This post is sponsored by WalmartÂ
Polly’s room was the only room that we brought every piece of furniture with us when we moved. The buyer of our last home bought most of the other furnishings but knowing Polly is a creature of habit–we knew she needed to keep room mostly in tact to feel settled here. And so, for the last year or so, she’s been perfectly content in her crib, surrounded by all of the same things…sleeping like the baby I was holding onto. Truthfully, she probably would have stayed in her crib another year, but she physically was getting too tall. When she turned 3 in August, we knew it was time but she was hesitant.
We started slow and just put a twin sized mattress on the floor in her room, in addition to the crib. Spoiler, every night for a month she chose her crib. I knew it was going to take her getting excited about a big girl bed to make the transition. I found this beautiful spindle daybed from Walmart and not only did the classic shape catch my eye, but I knew the three-sided bed might feel a little more familiar to her, transitioning from her crib. In one day, we pulled out her crib and sold it on Marketplace and put her new daybed in its place.
I found some charming little bud sheets that reminded me of her and a sweet scalloped quilt set specific for a daybed–because HOW DO YOU MAKE A DAYBED ANYWAY?! This quilt set made it really easy. The corners are cut to fit perfectly and the back is shorter to make it easy to tuck! And I really fell for the scalloped edge on the front. It’s heirloom quality, but very affordable.
Over the last couple days, we also added vertical paneling to her room–it’s not currently painted, but it is installed and I love the texture and height it added and it’s an element that we are repeating throughout the house–in our closet, bathroom, girls’ office and kitchen so far. Repeating design elements/textures and colors really helps a whole house feel more cohesive.
I haven’t decided on a color for in here yet, but I’m thinking something a little darker so her bed pops even more. I’ve also considered something minty like her new nightstand! Or that greenish color in the rainbow wall hanging that I had on her doorknob and she loved it so much I hung it on her wall so she could tell us all the colors before bed at night.
Psst. Those baskets come in a two pack and I’m going to buy another pair because they are SO GORGEOUS and functional for a bedroom. Books, toys, shoes! They’re even large enough to hold a toddler’s dirty clothes.
We have a long way to go in here. We’d love to do built-ins around her window and paint and add a new area rug and lighting. But, with just a few simple swaps we feel like we’ve come so far. And most importantly, Polly is loving her new big girl bed and we’re loving the confidence we can see shining through her.
How was the transition out of a crib for you? Since this is our last baby, I wasn’t in a rush and I probably miss the crib more than Polly now. Just because it marks the end of a very squishy, sweet, tender time in our lives of having a baby in the house. After a decade, this is the first time we don’t own a crib. It’s sad and happy at the same time and mostly I’m just really grateful we got to experience it and share so much with all of you.
Sources:
Spindle Daybed
Floral Sheet Set
Scalloped Quilt Set
Velvet Pillow
Cloud Pillow
Mint Pedestal Nightstand
Rattan Baskets
Rainbow Wall Hanging
My 5 yr old is still using a foam bumper because she’s such a mobile sleeper. Sometimes she ends up at the foot of the bed. It also makes her feel snug and safe. We went from crib to toddler bed with side rails, to full size bed. Still working on the night time potty training. She’s just not interested yet.
Please source your vertical paneling. How was the installing process?
We just got it from Home Depot! Install was super easy. Post coming!
One great tip I got is to take foam pool noodles and put one on each side of the mattress (one for your daybed) placed under the fitted sheet on the sides of the bed to create a small bumper that resists falls but small enough to crawl over.
It’s beautiful! With our daughter we switched to a big girl bed a few months before she turned two because we wanted the crib for her brother on the way. What a mistake! She wasn’t ready and it took like two years before she would reliably go to sleep on her own. We kept our son in his crib until he was three and a half (he would have kept it longer but he was getting too big) and the transition was so smooth! If I could rewind I would definitely just spring for or borrow a second crib instead of transitioning our daughter so soon. Now my son seems like he’s getting too long for his full size bed so I totally get the ???? part!
We took our Sophie to Ikea and let her pick her big girl bed….it wasnât my first choice, but she absolutely loved it and took to it immediately.