Jen
- Feb 19, 2020
- 3 min read

Big Boy Bed at Age 2

You can read my post on Maclan's nursery here: Design a Nursery Your Baby Can Grow With

If you have been following me for a while you are well aware that we have had some challenges with Mac at night for the past few months. The Higgins kids have a track record of being phenomenal sleepers from 3 months to age two. They then decide that the gig is up and the joke is on us. Sleep deprivation with a newborn is expected but sleep deprivation with a toddler is just downright frustrating.

Maclan climbed out of his crib a month before he turned two. You can see him in action here which is a video clip we were able to capture on our Lollipop Baby Monitor. We immediately put him in a backwards sleep sack which is a great #momhack if you find yourself in this predicament. Unfortunately, this proved to only be a temporary solution for us due to Mac's excessive head banging on his crib rails. We received a few suggestions from friends to use crib bumpers like these but his crib had solid wood boards at the ends and our only option was to move him out...or deal with potential concussions. We opted for the former.

In hopes of tricking Mac into thinking bedtime was fun we decided to try out this toddler bed which is super cute, and a quick fix since we did not have the conversion kit for our crib (a Restoration Hardware outlet find). This was ultimately another temporary solution for us because Maclan started waking up multiple times a night and wandering into our room. One thing we learned during Madeleine's two year old sleep struggles was that she ultimately needed more room than a crib sized mattress… The problem was, it took us about a year to find this out (#firsttimeparents) so with Mac, we decided to not waste any time after realizing the toddler bed wasn't working out.

Next, and final stop: BIG BOY BED. We decided on a twin bed to maximize floor space in Maclan's room. After falling in love with this bed but not the price point, I made it my mission to find a more a more affordable version. I came across a platform bed on Wayfair for $135 (similar) and knew we had to get it! I love the look of classic white bed, and while it doesn't seem practical for a 2 year old, a $20 duvet cover does. I figured if it got destroyed we could easily bleach it or replace it! We were able to get all of the following on Amazon at really good price points: Comforter Insert, White Duvet Cover & Sham, Pale Blue Sheet Set, Oxford Striped Sheet Set, Waterproof Mattress Pad and Memory Foam Mattress.

I pulled in some pops of blue with these Target accessories: Buffalo Check Throw Pillow, Oversized Square Euro Check Pillow, Navy & White Striped Blanket and was able to tie in some of Mac's existing nursery bedding (Pom Pom Pottery Barn Crib Quilt & Monogrammable Sham) which was nice considering we had hoped to use his crib for a lot longer.

With all of the pieces in place we were excited for Mac (and us) to have a restful night sleep, but it turned out we were missing the final piece to the puzzle. These Bed Bumpers were the game changer in helping Mac feel cozy in his new bed and prevent him from rolling out. The first night we used them, Mac slept through the entire night snug as a bug. Here's to hoping this new pattern lasts...at least for a little bit!