How We Transitioned To A Big Boy Room + A Sneak Peek
We have been going through some major bedroom updates over the past few months at our house. First up was the master bedroom as we prepped it for a newborn and upgraded from a full-sized bed.
Next in line? Brody’s big boy room. After he started climbing out of the crib earlier in the year, we knew we were going to need to make some changes sooner rather than later. Since we liked the layout of the nursery, we decided to keep it as a the nursery for baby #2 move Brody into what was previously my work space.
How We Made the Transition
1. Crib. Brody started climbing out of his crib right around the time he turned 2. The first night it happened, we immediately moved his crib mattress to the floor.
2. Crib Mattress on Floor. For the next 3 months, Brody spent every night sleeping on his crib mattress on the floor. We were still figuring out whether to go the toddler bed route or the full-sized bed route, so in the meantime he snoozed on the floor.
3. Big Boy Room with Full-Sized Bed. Once we made the decision to move Brody into a full-sized bed, we waited nearly a month to make the big move. We had set-up the bed in his new room, but I wasn’t mentally ready to tackle the change. I think this worked to our favor because we would spend time hanging out in his new room and eased into sleeping in there full-time. He was excited about the space by the time we were ready to move him in there permanently.
About the Transition
The transition has gone quite smoothly. On his first night in his new room, it took Brody a while to fall asleep. For a solid hour he would climb out of bed and knock on the door asking for everything from the potty to a Band-Aid. It has been about a month now and every night since the first night has been easy. He stays in his room until morning and seems to be sleeping much better than he was on the crib mattress.
3 Products That Have Helped Us With the Transition
1. Dockatot Grand I have to give a lot of credit to the dock-a-tot for making the transition easier. Brody started sleeping in the dockatot when he was still in his crib a couple of months before turning 2. We then used it on his mattress on the floor and finally moved it onto the mattress in his full-sized bed. It has been a great tool to help keep consistency to his sleep environment as we changed from place to place. We even packed it up and brought it with us to Florida and North Carolina earlier this summer to make sure Brody slept soundly away from home. He loves the thing.
2. The Hatch Baby Rest . This nightlight/sound machine/ok-to-wake combo device has been a helpful tool for keeping Brody in his room during the night. There is an app that goes along with it, so we can program or change it from outside of his room. Right now we have it set to turn blue at 6am and Brody understands that he needs to stay in his bed until the light turns blue.
3. Toddler Bed Railings I’ll admit that I was so fearful of Brody rolling off of his big boy bed. When we had the mattress on the floor of his nursery he would spend most of the night sleeping on the floor because he is such a roller. We added a toddler railing to the side of his big boy bed and pushed the other side of his bed up against the wall for now. So far, there haven’t been any close calls of him rolling off thankfully!
Signs Brody was Ready for the Big Move
- Climbing out of crib
- Outgrowing Crib mattress
- Mom was ready :)
A Sneak Peek of His New Space
We are almost finished with the transition and I cannot wait to share the “after” pictures with you in a few weeks. In the meantime, I wanted to give you a little peek at the design inspiration for his room. Think nautical meets desert. Calming blues with an ode to our home state of Arizona. I plan on keeping his space the same for years to come, so I am hoping the design will be a playful, yet relaxing place of his own.
Geometric Wood Lamp | Chevron Fabric (We used this shower curtain to upholster Brody's headboard) | Wicker Nightstand | Comforter Set |Faux Fur Pillow | Natural Rug | Cactus Art | Moroccan Pouf (Brody uses this as a stool to climb on and off of his bed) | Sprout Play Table (Psst 20% off with code: MOMMASOCIETY20 through August!) | Toddler Bed Railings | Hatch Baby Rest Nightlight | Faux Cactus | Mid-Century Dresser (similar to the vintage one we are using in Brody's room)
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Have you made the toddler bed transition? What tips do you have?
