It’s hard to believe it’s been a full year since we started fixing up the girls’ toddler room. We wanted the room to be ready for them on that dreaded night when they escaped the confines of their crib. We finished the room this past spring, and I can confidently say that this is my favorite room in the house. By far.
Bedtime has always been a dream for us. We’re very lucky to have good sleepers. Sure they chat for a bit before falling asleep… but then they sleep for 11 hours straight. And it’s GLORIOUS. We didn’t want to mess with that.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… right?
Fast forward to recently, and the girls STILL haven’t set foot in their new room. We kept it off limits because we didn’t want it to be a play room. We wanted it to be a sacred place of rest. SUPER CHEESY, I know. But I’ve spent many hours worrying about this transition from crib to toddler bed.
But we’ve been starting to feel like THEY’RE JUST READY. They turned 3 in July, and they’re little ladies now. It feels unnatural hefting them into the crib each night… not to mention my growing belly is making that harder and harder. So this past weekend, we decided IT’S TIME! We didn’t have anything scheduled the whole weekend, so we knew it would be ok to lose some sleep if it comes to that.
After getting pajamas on and brushing teeth, we had a little chat with them about how they’re big girls now and how they have NEW BIG GIRL BEDS! We tried our best to make it feel like such an honor. They were very excited as we ushered them into their new room. There were lots of little gasps… ‘it’s soooo pretty Mommy! We showed them each which bed was theirs, and then made our way to the canopy to read bedtime stories.
We snuggled them into their beds, sang songs, and gave them lots of kisses… then sneaked out and held our breath. It’s such a strange feeling having children free to roam the room at night. We love our Video Monitor so we can spy on them. And you better believe we were GLUED to this thing that first night.
We Instagrammed the above pic that night, and many of you have been asking for an update on how it went.
There was a little foolery, but they DID NOT GET OUT OF THEIR BEDS!! (and we loooove that we can watch them on our phones using our video monitor surveillance camera)
There was a little of this, but what do you expect… having twins with newfound freedom.
Once they fell asleep (maybe 30 minutes later), they slept all night and woke up around 7:30… which is their normal time! This huuuuuge success is a major burden off my shoulders! Why do I worry so much?! It’s been 5 nights now, and things are still going smoothly! I’ve heard from other parents that sometimes, as time passes, they may get more comfortable in their room and start goofing off and not staying put… so we won’t be surprised if that happens. We’re just taking one day at a time!
I will say that we tried naptime in their new beds, and it was not so successful. We’ll stick to our ‘pack-and-plays-in-separate-rooms’ until further notice… cause these tykes are NOT ready to give up their afternoon nap. And let’s be honest, Mama needs that break too!
And, since I know a handful of your are wondering… let’s talk about this video monitor. It’s actually a surveillance camera… and is FAR CHEAPER than traditional baby video monitors at only $50. And the best part is that it connects to your wifi, so you can watch them on your computer, or on your phone if you download the app. And you can take pictures and video of your tots! Watching them when they don’t know it makes for some great entertainment. I promise!
The only downside to this camera is that it’s a little tricky to set up since it connects to your Wifi… but here’s a great step-by-step tutorial for setting it up!
All that sounded a lot like a commercial for this video monitor, but I swear it’s not. We just love it and want to give an honest review. And now that that’s over with, let’s look at one last pic of the girls’ new room! Because I love it THAT MUCH.
Ok, make that two.
For info on each DIY element of this room, click the images below!
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Their room is fantastic! I love that they are doing so well in their big girl beds. That video is priceless. We have a video monitor for Evelyn, but we never set it up in our old house, and obviously we haven’t had a need to set it up in the unfinished basement since her crib is right next to our bed. I am SOOOO looking forward to having her in her own room again. It’s rough business having her RIGHT there. (And awkward at times too 😉 )
This has to be my favorite post. The girls’ new bedroom is so unique and fun with all those “big girl” touches. And I love the book reading area! What a touching and special place–like a little “love cocoon”.
So awesome! Glad the switch went well! x
I’m so curious how you kept them out of this room for so long! Was it a total surprise? How did you manage to do so much work in here without them knowing/seeing!? Amazing!!
That room is amazing and that video is hilarious. 🙂
-andi
First of all, your girls are the cutest and the room looks incredible! What an amazing job you guys did. Secondly, you and NIck are the luckiest parents ever! I am so stinkin’ jealous I don’t even really feel like being your BFF anymore Bethany! 😉 Please Note: That latter part is coming from a rather tired mother of two young boys who end up in our bed every single evening.
I love that they loved their gorgeous new room! I wish my son had stayed in his crib that long- before he could even crawl, he was climbing out of his crib. Up one side, and down the other. The toddler bed came quick with that one- and at 10 now, he is STILL a little spider monkey.
Oh My Goodness!!! I love their room!! It is beautiful. Great job Beth and Nick. They are so cute too.
All this time I thought they were in their new room! lol Mine went from crib to bed soon after they started walking. They would climb over the side of the crib and I thought that was too dangerous. I am curious about one of your comments about showing them which bed was whose. I’m sure there’s reasoning behind that but I can’t, for the life of me, figure that one out. Mine were identical so we always placed them the same in pictures because even today, we’d have a hard time telling who is who on older pictures (they will be 22 on Oct 10th) but you don’t have that issue. I LOVE your camera setup. Wish I’d had that way back when so I could have seen them switching from one bed to the other (they seemed to prefer sleeping in the same bed).. I had to have locks on all the doors as they were snoops and sneaks….and stopped napping around 15 months! ADHD kids are hard on the nerves. I sooo love the process of transition you went through, about making the move to the new big girl room a special event. It’s a parental win for sure. Tks for sharing.
YAY! So, so glad you had a successful first night. LOVE the video 🙂 Our girls throw their little giraffe blankets back and forth from time to time. But, I’m like you, as long as they stay in bed, I don’t mind them chatting and interacting for a bit before they go to sleep. In fact, I think it’s so sweet that they are BFFs! Thanks so much for linking to my post!!! I hope the transition continues to go well!