This is How We Toddler Transition a Nursery—Tips from a Mom of 3

I’ve boasted on the web that my daughter’s nursery has been a design dream come true. The irony is, I hardly consider myself a traditionalist and yet I created a classic, floral-infused nursery for my baby girl Emerson Grace nearly two years ago. Why? The answer is just one word—timeless.

Much of my initial design inspiration came from the timeless look and feel of the Joy crib by Bratt Decor. I adored the look of vintage gold and really wanted an iron crib that could last. One day during Emmy’s afternoon nap, my then 20-month-old (who happens to be the height of a three-year-old) literally began leaping out of her perfectly standard sized crib while I took conference calls in my home office. I found myself squealing mid-sentence as I watched from my baby monitor—my baby girl clinging onto the wrong side of her crib before nearly falling out. After numerous attempts to keep her contained, I knew I had a jumper on my hands, so she left me no choice but to convert her nursery into a toddler room far too early.

I am a mom of three, so naturally this toddler bed transition should come easy, right? Truthfully, it took one full week of training and watching her naps carefully, but now, my almost two-year-old can put herself to bed under her covers every afternoon and every evening. The hellish week it took to get us here, however, is another story for another blog post. In the meantime, I’m excited to share how I quickly and successfully rearranged Emmy’s nursery to accommodate the new and improved Emmy—a curious, energetic and bold toddler who won’t let a crib stand in her way!

First, I moved my dresser in front of the original crib accent wall. Of course, the crib should be the center of attention in the nursery but I wanted to open up the room and floor space for toddler play. We now enjoy imaginary tea parties, reading books and somersaults on the fluffy white carpet.

I then moved the crib to the opposite end of the room. We didn’t use this area much in its nursery form. Moving the crib also gave me an excuse to install the most incredible crepe paper wall flower set on the planet. Not only are they beautiful and exceptionally well-made, they are easy to install because they come pre-loaded with command strips on the back of each flower.

Handmade gorgeousness, am I right?

Here’s a closer look at the the crib that started it all. The Joy crib is a 3-in-1 convertible baby crib. With the additional purchase of a day bed kit or toddler conversion kit, it can have an extended lifespan and serve a new purpose. Because Emmy is still so young, the toddler bed was a perfect solution for our immediate needs.

Hunting for toddler bedding is not an easy task, if I do say so myself, which was why I was so happy to discover the Belle Collection by Petite Vigogne. Made from 500-thread-count Peruvian Pima cotton, it’s soft, elegant and luxurious. The embroidery detail throughout the collection is certainly something special.

Their soft pink Tresor blanket also offers a unique twist on the classic cable-knit blanket. It’s knit from mercerized pima cotton, a fabric that’s specially treated to give it a baby-soft feel.

It’s quickly becoming Emmy’s favorite blanket to sleep with.

The changer on the other side of the room was highly edited and now serves a bit of a different purpose. Lotions and potions have been tucked away safely elsewhere. Former sleep sack and baby blanket bins are now filled with easily accessible baby books and the changing pad was removed because, you guessed it, potty training is just around the corner.

Delicate accessories were also moved up and away from Emmy’s toddler reach, but it’s still fun to decorate. The key however is to keep a toddler room clutter-free.

And now my secret weapon to getting Emmy to stay put in her new cozy toddler bed—our Project Nursery Sight and Sound Machine. It projects engaging images on the ceiling, acts as a night light, plays music, nature sounds and best of all, we can stream my music to it because it’s bluetooth enabled.

Naturally, I can’t forget to plug our Project Nursery Baby Monitor for catching this little monkey jumping out of her crib which kicked off this entire room refresh.

I hope your babies love their cribs. Should they want to grow up a little faster than you expected, I hope a toddler bed like Emmy’s will be in your near future. And thank you Bratt Decor, for helping to get us here.

Images by Charlie Juliet Photography

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