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11.20.2009

Welcome to our Crib{s}

Would you like a little tour of the girl's bedrooms?
Because this weekend, Kate's room is going through a big change.

Kate is getting finally getting a big girl bed!

Yes, that's right. She is STILL in a crib.
And, yes, she will be 3 years old in 2 months.

Kevin and I had every intention on moving her to a big girl bed LAST fall after Claire was born. Right before Claire was born we even bought Kate a new bedroom set complete with a twin bed. Our thought was to switch her into a big girl bed last Christmas & give Claire her old crib. We knew that Claire would be sleeping in a bassinet in our room, so we thought Christmas would be a good time to put Kate in a big girl bed & move Claire to the crib.

Well, my wonderful mom knocked some sense into me a few weeks after Claire was born & I was stressing about moving Kate into a bed & giving her "freedom". At that time, Kate was napping 2 hours a day & slept 12 hours a night. She didn't climb out of the crib & loved her crib. My mom told me that I should keep Kate in her crib AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. She offered to buy us another crib for Claire so that Kate could stay in hers. Of course I said yes!

So, we kept Kate's big girl bed in the box & have been storing it in my parent's garage. Our current plan was to either give Kate the big girl bed THIS Christmas OR for her 3rd birthday in January.

Those plans ALL changed this week because:
1. Kate climbed (and then) fell out of her crib during nap time because she doesn't want to nap anymore.
2. Kate cried for 1 hour on Monday night at bedtime because she didn't want to sleep in her crib & kept saying she wants "A big girl bed"
3.
She wakes up in the morning screaming at the top of her lungs,
"Get me out of this crib, I want a big girl bed!!!!"
4. Kate won't stop talking about wanting a big girl bed.

Kevin and I agreed that we can't wait another month for to give it to her for Christmas & that this weekend we will set up her new bed. I will be off all next week for Thanksgiving Break, so it is a good time to transition her since I am ASSUMING we will have some sleepless nights as Kate gains freedom!

So, here is what Kate's room looks like now:

These ceilings were SUCH a pain to paint! When we first bought the house, we knew this room would eventually be a nursery, so we painted the walls a buttery yellow color so that they would work for a boy or a girl. We didn't find out what we were having with either pregnancy, but I didn't want a neutral nursery. So, we bought white furniture & then I bought a boy crib set & a girl crib set. I knew if I had a girl I wanted the room to have pink accessories. (Pink is my favorite color).
So, after Kate was born, the room became girly & pink!


The tricky part is going to figure out where to put her bed.
Do we put it where the crib is?
Or, do we move around some furniture & put it against the other wall?
The room has a weird wall cut-out, so I am not sure what will look best.
Here is Claire's room. The layout & room dimensions are identical to Kate's, just flip-flopped.
It was the guest room before it became her room.
Before, as the guest room:
Photobucket
And, after as Claire's room!
Again, we didn't find out what we were having, so I waited until she was born to convert the guest room to her room.
I bought the bedding (brand new) on ebay from a woman who was told she was having a girl at 20 weeks, but then at 30 weeks they found out it was a boy! doh! Needless to say, she didn't have a need for pink & brown polka dot bedding.
I got the name letters at Babies R Us & they matched the bedding perfectly even though they are a totally different brand!
I love this canvas. It was originally for Kate's bedroom, but I never hung it up & it matched Claire's room perfectly!
We kept the wall color the same as it was when it was the guest room, it is a tan color & goes great with the pink, brown & tan bedding.
So, there is a sneak peak at the girls rooms.
I will post pictures of Kate's big girl room next week.
And, if anyone has any advice on transitioning a kid from the crib to a bed would be MUCH appreciated!

10 comments:

  1. Oh the fun begins. We told our son that he was NOT to get out of his bed without Mommy or Daddy. We practiced calling "Mommy/Daddy I need____" and we came running. We also made a big deal out of it: got a step stool, new bedding and let him pick the sheets. He has been in his Big Boy bed for over a year and has only gotton out twice. Once he is on his bed he does not get off/out. Thank you Lord. We also pushed his bed against the wall and got a bed rail but it was more of a hassle and soon became something fun to hang on. His bed is centered on the wall with pillows on the floor for a bit and now nothing.
    Have fun. I will look forward to your posts on how it is going.

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  2. I would recommend putting the bed in the same place as the crib if at all possible. That way she will still feel secure in her room. Also, keep the bedtime routine exactly the same. Good luck!

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  3. She'll do fine!!! I'd put the bed where the crib is now - I can't wait to see pictures of her big girl room! Go Kate!!

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  4. I like reading the comments on this post. :) Now I just need to commit those tips to memory. I love the pink rooms! My favorite part is the pink Giants hat hanging on the wall. :)

    Very classic and cute girls bedrooms. Can't wait to see Kate's room with the big girl bed!

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  5. She slept 2 hours at night? Lucky you. I bet you meant 12. And why are the rooms so clean? Can you take a photo of them in their natural state? And if that is your natural state then I am not sure that I can play cribbage with you. But I will accept your desserts.

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  6. I asked this question on my blog, too...and got a lot of responses:

    http://monkeys-on-the-bed.blogspot.com/2009/08/tutorialthursday-how-to-switch-to-big.html

    I'm not sure what we are going to do with our situation...still thinking about switching to a big girl bed for our 15-month old but your post is giving me second thoughts.

    Too funny that she is screaming for a Big Girl Bed! (okay, maybe not funny to you...)

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  7. I could write a book on bed transitions! One of my boys climbed out at 16 months and kept doing it so we transitioned twin boys to beds then. TOO EARLY!! It was a nightmare.

    The only thing I would recommend is to make sure the bookcases and dressers are bolted to the walls. She will be in there for a long time unsupervised. We even had to put drawer locks on the drawers bc they were trying to climb.

    But mostly you need to try it and see how it goes. Most people who wait until 3 seem to have little problem with the transition.

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  8. I agree with Laura, we had to buy locks for EVERYTHING, since Cole plays for at least a half hour before falling asleep. But the good news is that he eventually ends up in his bed, asleep. The transition was actually not that bad. Good luck!

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  9. Adorable rooms!!!! I am in the process of decorating my little girls nursery, these are so cute. Thanks for sharing!

    Karen

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