Big Girl Bed

While we were home, Allison and I each slept on twin beds in the kid guest room at my parents house. Allison transitioned well, but she did have issues with me leaving the room before she fell asleep. She would get out of bed over and over again. Putting her down for naps and bedtime took nearly an hour every night but by the end she liked being in her "big girl bed". Early on, when she was fussing, I put her in my nephew's crib to sleep but she quickly figured out how to climb out of it.

I started to research when to move your toddler out of crib but there's no definitive answer. The guides that influenced me the most were a) they should be moved by age 3 b) they should be moved if they are over 36 inches tall or can climb out of crib

I decided that while my parents were here, I ask them to help me paint the toddler bed they bought for her last year (at a garage sale for $12). We went to Lowe's and found a pinkish/purple mis-tint for $9 and my Dad painted the bed.

I kept the crib up in her room for 2 nights to see if she would prefer the crib to the bed (some sources say it's good to let the child chose the transition, others say that kids are overwhelmed by choice and giving the power to the kid is what's wrong with our society). She didn't ask to go in the crib and I didn't bring it up. She has started getting up at 5am and saying that she's ready to wake up (and I coax her back to bed). This wasn't so bad when she was in her crib, but it's been terrifying to wake up to a toddler a few inches from your face, whispering in the dark.

Allison had a bit of a freak-out when we dismantled the crib, but I think she was just tired. Now that we have the bed, I can start to make her room a little more "hers". 

I found these basic black and white (with birds and trees) from Ikea. They were $14 for 2 panels! Allison became obsessed with the lamp in her room at my parents house and I found a really cute one (pink and white) for $4 at a thrift store. I got the flower stickers from the Dollar Store. I saw them at Ikea but if Allison ends up taking them down, I don't want to be too invested.

While I was at Ikea, I saw cute awnings for kid's rooms. They were only $16 and I really wanted to get one, but they only had primary colors. Since they have measuring tapes and paper and pencils available at every station, I grabbed a set and took the measurements so that I could make my own.

I saw a queen sized pink sheet a thrift store (when I got the lamp) and used it to make this awning. I cut it into 5 wedges, they used the leftover strips for the bottom. I used a hula hoop (that I got from the Dollar Store), detached the ends and fed it through the pocket at the bottom of the awning. The whole thing took just over an hour to make, and cost me $4 to make.