Back in January when we found out that we were expecting another baby, one of the things that crossed my mind was where baby #2 was going to sleep. I didn’t want to buy another crib, so I wondered when we could move James into a normal bed and if I would be able to before the baby came.
As the day for Brennan to join us came, we started to make preparations. We got a mattress and put it on the floor in the room that would be his new room once the baby came (we would have to take the crib, chair and dresser apart to move them, so we didn’t want to change the room that would be the nursery).
NEW BED!
This was in July and James loved it. He thought the bed on the floor was the greatest thing. He would jump, say “BOOM” and fall on the bed.
Then I became worried that he would think it was only a toy and for fun and not a place to sleep. Then he got sick. He threw up one morning all over his crib and I bundled up all the bedding and threw it in the laundry and headed to the doctor’s office (it was his 15 month appointment that morning…I don’t just run to the doctor after just one throw up). On the way home from the doctor he fell asleep and I carried him into the house and was going to put him in bed, to my surprise there weren’t any sheets or blankets in his crib (I was 8 months pregnant, I had completely forgotten that I didn’t remake the bed after throwing the bedding in the laundry) and I decided to put him on his mattress and see how it worked for nap time.
It worked like a charm and we decided to move nap time to the mattress and new bedroom permanently.
Shortly after Brennan was born, I was still afraid to change bedtime to the new bedroom. James was sleeping so well in his crib. We read scriptures, said prayers, snuggled on the chair for a few minutes and put him in his crib and he went right to sleep on his own with no complaining or crying. Messing with such a good thing seemed like such a bad idea.
But it needed to be done and we did it and it is working just as wonderfully as the crib.
My favorite thing about James in the new bed is at night either Bryan or me will lay with him in bed for a little while until he gets sleepy enough to fall asleep on his own. The last little while, James has started to pull his binky out of it mouth, lean over and kiss us on the head and then put the binky back in his mouth and turn over. It is his signal to us that he wants us to leave. It is one of the cutest things ever.
I love my sweet Baby James.
To make the transition even more smooth, I wanted to make sure that he room was special just for him so it was time to decorate (and I was nesting and I took it out on his big boy room). I love how it all turned out. Here are some pictures:
The Bed
Above the bed is James’ family tree (not the circle one that I made originally, I wanted to do one with lines that would match his decor more. Up close view in another post). Also are the six canvas pieces that I made to match the bedding. I got the idea on pinterest and really liked how they turned out. The stool helped him get up on the bed (after we put the box springs on the bed, it was too tall for him on his own, but the box springs, and the bed rail keep him in bed after he wakes up).
Canvas and Family tree
Bookshelf and toys
I didn’t want to buy a new dresser and the one we had didn’t match very well, so we hid it in the closet and use the green buckets for diapers, jammies, extra blankets and jackets. He has a teddy bear, his jungle truck, a piggy bank and the Illustrated Stories of the Book of Mormon (he LOVES those books). The frame above the bookshelf is going to be filled with pictures of his aunts, uncles, cousins and us! We also found a beautiful picture of the Savior holding hands with a little blond boy by Greg Olsen, a picture of the temple and a picture of President Monson.
The Temple, the Savior and the Prophet
It turned out a little high on the wall for his little eyes but he still takes notice of it (he pointed at President Monson today and said “bumpa” (how he says grandpa)…opps, we’ll have to work on that).
On the side of the room (where I stood to take the pictures) is just the door and a closet. So nothing interesting to see over there.
He loves his room and understands that it is HIS room. I love going in to get him in the morning and finding him snuggled up in his bed, just waiting for me. I love snuggling with him and watching his eyes open and close as he fights going to sleep. And although I know that I’m going to miss him being my baby, right now I love doing these things for him to help him grow up a little tiny bit.
