The switcheroo
We’re most likely going to be switching Liv into her big girl room. It’s sooner than planned and maybe can picture the excitement on my face. (It looks like a sad face.) Of course this is a “problem” that’s not really a problem, but it’s on my mind lately so I thought I’d share.
Since she’s been born, she’s either slept in our room in the bassinet or in her nursery, which is attached to our room in the loft.
Even though we knew it would be a transition room -she’d eventually move into her “big girl” room and the loft would stay a nursery until after we were done having kids and then become an office- we still worked to decorate and personalize the small space. We installed blackout curtains when she was a few months old to keep the sun and some noise out,
set up a salt lamp for a warm glow,
and I’ve become so used to having her close to us during the night. It’s a cozy, lovely room and I’ve become pretty attached to it. The thought of taking everything down and moving it feels like solidifying the end of an era.
This post is equal parts of sadness to be moving her out, and also pure DREAD of what it’s going to involve changing rooms around. Now we’re thinking of turning the loft into an office, and the current office into an extra guest room. (I can also mention here that the office is a disaster. It looks clean, but the closet is filled with rogue Zumba CDs, boxes and folders of paperwork.) We realized, the hard way, that the loft isn’t very conducive to baby sleep -noise travels in so well and it seems the older Liv gets, the lighter she sleeps- and since she’s walking, I’m horrified of her climbing out of her crib and somehow trying to climb out of the loft.
It’s gotta happen, and I’ve love to hear tips for in-between rooms for a little girl! She still has a lot of time in her crib, but I wanted to create the space as a playroom and bedroom, which will be able to grow with her over the next few years as she changes to a toddler bed. I’m also looking for ways to incorporate her current theme (the Cocalo Jasmina bedding collection) and add in some storage space, while also making it beautiful.
Pinterest is just overwhelming me… no murals or DIY light fixtures for this girl any time soon 😉
So please tell me friends: any awesome baby storage/playroom advice?
Did your kids have to move from their nursery to another room? Was there an adjustment period? I’m worried she’ll wake up and not know where she is… but since she’s teething right now, she’s been waking up and I’ve been going in to cuddle with her anyway.
As always, I’m excited to hear your thoughts <3
xoxo
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Kids are so so flexible and so adjustable.. it’s us that aren’t 🙂 She will be done– better to do it when she is younger though then wait… good luck! Hope it goes well
We had a transition day or two when we moved last month. Tripp’s mural wasn’t up on his wall yet and while the furniture was all the same, it was arranged slightly differently. After about 2 days, he was over it, so I think she’ll be fine.
For storage, we have the little white 4-cube expedit shelf from IKEA. We went cheap thinking kids are going to bang toy cars into it and/or possibly color on it. We all like to think our children won’t do those things but HA. Anyway, the top two cubes are for books and the bottom two have the little wicker baskets that we store toys in.
For wall decor, we went with stickers but it looks so awesome! We got these: http://www.amazon.com/Jungle-Monkeys-Decorative-Sticker-Decals/dp/B004LL5R7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356652260&sr=8-1&keywords=monkey+wall+decals Its set up above and around his changing table so he “rawrs” at the lion in the morning when I’m changing his diaper. 🙂 They are so easy to put up and they peel right off and stick back on making room changes easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Personally I wouldn’t combine bedroom and playroom. Best to keep good sleep habits and keep bedrooms for sleeping so Liv knows when she is in her room it’s time to sleep not get up and play. Having lots of toys in the room will increase the temptation for her to climb out of her crib too.
I like the Ikea kid’s storage systems. We have a bunch of soft toy chests and one organizer. There are tons of organizers there that are decently priced!
Max was really good with the room switch. We switched him at 8.5 months with no problems at all! It was really weird at first. We still check up on him 🙂 (we don’t use monitors)
I don’t have any good ideas for you but am interested to read responses as we are setting up our nursery for our March arrival. I have the same storage question about making a bedroom/playroom! I will say we use an IKEA storage system in our living room and it is wonderful so definitely worth looking into IKEA.
Can’t believe she is almost a year old! Good luck with the transition 🙂
thank you! ahhh march is going to be here before we know it- so excited for you 🙂
Ikea storage cubes are great but please be sure to bracket these or any shelving to the wall for safety reasons. I’m so excited to see the changes Olivia is ready for the move and will settle in fine I am sure. I agree about keeping the bedroom for sleep and not play. Make the room
a safe, comfy and cosy space. Can’t wait to see it!
aunty cece!! you know we’ll bracket everything to the wall 🙂
just hurry up and visit us already. we miss you
As a kid I remember changing rooms was always a right pain, although somewhat exciting! Although as far as I remember, there’s nothing quite like being with your parents. Either way, good luck with the move!
P.s. Where’s the salt lamp from? It made my eyes warm just seeing the picture!
it’s from opensky- we have one in our room too 🙂
https://opensky.com/fitnessista/product/solay-wellness-salt-lamp
Although we haven’t done any transitioning yet, when we created our son’s room, we tried to make it more of a playroom than a nursery so that we could leave it that way for a few years. We found most of our stuff at IKEA. The large wall shelves/bookcases are great for storing toys and clothes and they make everything look clean and organized (even if there’s a bunch of random stuff in bins – at least no one can see it!).
We took plenty of photos to share: http://www.thephotographerswife.com/colorful-disney-and-toy-story-inspired-nursery/
He is still sleeping in our room, but we are planning to move him once he’s not waking up several times a night. Our room is on the 1st floor and his is on the 2nd, which just seems so far away 🙁
We moved my son into his nursery at 5 months. That was much sooner than I had anticipated but he was getting woke up if our dogs happen to bark at the big scary intruder outside…aka…the wind or rain.
We have a shelf in one corner that we attached to the wall. The top shelves are “boring” (to him) things like picture frames or little nolvelty items and the more interesting things like his favorite books and small toys are on the bottom shelves. I didn’t put anything that he’s interested in on the top shelves in hopes that it will prevent climbing. I’m not sure if it’ll work but we’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there. My son is almost 10 months so it’s right around the corner, I’m sure.
We keep his loud toys out of his bedroom. As he gets older, I don’t want him to be tempted to play with them at night.
As far as decorating, I personally wouldn’t go overboard. Each year kids grow and change interest so much that if you go too crazy decorating, you’ll just have to go crazy again in a few months (unless that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, then go for it!) I have my son’s name above his crib like Olivia’s is. Then I have a small mural of different size picture frames. I have cute animal pics in them right now and I plan on changing the pics as he gets older and let’s me know what he’s in to.
This is just some of my two cents. There are a lot of great ideas out there. It’s a learning experience for all of us. We can plan all we want but until we’re actually “there” we won’t truly know what works for us. You will find what works best for you guys. I’m excited myself to read others’ advice.
The nursery decor is so cute; sweet, yet elegant. Love it! I would totally re-use all that for her baby/toddler room in a heartbeat.
I agree with the above posters who suggest keeping bedroom strictly for sleeping at this age is best. We kept our nursery this way on purpose (well, also, it’s a very small room). I didn’t want either of my daughters getting any designs on playing when they should be napping or sleeping all night (-: If you need to store some overflow toys in the room, maybe in closed/covered containers or better yet, in the closet? That’s what I’d try to do.
Agreed that Pinterest is way way waaaaay too overwhelming. I mean, cute stuff, but ugh. It’s just…..too much. I love the idea of wall stickers/decals. We have some in both our nursery and in my older girl’s big girl room. They are super cute, add instant color & eye appeal, and couldn’t be easier to just take down when it’s time. I’m all about easy for these busy, baby-and-little-kid years.
Good luck!
that is a genius point. i could totally see her waking up and wanting to play!
My sister went into check on my niece a few times when she was younger and she was asleep on the floor surrounded by almost all her toys. It was funny, but the bedroom became strictly for sleeping after that and it made a big difference!
haha oh god! guess i’ll be keeping it for sleep only
Right now we have a three year old boy and five month old girl sharing a room and it is going surprisingly well! We were nervous when we moved the baby from our room to the toddler’s room but really kids adapt so well. Our son’s room has always doubled as an extra playroom and we’ve never had any problem with it interfering with his sleep habits.
He has a twin bed against the wall with the crib kiddy-corner so it acts as sort of a bed rail. Their closet is organized really well so I put the bureau (which was also serving as a changing table) in the closet and bought a small changing table that’s closer to the floor. Alice is pretty wiggly and I wasn’t liking changing her up so high. They have a play table that we bought from Land of Nod with baskets for storage underneath, a bookshelf, wooden play kitchen and other random toys. It’s not a huge room but I’m a big fan of baskets to keep everything organized.
I’m at a decorating dilemma, too. Not sure how to decorate a shared room for a boy and girl and Pinterest is way too overwhelming.
it’s comforting to hear i’m not the only one overwhelmed!
maybe something both kids would like, like safari with animals and more earth tones?
what are you doing as far as the baby girl waking up the older boy? a friend (who is pregnant and has a two-year old) and i were talking about that tonight. she’s worried that when the kids share a room the baby will wake up the older sibling.
My 4 year old and 7 month old share a room. The baby rarely wakes his brother up, because I get in there pretty quickly when I’m needed. But when he does, Axel just rolls right over and goes back to sleep. As a baby he was not a good sleeper, but by 2 or 3, sleeping is not a problem. As others have mentioned- Kids are very adaptable!
that’s great to know- thank you!
The older sibling has adjusted really well, and right now I actually get more concerned with him waking up the baby. The baby goes to bed much earlier and a three-year-old boy tends to be pretty rambunctious 🙂 I go in pretty quickly when she wakes up or starts to fuss, but now Jack just sleeps right through it and doesn’t even notice. They started sharing a room about three months ago.
I think she’ll do great! Kids are so resilient 🙂 We have both the IKEA Expedit and Target knock-offs, and love both. Good luck!
awesome, i’ll check those out
I’ll probably be moving my guy to the bigger room in a few months (he’s 18 mos. old). I get nervous about it but I think we’ll be surprised how easy kids adjust. If we don’t make it a big deal, they probably won’t either.
To save money and time I’d just transition the theme to what you’d like it to be for her when she gets a little older, and keep room for a big girl bed. Toy boxes can be cute little seats as well as offer some storage.
And if you’d like any prints to add to your room I’d be glad to make her one, just visit my shop 🙂
i’ll check it out now- thank you!
I dont have a baby, but the room is adorable 🙂
thank you! 🙂
I bet it It will be no big deal, probably from the day after you do it. I wouldn’t stress about toy storage or decor. Make the move and then see what items you really wish the room had and then pick them up as you run across them.
I have one girl and never confined toys to her bedroom or one play room. I wanted her to be out in the main living areas where I could go about my life while still supervising her. So we always had a very kid-friendly (ie, toy-filled) family room. When they’re babies, the toys are so dang big but the phase goes quickly and soon their items will be small and stowable.
If you plan to spend a lot of time in the office/loft and don’t want your downstairs toy-filled, I’d probably just make the loft do double duty (office & play room). Not going to win any design awards but it’s functional!
that’s a great idea. right now the family room doubles as a play room- nothing like a giant ball pit haha 🙂 it’s perfect because we don’t have to go upstairs to play
Would it be weird to keep baby in my room until she starts kindergarten? Kidding…kinda sorta.
Audrey is in a co-sleeper crib in our room and I think she’ll stay with us at least another few months (thankfully, husband is on board…we just like being able to watch her breathe). I figured I’d be nursing at night but for now, she’s actually sleeping straight through, so it’s more for me than for her.
I’m trying to figure out what to do about book storage in A’s nursery, so I’m with you on the overwhelmed-by-Pinterest feeling.
Miss you, friend.
We went straight from co-sleeper to crib in bedroom. NBD. 🙂
Saw these and thought of you. I know you’re not Paleo, but almond butter and pumpkin? Yes, please! http://makewithyourhands.blogspot.com/2012/11/paleo-pumpkin-cookies-grain-free.html?m=1
Totally agree with keeping playroom and bedroom separate. Sends the right message (we are going in here, time to sleep) and the toys are WAY too much of a temptation! It will be worse when she is one or two and you are trying to get her to take a nap and all those toys are staring at her!
Liv will not have a hard time! When my son was about 18 months old, we moved from a 2 bedroom apartment for the 4 of us to a 3 bedroom house, where both kids would also have their own rooms! And we were also thinking of changing from crib to bed as well! We put a present in their bedrooms and told them to fo find them…the house was still empty, and there were steps! We let my son practice going up and down the steps so much, that he got rug burns on his knees! LOL
Anyway, we set up his crib…AND a race car bed! His room was right next to ours, and he would have to pass our room if he left his! And we always kept our door open! If he wanted to go to his older sister’s room, he would have to pass ours! And we put the baby gates up at the top and bottom of the stairs!
Even at a very young are, you could talk to and reason with my son! We told him that we would leave his crib up for him to sleep in for as long as he wanted, but that he could sleep in his big boy race car bed whenever he wanted as well! he went right for the race car bed and within that first month, the crib was down! He had some of his Toys in his room that he could get up and play with when he woke up as well! He really liked his own room! And he did sometimes wander into his sister’s room and sleep with her…and vice versa! LOL We also got my daughter a pink and purple race car bed! (there was a mix-up with my sons and they gave up a great deal on it if we would keep it and not bring it back where they knew it would never be the same again and they would wind up losing pieces and never be able to sell it! LOL
Anyway…Liv will love her new room, as long as you make it a positive experience and not give her reasons to worry! She will love having a room that is Just for Her, and not just a spare part of your room! You don’t want her waking up at 2:00 AM every night and playing instead of sleeping, but she is a good sleeper and it shouldn’t be an issue! If you wanted to do a special mural on her bedroom wall, you can hire a college or even High School Art Student to paint one! It is a great experience for them and a great savings for you! My cousin did this for her child’s room when they were little! You can just print some pictures of what type of theme you had in mind, or design you like! You can be as simple or elaborate as you want! A castle off in the distance or Zoo animals or even just paint her favorite toys or stuffed animals to line the wall! OK, this got a lot longer than I had anticipated! Just giving you options! LOL
Have fun with it and she will too!
these are FANTASTIC tips- thank you so much!
looks like we’ll have a mural after all. uncle kyle and auntie meg can do it 🙂
good morning! I’m a long time reader of yours and thought of you and all other bloggers when I read this because I feel like it is a story worth sharing and you have the ability to share with MANY people. You might have seen it before, but if not, I think it is definitely worth a read and I strongly feel like it could help save lives or prevent serious injury. Be prepared to need tissues…it’s seriously heartbreaking but its exactly the push that I and most parents might need!! Thank you 🙂
http://lovelightlaughterandchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/12/be-with-me-just-for-today.html?m=1
I know it has nothing to do with you requesting tips/advice but I thought it tied into you deciding on room/playroom details etc…..plus I couldn’t find an email to send it to you privately 😉
While I have no advice for your room (you are much more creative than I), I did have to laugh at your Pinterest comment. Earlier this evening I blogged about the pressure of Pinterest on us mothers!
We aren’t parents yet, but I love the colors and materials you picked for Livi’s room…so rich and cozy, and I love the patterns. Really beautiful!!!
All little girls treasure their rooms, and she will love however you transition it…she seems quite the appreciative and involved little cookie!!! 🙂 I hope you always keep her “Olivia” letters up, it was so much fun guessing her name when you were expecting. They turned out gorgeous.
And I agree, that salt lamp is amazing. Thanks for always posting your decorating pictures,very inspirational!
thank you so much, friend- i love the warm, rich colors too
yep, the letters will go up in the new room, and the salt lamp is a staple. she loves it 🙂
Hello guys, I’m a new parent and I’m desperately to get my three month daughter to sleep longer during night. Currently I am lucky to have three hours rest a night. Bless