Recently Ewan decided he didn't want to sleep in his cot any more (and was waking me in the night as a result) so after a quick trip to the local sleep shop, we had a new mattress but not a bed. The reason for this is that I'd like a really nice set of bunk beds which will be suitable for both Ewan and the new baby (when he's big enough) but after a bit of research I've realised the shops don't stock what I envisage in my head and it's possible that Roge is going to have to make me what I want (sorry honey, another job to add to the list!).
So with that in mind, but still lacking a bed (to use temporarily until bunks come into fruition), I did my usual ask around the family and search in the free classifieds. I came up with a very boring, entirely daggy but completely suitable (for now), single pipe-line bed.
The reason I wasn't entirely worried about having a less than fashionable bed (given that I tend to like nice home wares and furniture) is that I knew that the doona cover I wanted for Ewan would totally steal the show and no one would even notice the ho hum bed it was on. Yet again, I made a purchase from one of my favourite designers, Orla Kiely, a UK home wares designer and creator of the bedding I have on my own bed as well as numerous bags I own.
At approx. $100 and a 2-3 week wait for arrival from the UK, it was totally worth it in my mind. It is fun and colourful, just as a child's environment should be but not tacky or covered in children's cartoon figures (which I personally can not stand).
After a quick re shuffle of things he/we already had, Ewan's room now looks like a little boys room at a cost of $225 for the new mattress (an important investment), the bed was free, the linen was $100. It wasn't a total overhaul but still looks quite a bit different than before (baby room here and toddler set up here).
Ewan thinks he's pretty special being in a "big boy bed" now but more importantly (to me) is that he's sleeping through the night again, phew!
I'd also like to show you something which is related to this post. I originally was given this bed, a more traditional Queen Anne style set up which I could see had potential but I personally couldn't be bothered doing anything with.
I gave it away through the free classifieds and the lovely lady who picked it up sent me this "after picture" of what she had done with it for her Paris obsessed daughter. It looks fantastic and I was so chuffed that 1, she sent me a pic and 2, she had used her creativity to make such a wonderful bed for her daughter. It goes to show, you don't need a lot of money, just some love and imagination.
Wow Ewan's such a grown-up little boy! The cot we got Hugh before he was born was one of the large-sized ones with pretty high railings, which he definitely needs - how do you get Ewan to stay in his bed?
ReplyDeleteI love the doona cover and I'm so in love with the designs on the wall, as I think I've mentioned before - and also in love with Ewan's room in general; Hugh's room consists of his cot, a pack-'n'-play for Liam to sleep in, and Adam's crappy old black desk with the iMack on it that he doesn't get to use anymore. It's all rather disappointing really.
Ewan uses a pillow now? I've been meaning to find out when's a good time to introduce a pillow. Hugh sort of had one over the winter but he's one of those kids who moves around a lot in bed and sleeps in odd positions and angles so I don't think he'd get much use out of a pillow just now! What're your thoughts?
Hi Shan,
DeleteWe've got a bit lucky with Ewan and the whole "staying in bed" thing. I think it's because we've always been really disciplined about having a bed time routine and we rarely have deviated from that. As a result, he knows what is expected of him at bed time. That said, we do have him sleeping in a sleeping bag so that hinders him but even when we haven't put it on, he hasn't tried anything sneaky!
We only moved him out of the cot because it was actually causing us problems in that he was all of a sudden getting limbs stuck between the bars and he was banging his head on the sides during the night which meant he was crying out and waking us up! To transition him from his cot we started by removing the side and giving him that little bit of freedom. He coped really well with that so we then moved him out of the cot onto a mattress on the floor and when we were confident that he wouldn't roll out of bed during the night, we put him on the mattress in a proper bed. I think it all happens when they are ready though and not many of the other 22 month olds I know are sleeping in a big bed yet so don't stress. It's about the only thing Ewan is ahead of the others with. He's not particularly advanced with anything else!
Now, in regards to the pillow. We don't really use it much either, it's a new thing and that is for the same reason as Hugh, he moves around so much that it's rare that his head stays on it for long. Slowly though I've noticed him using it more because he isn't moving around quite so much (maybe that is a winter thing?).
Not long now and you'll be back in Tasmania and hopefully able to set up a really special room for Hugh. I'm sure cute decorated children's rooms are more for their parents though, I know Ewan doesn't care one bit that he has a nice doona cover or decorations on the walls! So long as he gets read a book before bed and some toys to play with, he's happy!
I'm looking forward to seeing you guys in the flesh, only 5 months to go now....woohoo!
Alex