now that crib stage is gone do you plan on getting a “big girl” room started in the near future?

Also, I love the wooden round “hooks” you mentioned in a post last year that is now in her room. Can you show a picture of where exactly they are placed in her room…I need ideas!

Thanks!

03.February.2015

I just meant the side rail along the bottom of the crib that replaced the crib rail. The bed is so close to the ground there’s really no need for a rail above the mattress. I lay a few pillows on the floor in front of the bed in case Mabrey were to roll out, but it hasn’t been a problem.

03.February.2015

Thanks for sharing your story, Karin. I hadn’t heard of the stick-on alarms. Good to know!

03.February.2015

Whatever works right?! Such a great story. I tried putting Mabrey back in her crib but she just kept climbing out during nap time. Maybe things would have turned out differently if I had stuck with it a while longer. Ugh.

03.February.2015

Oh, god, don’t get me started. Transitioning my oldest daughter into a toddler bed at 20 months was a nightmare!! She climbed out of the crib in a fit of rage one night (over the lost paci) and it was over from there. Once she knew she could do it, it was game over. I was afraid she would hurt herself, so we transitioned the crib into a toddler bed. She is very strong willed and I had a 2 month old at the time…… we tried the super nanny method, the baby gate, the double baby gate, and finally ended up with a door knob cover so she couldn’t get out of her room. We removed all her books and anything else she could throw. A year later, she still throws stuff when she is mad and will take off her PJ’s and pull up if I close the door. Oh the joys of toddlerhood!

03.February.2015

We’re going through this right now with our 2.5 year old. She is pretty good about sleeping through the night, but putting her to bed is a nightmare. We went from putting her in her crib, saying goodnight and leaving the room, to having to sit in the room with her for 45 mins + while she falls asleep. If we leave the room, she repeatedly gets up and comes out of her room, like until well past 10:30 pm! Going to read through all these comments now to see how others got their kids to stay in the room!

03.February.2015

Thanks for being so frank about the sometimes tough side of parenting. Sleep deprivation is the worst. We just changed our third over to a big kid bed – he’s been OK but I remember his oldest brother up every 10 minutes like a Jack-in-the-Box! We tried the baby gate too – total failure, he just climbed right over it – I think they’re just more committed than we are!

04.February.2015

Thanks for posting about the mad-tired/tired-mad phenomenon. I’m living that today and it was so refreshing to hear others feel the same. Made me chuckle. My little man transitioned for the same reason, he’s just turned 3 but started climbing out of his crib just after he turned 2 so we did the toddler conversion like you. Then he got really tall and started fighting monsters in his sleep so we quickly went from toddler bed to twin bed. It’s been going great.

04.February.2015

Our son started jumping out of his crib (Gulliver from IKEA) at 18 months. We started out with him on the crib mattress on the floor, but he kept rolling off and ending up in the middle if the room, crying, at 3am. We ended up transitioning him straight to a twin bed with a bed rail that my husband made. It took a month or so for him to adjust, but in the end we are happy to have him in the big bed now rather than switching again in the future. We have that Okay to Wake clock, and it has been an amazing help.

Question- do Mabrey’s pillows have removable/washable covers? I would love to have cute pillows on my son’s bed, but am afraid about how gross they would get.

04.February.2015

Love this space!! Could you kindly share wall color?? Love how it compliments both the coral and pink!! Thanks much!!
~Lisa

04.February.2015

Gosh I hope things improve quickly. That quilt is perfect in her room, the primary colors are wonderful and what a great sentimental piece.

04.February.2015

It’s Benjamin Moore dark pewter.

04.February.2015

Yes, the pillow covers are all washable!

04.February.2015

Every child’s transition to a big kid crib is different. With my 4th baby I figured out that you cannot use other kids as a template. It is not a cliche: they truly are their own people.
As for coming to the parents’ bed at night, I am a firm believer in a “closed doors” policy. Unless something really bad happened (and you know when it is not faked)– you get a hug, a kiss and off you go back to your room. That policy has saved me from perpetual sleep deprivation, and nipped the middle of the night walking in the bud.
I loved the “heartbroken foot”– that was great:)

04.February.2015

Have you looked into the Onaroo OK to Wake Children’s Alarm Clock and Nightlight? We had to purchase at toddler clock for our little one. It helps! Good luck!

05.February.2015

Love your posts… Wondering can you post the recipe for the Cajun stew?

06.February.2015

Not sure if the other comments mentioned this but, Design Mom mentioned Bright Lab lights in her latest post. I thought – hey Dana ought to get a collaboration with BL – your pictures are great and if they posted your shots on their blog – might be a cool thing. Just thought you might want to know:)

09.February.2015

A little behind in my blog reading… We converted Avery’s crib right after New Year’s. All I gotta say is – so thankful we have the big (heavy) double barn doors on her room. It was completely non-intentional but she’s not going to be able to open those for awhile. :) Well, I guess we’ll have to figure something out once she’s no longer in diapers…dangit.

09.February.2015

Happy accident ;) The doorknob cover has worked wonders for us. Mabrey rattles the knob after we put her to bed for the night but only for a minute. In the mornings she knocks on her door to let us know she’s awake. It’s quite comical actually. She’s potty-trained but still in a pull-up overnight. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. xx

11.February.2015

Oh, lack of sleep, on repeat, is just so hard to get through! I, too, was going to recommend such a clock. All three of our kids climbed/flipped -ha, out of their cribs around 9 months, so we had to endure sleepless nights before they had any understanding! We purchased the Tot Clock (not sure what the previous comment links to). It’s very juvenile in theme, but was the first on the market, I believe. I’ve since seen others. Some will read a story aloud, then play music; not sure about all the options out there! I highly recommend. In fact, my 6 yr old (who can now tell time), often says “I slept til my clock was yellow!” We had really positive results x3.

17.February.2015

We transitioned my now 5 year old into a full sized bed about 2.75 years also. He is my rule follower and was great! The transition was a non-event. My younger son just turned 3, and I will keep that kid in a crib as long as possible because he does not like rules and is stubborn! I am anticipating it to be much more difficult.

14.August.2016

What a beautiful room! I’m expecting my first in January and have started the research on cribs. This article, these photos (and that gorgeous quilt!) have made up my mind – the IKEA Gulliver is for me! I was just wondering though – as with other IKEA furniture, is it important that this crib be permanently wall mounted, to prevent it from tipping, especially if a toddler is starting to climb? Or is the crib sturdy/heavy enough to not tip over? Just wondering what you did and your experience was. Thanks for sharing!

16.August.2016

There’s no need to mount the crib to the wall. Mabrey was a crib climber, and we never had an issue. I just lowered the mattress and removed the side to convert it to a toddler bed.