We made the transition! Well, Quinn did, actually. He’s
officially out of a crib and moved into his new Big Boy Bed in his new Big Boy
Bedroom. The transition was actually… dare I say… easy. Yeah, I’m shocked, too.
Quinn really feels
like a big boy now. He loves his new room and can’t wait to go to bed. It’s
sort of magical. I’m sure this spell will be broken someday, but for now Hubs
and I are going to revel in it!
The ease of the transition could partially be attributed to
how much Quinn LOVES the train décor. First, let me tell you that finding train
décor that is NOT Thomas the Tank Engine themed
is difficult. I spent months decorating his room in my head and creating an extensive
Pinterest board full of ambitious ideas.
I started with the bed sheets, and of the surprisingly few
non-Thomas train sheets I found, I liked the Ryder
Train bed set from Pottery Bard Kids the best, and believe it or not, it
was the least expensive.
I didn’t like the comforter or throw pillows that came with
the Ryder set though, so I ordered a reversible comforter from Kmart that is
solid red on one side and navy on the other. Q thinks it’s fascinating that his
comforter is reversible. And I found this adorable train throw pillow by Olive Kids
on Amazon.
We went with a twin size bed instead of a toddler bed since
we figured we would have to upgrade to the twin bed pretty soon anyway. (And
converting the crib isn’t an option since Baby
Dragon’s lease on my womb is about to expire, and he will need somewhere to
sleep very soon.) I took photos of Q’s new bedroom before we installed it, but
rest assured, Q now has a guard rail on his twin bed to ensure he doesn’t fall
out.*
The standard sized pillows are too big for Q, but Mommy and
Daddy need them when we lay in bed with him to read stories. Before we leave
the room, we put the big pillows on the floor near the foot of the bed in case
he falls out that way, and he keeps his toddler-sized pillow in
bed with him. We started using this pillow when he was still in the crib so he
could have something familiar to take with him (along with his blanket and Lovey
Dog and 17 other stuffed animals), and he loves it. Q doesn’t keep the
covers on or stay on the toddler pillow, he thrashes all over the bed
throughout the night, and usually he ends up laying sideways or at the foot of
the bed, but he stays in the bed and
that’s all that matters.
For wall décor, I found these four awesome Gil Reid train prints
on eBay. They look like real trains and not cartoons, and Quinn really likes
them. They’re pretty large, 16”x20”, so I was nervous about putting glass in
the frames. (Although earthquakes are rare, they do happen in Cali, and
toddlers crashing into and banging on walls happen every day.) Rather than have
Q end up covered in shattered glass, I just took the panes out. So the prints
are unprotected, but at least Q is. Someday when I feel like spending a
bazillion dollars, I might get the frames fitted with acrylic panes, but I’m
sure Hubs is hoping I just leave them as is.
Speaking of things falling off walls, I had grand plans for
creating an awesome gallery in Quinn’s room, covering his walls with train
pictures and other adorableness like in the images I pinned,
but I decided against it. There isn’t a lot of wall space in Q’s small bedroom
except for around his bed. Even without glass panes, I really don’t want frames
or anything to fall on him at night. So I went with a couple simple train decals instead.
The wall looks a little bare, but after hearing him kick the wall for thirty minutes
every night before he falls asleep, this has proven to be a wise choice. I might
get some more decals in the future to help fill the space.
However, I did find these tin signs for railroad crossing, train parking and “to trains” that Hubs
hung over Q’s reading nook. So fun!
Quinn loves his reading nook! We found these forward-facing
shelves in white at IKEA, and now Quinn can reach all of his books and see
the book covers. I got a simple red bean bag chair for him to sit on, which he
loves, and we stuck little red tap lights under the top book shelf. Q had a
great time helping Hubs install everything. He loves every opportunity to use
his plastic toy toolkit.
I really wanted to paint trains on the walls, but I’m
resisting the urge knowing that Q won’t love trains forever. I thought trains would
look really cute across the bottom of his closet doors, so I compromised with
peel-and-stick chalkboard paper. I bought a roll, drew the train shapes on the
back and cut them out. They stick to the doors really well and make a very cool
train silhouette. However, I don’t think I’ll tell Q they’re chalkboards. The
material feels very vinyl-like and I can’t imagine the chalk erasing very well,
although I haven’t tried it.
On top of his dresser sits the “birthday crossing” train signal
I made for Q’s second
birthday party, which also had an awesome
train theme. I want to get him a train lamp or cover the current lamp shade
with a train fabric, but I haven’t made a decision on that yet.
My favorite part of the train themed Big Boy Bedroom is that
Quinn’s train table and his toy bins are now in his bedroom and out of the
family room. This means the family room is marginally less cluttered, and Q has
his very own space where he loves to play.
*One of my favorite child development blogs, Moving Smart, wrote
an excellent post about helping your child obtain a greater sense of space
and reduce the risk if him falling out of bed. We used these tips with Q before
he slept in the bed, and I think they really helped. He’s never once fallen
out, and he hasn’t even climbed out of bed when he’s not supposed to. Like I
said, magical.
