I will be the first to admit that I've been a little tired lately. We moved Nina into a big girl bed about five nights ago (not that I've been counting or anything), and of course I am also more than 8 months pregnant. Put together, these things do not equal a good night's sleep! If it weren't for the cuteness of her new bedroom, this whole thing would be a bust!
You may have seen this post, months ago, about the twin brass bed we inherited from my husband's family. Here it is in it's all-brass glory:
I struggled with what to do because I don't like this natural brass look, and eventually decided I would just darken it using Brass Ager. But then I saw a similar bed that had been aged and didn't like it. Still, it's a family piece, and some part of me just felt wrong about painting it!
But you know what? I got over it! I realized that more than anything, we want to be able to enjoy the bed. I know it goes against the norm, but if we don't like the bed, what is the point? So it got a coat of cream-colored paint and we are thrilled with the way it turned out! (Thanks to my husband, who spent many hours in the garage with multiple cans of Rustoleum spray paint. And yes, that is all we did! Just the spray paint, no sanding, nothing. I was worried it wouldn't be enough, but it turned out perfectly!)
We've used a feather duvet and a handmade family quilt for the bottom of the bed. Right now Nina has soft white flannel sheets from LL Bean, and in the spring we will switch to pretty light floral sheets. I have a Euro pillow and and a standard pillow for the bed, but I am already realizing that, with these toddler guard rails on either side, I won't be making the bed every morning. Still, it's fun to have the girlie bedding for those days when I actually motivate to make the bed!
Now my only problem is getting our new little night prowler to stay in bed. Specifically, the early morning wake-up calls are killing us! Nina used to sleep from about 8 p.m. till about 7:30 or 8 a.m. Now she's getting up in the 6 a.m. range. Yeah. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Will it change? Go back to normal once the novelty of the new bed wears off? Oh, please tell me it will!
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Her big girl room is so pretty...I love what you did, and the old brass bed looks incredible. I think your brass bed painting dilemma was one of the very first posts I had read!!
Yikes, 6am is early, especially when you are use to 8am. Maybe the novelty will wear off....I am hoping anyway:)
The bed looks great! I really like what you did with it.
About the staying in bed thing...I'm having flashbacks to when we moved our second son out of the crib, and I'm also imagining the process of moving our third one out so this new baby can go in. Yikes!
What worked for us was getting a digital clock and putting it in the boys' room, then teaching them what 7:00 (or later) looks like. :) Then we said, "You can get up after 7:00, but not before!" If they see a 6 on the left, they've got to stay there. It took a little training, but it wasn't long before the concept stuck. If they got out of bed before 7:00, a gentle reminder to get back in bed was our next step. A little focused effort on the front end paid off for us later.
However, I realize that the end of a pregnancy is a difficult time to put in that focused effort!
I feel your pain because I am so much NOT a morning person, and Tobin, our little one, has been waking up in the 6:00 range. Somehow, at less than a year old, I'm thinking he's not going to get the clock lesson any time soon. :) So I drag my weary body out of bed and try to be cheerful as I care for him. The thing I'm trying to work on is going to bed earlier which goes completely against my nature, but I know it's what I need to do.
Anyway, I totally relate to this. I hope it gets better for you!
Oh, I just thought of something else. When we first moved David into a regular bed, I used his naps as our big training session, realizing that I was much more alert and patient and ready to deal with him in the middle of the day than I would be at night. I remember putting him in his new bed, then doing some task in the hallway or in my room across the hall so that I could keep an eye on him. When he got out of bed, I was on him. :) He couldn't get away with anything. :) That helped him learn the lesson fairly quickly that he needs to stay in bed until I give him permission to get out. Make sense?
Obviously, this was done with a lot of love and gentleness, not a militant type thing at all.
I hope it goes well for you, and your daughter really does have a gorgeous room!!!
Love the bed! It looks darling. I'm hoping for your sake that Nina goes back to her old sleep pattern. I'm not sure. I have one child that is an early riser, one that sleeps in, one that used to be a VERY early riser and now sleeps in most days and one right in the middle. At least my early riser is my oldest so he can take care of himself once he's up. Good luck! ;-)
Her room is so pretty..so happy you painted the bed!!! It is so sweet! I love that shelf that goes around the bed!
Ahh..yes, it does get better...b/c when she starts school and she has to get up..she will want to sleep till 8am (except on weekends)..welcome to the next "blissful" stage of mothering!
-sandy toe
Nina's room turned out soooo cute! I love the bed too! I hope she starts sleeping in again soon!
Haaaave you met my friend Jo? The Supernanny that is? We just moved our first (20 months) into a big boy bed to allow the baby (3 months) to graduate into the crib. We used the supernanny's stay in bed method--which boils down to this: you go through the bedtime routine and then the first time he gets out of bed, you tell him that it is bedtime, and put him back in bed with hugs and kisses. The second time you tell him that it is bedtime, firmly, and put him back in bed. Then, after that you say nothing but continue to put him in bed. I had to stand outside the bedroom for nearly 2 hours the first night, but since then we have not had a problem. He did wake up especially early for about a week,(at 4, our norm is 6) and my hubby would go in and lay with him until he went back to sleep, which also seemed to help.
Hope something there works for you! And the room is adorable, hope she learns to love sleeping there!
What an adorable little girl room.
We had meatloaf last night--yum! It was the link my mom mkes which is really similar to yours.
Hope she startes sleeping better. It is a pain. I'm currently potty training a 2 year old and sleep training a 5 month old. Fun times!
What a beautiful "girlie" bedroom! Everything looks just gorgeous! Can I move in there? lol
Thankfully, neither of my girls have ever been early risers, so I don't have any advice to offer you...sorry!
Have a super day!
If I had any clue on how to make a child sleep in, I think I'd be a millionaire. At least that is the case in our home. 6:30 is the norm.
Her room is just too cute. I just love that dresser with the baskets. You did a WONDERFUL job. Now go take a nap :o)
Last nite was Charlotte's 1st night in her big girl bed...we just can't get her to STAY in it-...everything looks precious in her new room and I love that you did it white, precious! YOu can try the stay in your room/bed and look at books until Mommy comes in to get you but she might be too young for that yet...chances are she'll re-adjust soon, their clocks are forever changing I have learned!
Nina's room looks so pretty and I think you made a great choice in painting the bed. Looks like a room any little girl (or big girl) would love to have.
I hope that you start getting some more sleep too:)
Wow -- it turned out simply beautiful -- love the way the paint looks on it!
Good luck on the getting Nina to sleep later -- let me know what works. Somehow on school days, I have to drag Maddy out of bed. On the weekends, she's up at the crack of dawn!
Janet
Her room is so very adorable!!! ((I would have hesitated to paint too but would have gotten over it and just done it!!!)) I am the Queen of Heirloom White spray paint 'round here!!
I love every little inch of her room, that shelf and dresser are so sweet!!!
What a great little girls room!! I know she is proud of it. Good luck on the 6 am thing. Mine just adapted to their own schedules and I complied.
I love how the bed turned out! I was nervous for you about painting the brass, but it's gorgeous!! Nina's room is beautiful, too - so soft and feminine. How does she not mess everything up? My almost 3-year-olds have bedrooms that are stripped of almost everything because they climb on things or pull things out of drawers/off shelves. The bed linens regularly get pulled off the beds, too.
As for wake-up time, it sounds like all children are different, but mine transitioned the way Nina is right now. We have gates at their doors and have asked them to wait for the sun to come up before softly calling us. That helped a little bit.
Her room is adorable! I love that first photo with the light filtering in. So pretty! I love the bed now too. PERFECT!
Oh man. My daughter used to climb out of bed early, early too. She'd come in our room and just stand there and look at us until we woke up. It would scare me to death some mornings. lol She eventually got over it but I was ready to lose my mind there for a while. Good luck!
You are right in the middle of one of the most frustrating parts of parenting...and pregnant on top of it. That's tough.
We used the clock idea that someone else already mentioned. That worked great! For the kids who woke up way too early, we did the safety gate over the door trick. They could get out of bed and play in their room, but they weren't allowed out of their room until a certain time. (And they couldn't get out because of the safety gate blocking their way.) We could still hear them though just in case there was a problem.
Good luck with this! I can't say that I miss going through those sleepless nights at all. :)
I love how the bed turned out...what a sweet room! It has been years since I had the big girl bed dilemma...it must get better because now they sleep all the time!
The room is BEAUTIFUL - my daughter would be incredibly jealous :).
It took our son about a month to stay in his bed - he would stay in his room... just not his bed. Same for his regular sleep patterns - it's almost as though once he realized he "LIKED" his bed... this went back to normal. Good luck!!!
The big girl room looks great. About the early rising--I have a friend whose daughter did the same thing, and she eventually got used to the bed and stopped. I think it took her about 2-3 weeks. We haven't moved the munchkin to a big bed yet, so he's still trapped in his crib. :-)
She will begin sleeping in as soon as she is used to the new bed. Both my girls did the same thing. I know right now it probably is aweful timing to be doing this - but after you have a new baby you will be glad you stuck with it. Hey, thanks for checking out my new blog! Jill
I would say you deserve to be tired!! Her room is so cute. I love the fabrics on her shams.
Hopefully the novelty will wear off but the family I nanny for puts a baby gate on the door frame so they cannot get out of their room in the middle of the night or early morning. Maybe that would help?
I am so impressed. Her room looks great. We too will being doing this transistion soon. I am SO nervous. Have you potty trained yet? YUCK!
I LOVE the bed and her room is so beautiful! Great job. It will get better! Hang in there I have 5 and they all have gone through this. Then when they become teenagers you are wanting them to get up in the morning and they don't want to. he he
Hugs, Bobbi Jo
I have no advise for you as we were bad (Lexi slept with us most of the time when she was little). I was so exhausted and that was the only place she would sleep more than just an hour or two....she doesn't seem to need near as much sleep as I do! She has been in her room for many years now and she does sleep in when the weekends are here.
The bedroom is absolutely GORGEOUS! You have made her a fabulous little girl room and the headboard looks great painted....just perfect!
I love her big girl room it looks GREAT!!!!
Her bed and her bedroom look great!
that big girl room is awesome!! so pretty!! I'm sure her sleeping will go back to normal soon!!
Oh I just love her new big girl bed so cute!
Have fun with her ! heres an idea for ya take her to the store and buy her a new bed time bear and tell her that this is her new buddy for bed time and that bed time bear will sleep with you and keep you company ! See if that will help!
I LOVE your daughter's bedroom! The shelf rail is the best I have EVER seen! As far as her sleeping habits, if she is anything like my daughter she probably won't go back to sleeping in until 8 am. However, some days she will sleep later than others. With the new found independance of a big girl bed comes the ability to make their own decisions so she is in charge now. We had to explain to my daughter that she needed to stay in bed until it is light outside so that may work for her! Good luck with the new baby!
Oh my i love her big girl bed how is she sleeping in it? It's as cute as she is great room.*8 months un oh we'er on the count down now.Boy or girl? I think a boy.As long is it a healthy child am voting boy.
I love the bed and the room, they are very princess like.
As for the sleeping, I would teach her what 8 am looks like or set an alarm and say when this goes off you can leave your room, I honestly put up a gate in one of my girls rooms and at 8 am I would take it down. But then also we told her when she wakes up she can look at books on her bed or play with a toy.You might plan something the night before.
I would be glad that she is an early riser that just may be her clock and when she is a bit older you will be excited.
I would caution to not go in a sleep with her or let her get in your bed because when the baby comes that will become a HUGE issue.
Enjoy her and give lots of love and praise.
Oh I did so hate the days when my kids got up that early.....might I suggest allowing her to watch cartoons quietly? I know, it's not the best solution but maybe you can get a little extra sleep :)
If this gives you any validation at all, I say you were RIGHT to paint it. You had even more reservations than I would have. I think it looks beautiful!!
I love her room...It is perfect!! Its so nice to see what other peoples decorating tastes are because I will copy in a second....ha ha!!
As far as her early morning wake up calls, my girls both did this to me when we moved them to big girl beds, and I think we figured out that the crib bumpers kept the sun out of their eyes in the early morning (can you visualize laying in the crib how that would be darker because of the bumpers?).
So when they moved to big girl beds, the sun was in their eyes as soon as it came up and so made them wake up earlier. Now, whether or not its true I don't know and I sure wouldn't take it for gospel, but we put some blinds on the windows (Im normally not a blind kind of girl, but really I don't live in a magazine and so since have gotten over it) and turned them up to keep the sun out and sure got an extra hour out of the deal!
Great Room!!
It turned out so cute! A lot better than brass for a little girl's room. Good choice!
Wow!! You have some faithful blog followers, which means some great advice, so I guess I won't give anymore...maybe you have enough? I will say the bedroom and bed looks gorgeous. We just put our daughter in a big girl bed, but for some strange and beautiful reason she has yet to climb out of the bed without calling for us first after nap and in the morning. How long that will last I don't know?! I think your daughter will probably (hopefully) get used to it and start getting back to her normal sleeping routine, especially after she realizes how tired she really is. Best wishes with the last month of your pregnancy!
I love the big girl bed...in all its spray-painted-white glory! It really looks great! Such a pretty room for such a pretty little girl☺ I bet she loves it! Don't worry about the early wake-up call. I'm sure it's just a phase (that's mine and my bffs favorite saying..."it's just a phase"...then we laugh...'cause you gotta laugh.)
Oh, her big girl bed is so pretty! I love it! I somehow never saw this the first time around, but you and your husband did such a great job. I love that you were able to keep the family bed, yet make it into something you would enjoy.
Oh, and about Nina getting up - my son did that a lot when he first got his big boy bed. The newness did eventually wear off - I hope it does soon for you! :)
Such a cute room! I think if you can modify a family heirloom to make it yours, then it's the best of both worlds. Something with memories that you love! And I am lovin' the bed. Good luck with the early bird. My 3 year old girl is doing exactly the same thing so let me know if you figure it out.
I love the big girl bed! The cream paint was a great choice. Good luck with the sleeping schedule. I don't have any experience with this.
Her room turned out so pretty. I was just thinking the other day, I can't wait to get rid of the toddler guard rails Alana has. I do make up her bed every morning and it's a pain because of the rails.
The way I got Alana to stay in her bed was to tell her she can't get up until it was light outside. And if she woke up I would tell her to stay in her room and play. Some days it works others it didn't. If she gets up when I don't want her to I send her back to bed, she gets mad at me but it's too early for her to be up. Most time she will go back to sleep.
I just recently found your blog and I absolutely love it! It's so real and refreshing and you have such great ideas!
My little boy (age 3)took a few months to adjust to the big boy bed and still sometimes appears in our room in the middle of the night. Good luck! The room looks great!
The room turned out so lovely! Glad you painted the bed.
Love Nina's new painted brass bed!! It will get better. They are getting used to some freedom. I really like the digital clock idea that someone else mentioned. What's funny is when they start going to school they don't want to get up, but on the weekends they are up earlier than during the week:))
I have no advice for you - Greg tends to wake up early but then crawls in to snuggle with me while I snooze for another hour. Graham used to do this but has outgrown it. It's a hard transition, but what a pretty bed to do it in! I would've painted it also!
I have no idea! My little one was such a good sleeper. Still is at 17! I hope, for all your sakes, that she adjusts quickly to the novelty and gets back to a better sleep pattern for you!
Teach her how to operate the VCR or DVD player. A most important skill any toddler should have for his/her mother's sanity! Also teach her how to fix a bowl of cereal. (Put the cereal in a plastic bowl the night before. Put the milk in a plastic cup in the fridge where she can reach it. She'll be good to go for about another hour or so. Priceless!
No thoughts on the waking up early, but I love the bed makeover!
What a transformation???
Good luck on keeping her in bed!!!
The bed looks so wonderful! I hope she gets over the 6am thing soon. Thanks for posting so many of your great crafts, now all YOUR ideas are going into my little craft inspiration binder. ;)
Happy 2009!
xoxo,
Lulu
The bed is GORGeous!!
Carrie,
The room looks lovely. I love what you have done with the bed! What a fabulous room to grow up in. The sleeping does get better. Hold true to your "rules". It will be a huge payoff when the new baby arrives ~ learn from my sleepless nights~ ugh :)
Whatever came of the possible new home?
Enjoy your evening,
Jo
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ROOM YOU HAVE THERE CRAFTY MAMA. I HEAR YOU WITH THE SLEEPING THERE MUST BE A TODDLR SECERT METTING THAT THE GIRLS ARE ALL HAVING LIKE US BLOGGERS MINE TOO HAS MOVED TO A BIG GIRLS ROOM / BED AS WELL AND MAN GETTING HER TO SAY IN IS A HASSLE I GOT A GATE AND GATED THE ROOM AND SOLVED NOW SHE STAYS IN AND GOES BACK TO BED I FEEL SAFER.
First of all the bed is just beautiful! Great decision on the paint. I know sleep is not coming easy for you these days. I can't think of one of my girls that I didn't have a problem with when it came to staying in their bed. Be consistent in taking her back as hard as it is.... She will get use to it and then before you know it she will start locking you out of her room! LOL
I guarantee by the time she's 16 you'll have a hard time getting her out of bed. Gorgeous bed and I love that it's a family piece. Mimi
her room is so cute! i love her little stool beside the bed. the bed project turned out great...
~nicole
Love the cream; looks fantastic. I have no advice about staying in, but boy, 2 hours is a lot of sleep to loose. Here's hoping something sticks for you!
Beautiful room!! I have a little one who likes to wake up early too! We had to put her in her big girl bed at 16 months because she would throw herself out of her crib to try to get to us! Now, she won't come to our room, but sits and cries "mama" until we come and get her! I just don't understand why she can't call her dad :) -- that's annoying!!!!
i lo when you stop by my blog ! thanks for that awesome comment!!!
P.S. I never actually used my "Brass Ager" after I saw that aging the bed wasn't going to be enough of a change for me. But I do have a bottle of it and will hold out and use it for another project!! :) One of these days you will see it on this blog again!
Carrie
It is perfect Carrie! You did the right thing in making it your own...it is now a family heirloom with your families stamp on it. Love her pillows. cherry
It's so sweet! The bed turned out beautifully!
I have to share a funny "big girl bed" story with you from a friend of mine. She included it with their Christmas letter. Her little girl had very mixed emotions about moving out of her crib into a big girl bed, but at 3 1/2 they decided it was time. She even voiced concerns about the move such as how all of her dolls and animals might fit into the bed with "no walls." She had never even attempted to get out of her crib on her own (even though she was a big girl!), so as soon as she woke up in the morning she would yell "mooooommmmmy, daaaaddddy" until she had woken up the whole family. With the new big girl bed, they were excited that she could get up all by herself. The morning after she made the big move, they were surprised to here "moooommmmmmy, daaaddddy." They walked into her room to find her laying in bed yelling. :)
It's a hard transition. I hope Nina gets comfy enough in her big girl bed that she goes back to her later morning schedule! Especially since you need the extra sleep right now!
Love the colors on the bed. I especially like that dresser with the baskets. My friend had a coffee table with baskets like that. It was brown, but she painted everything white and I adored it. I like this picture with the sun coming through the window. Makes everything look lovely. xxoo
Too cute. What color was the spray paint. I want to do my bedroom furniture with a "cream" color, but I don't know which to use. Thanks.
Oh ya, I also live in the Denver area. where is the store where you sell your stuff?
Hi again!
As for the color of the paint, it is Rustoleum's cream color. I can't remember the name but I know they basically have one white and one cream. Mine is the cream. Might be something with the word "almond" in it?
As for the store where we sell our stuff, it is a place called "Sibby's Scribbles" that sells mostly stationery and things like that. She operates out of her huge lower level of her house, so it's in a neighborhood. :) We're not fancy enough to be in a mall or anything...yet!
The room is beautiful and I love the bed painted!
GASP!!! That's a beautiful room! I love it! I can't wait until Miss Sassafrass is ready for a bGb. I hate the borrowed crib we have for her.. I've always dreamt of an all white room for my little girl! Thanks for the inspiration... I'm printing it all off now to save for the (sadly) near future! They get soooo big TOOOO fast!
Carrie, that bed turned out SO well! It looks a million times better painted than it did brass so you definitely did the right thing. What a darling little girl's room!
I love the painted bed--great choice. :)
My little guy (turns three at the end of this month) still is in his crib--he likes it and I know he'll be a midnight wanderer!
~ Sarah
Carrie~ Nina's big girl room is lovely! The bed turned out fantastic! I hope she learns to love it for 1 or 2 more hours a morning so you can get some more sleep though! Ouch!
The bedding is so pretty, too. I love how simple and elegant it is. So princess-y.
And the view of the mountains outside? INCREDIBLE!
xo, Les
The bed turned out great. The room looks adorable! I LOVE the stool. Did you make it?
It will get better.Emerson just moved into a big girl bed before Christmas and is finally staying asleep longer. My new problem is she roams the house at night and likes to climb up on her sister's bunk bed.I'm losing sleep more for nerves now.
great choice to paint the bed - it looks great! i got here via tcb, and your home looks beautiful! hang in there with those last few weeks:)
love that bed! i just bought one for my little girl and can't wait for her to get into it! lovely blog
I just found you on Today's Creative Blog.
Your bed looks gorgeous!!! I don't know how long you've had it painted, but I'm wondering if it is holding up well.
Beautiful job with that room!
I love that bed! How lucky you are to have it handed down and keep it in the family!
I love what you did with her room. The bed is so beautiful!
I also left you a little something...Go see my latest post.
What a gorgeous bed! I absolutely love, love, love her little room. So sweet and girlie.
Wow, beautiful! New reader here *wave*
I, too, love the room. It is such a great decor for her now and will be great to grow into. I absolutely love the foot stool, where did you get that and also where did you get your drapes, I have been looking everywhere for a pair??
Good luck on getting some sleep, my almost 8 month old luckily is sleeping through the night...who knows about the future though.
I'm so glad you decided to paint the bed. It's beautiful! And you're absolutely right...what's the point of having a brass bed that you don't really like. Family heirloom or not.
I wish I had some tips for helping your kiddo sleep later. I've got the same problem.
Kimba
This room is too cute! Love it! Added your link to my blog, hope you don't mind=)
I checked out a few pages of your blog. Your home is darling!
whatareyouuptonow.blogspot.com
It is where I save creative thoughts, plans, completed projects, and recipes. Sure beats the hassle of filing paperwork! =)
I feel your pain in organizing and reorganizing--that is where I am this week, too. Though not pregnant, so you have me beat there=) My little one is in a new toddler stage, so up with the baby stuff and down with the big girl stuff! It is a job for our house is 1,000 sq. ft and I have too many interests to house it all!
Have a good year. Hope all goes well with your new sweet one!
don't tell anyone I told you, but put one of those child proof things on the inside of her door so she can't open it. that's what we did. You can tell her that she can't come out until a certain time (we said until the sun wakes up). You can tell when she cries if it's real or just mad.
I'm loving your blog! Found you from TCB...your big girl's room is beautiful!
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