Behold...the Bed!

Last week Rhett's crib finally was finally included in the mass of recalled cribs. I called the company and was told that the drop-side-fixing part could be expected sometime in August. AUGUST. Until then, we're not supposed to be using the crib for fear of death (his, not ours). So while this didn't really freak me out, I thought it was a great impetus to get Rhett into a toddler bed.

I saw this tutorial from Design Mom a year ago and knew it was what I wanted. One of our resolutions this year was to create more traditions and I wanted one of those traditions to be to "build something together." These beds looked easy enough, even for us novice power tool users.

We bought the wood supplies on Thursday and put the frame together that night. Don't you love that I'm working in a skirt? That's how easy this project was: I could have done it in heels (if I owned heels, that is). Friday afternoon we bought the fabric, and Friday evening Chuck did the upholstery whilst I made the decorative pillow. Saturday morning we loaded the bed into his room.

Of course we were nervous about how Rhett would do. Because this had only come up that week, we hadn't really been prepping him about his new "little guy" bed. However, the only hang-up we had at naptime was that he desperately wanted to sleep with the decorative pillow and was crying when I told him no. I relented; sadly, though, because our A/C broke that day and Rhett demands a blanket so the pillow was drenched in sweat upon his waking. But once that pillow was his, he was back to his usual, "Go away Mom. Go away Dad." We knew he'd be fine; though we did wonder when he'd first fall out of it.

At nighttime I was able to convince him that the decorative pillow needed to go to sleep in the other room and he's been dutifully putting that pillow to sleep ever since. It's been another easy transition for this kid! (Too bad the transition to the new nursery room on Sunday wasn't this easy.) He seems to really love the bed and can easily get in and out of it. He even wanted to spend time in his room on Saturday and sit on the bed. Oh, I love this boy!








A couple of notes about making the bed. First, it cost us nearly $60 for everything. The fabric was more than Gabrielle's estimate (well, that and I made the additional pillow); and because we made the bed to fit a standard crib mattress, our wood was also more expensive. However, $60 is still a great deal. Second, it really was ridiculously easy. The only tools we needed were a drill and a saw, and the latter was only because we miscalculated on something and didn't use the guys at Home Depot. If you decide to do this and want the dimensions for a standard crib, let me know and I'll get them to you.