Welcome to Molly’s room! I am so excited about today’s post! Not only because I think her bed is absolutely adorable and I wanna share all the details for it, but also because the transition has been amazing for us and I really want to share with all of you what a positive experience this has been. Mostly because if any other parents out there are stressing about making the transition to a big girl bed or big boy bed, hopefully this will put some of your nerves at ease.
Molly’s New Bedroom Decor!
The Bed
First, can I just tell you about some of the adorable details for this bed. Let’s talk about the bed frame itself. I got it from Pottery Barn and I could not be more happy with it. As you guys know I went back-and-forth on what bed I wanted to get her for such a long time. I really, really, really had my heart set on a little dollhouse type bed like this one. I also fell so in love with this more detailed one. But because I live in California having anything over your bed when you sleep is just so not safe. Earthquakes happen here and we are all gearing up for the next big one, so having something above her head just wasn’t an option for us. But if you live in other parts of the country where you don’t have to worry about earthquakes, 1. I’m jealous, and 2., I totally think you should consider a little house bed. They are just the cutest things ever. I’ll link a few different options below a different price points of some of my favorites that I found while I searched different beds for hours!
1. BED FRAME | 2. BLUSH COMFORTER | 3. WHITE RUFFLE SHEETS | 4. OK-TO-WAKE NIGHTLIGHT | 5. SIMILAR EURO SHAM | 6. SIMILAR THROW PILLOW | 7. GUARD-RAIL | 8. WALLPAPER
In the end I decided on this simple farmhouse style frame. It’s classic and clean, but also has adorable character! I did kind of wish the headboard was a little taller to be honest. But I was able to give the head of the bed more height with pillows. Originally we had purchased guard rails for both sides of the bed, but with a bed of this size I really think that 1 is plenty. When I make the bed I drape the bedding over it to make it look cute! Unless you have a kiddo that thrashes around, I don’t think they would need both unless they are in a twin! I would base it off the way they sleep and the size of the bed.
Her Pillows
So the pillows at the very top of the bed actually used to be on mine and Kevin’s bed. But I just ordered new bedding for us. I ordered it three months ago, but it was on backorder so it still hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s coming this month. This set is what I ordered FYI for anybody who is curious. I’ll do a blog post about our new bedding with pictures later so you guys can see. But I just absolutely love the pillows that were on our bed before and I am so glad Molly is getting to use them now. Originally, I got them from etsy. I reached out to the seller and unfortunately she doesn’t make them anymore, but I found a few more from etsy for you below, and also linked an affordable option from Walmart too.
The other decorative pillows are ones that we’ve honestly just had lying around our house and they went so perfectly with her bed so I added them. I don’t have exact links because I don’t think they’re available anymore. But I linked super similar pillows below so you can get an almost identical look.
Blush Comforter
Now let’s talk bedding! How beautiful is this blush bedding?! I can’t even tell you how long I searched for blush bedding before I found this comforter set. Molly’s bed is a full-size bed so I got the full/queen size. And it comes with two shams for two additional pillows as you can see on her bed. While I was searching for different blush comforters, I kept finding some that were either too pink or not my style. I wanted something feminine, with detail, and it absolutely had to be the perfect light blush color. So when I found this at Kohl’s, I instantly bought it. I also really like that it’s not a duvet cover and it’s a comforter. The bedding we just bought for our master bedroom is a duvet cover, so I do get them. But I just think comforters are so much better, especially for kids, because the blanket stays put and you’re not always fussing to have the duvet lay properly.
You might notice in the photos, but I have a plain white comforter down at the bottom of her bed just to look cute! Chances are you probably have one in your house or linen closet already!
1. BED FRAME | 2. BLUSH COMFORTER | 3. WHITE RUFFLE SHEETS | 4. OK-TO-WAKE NIGHTLIGHT | 5. SIMILAR EURO SHAM | 6. SIMILAR THROW PILLOW | 7. GUARD-RAIL | 8. WALLPAPER
White Ruffle Sheets
Finally to complete the bedding set, we got her these white ruffle sheets. I knew I wanted ruffles somewhere on the bed and for a while I looked for a comforter that had ruffles. But every comforter that I could find with ruffles also had a smooth top. I knew with it being on Molly’s bed it was just gonna look super wrinkled all the time and never really look nice. That’s also why I bought her comforter with the detail on the top because it never looks wrinkled and always looks neat and clean. But, having the ruffle on the sheet worked out perfectly! It gives it that little feminine and girly touch that I was looking for! Not that having a blush comforter wasn’t girly enough. Ha!
Wallpaper
Another detail that I feel like really completes the look of her room is the wallpaper. I love the colors and details. This wallpaper has been in here since we moved into the house. We put it up when we first moved in. It went perfectly with her crib and now looks just as great with her big girl bed! I will also link her little wicker nightstand, dresser, and faux tree as well for anyone curious.
1. DRESSER | 2. FAUX TREE | 3. BLUSH BEDDING | 4. BED FRAME
Transitioning Molly to Her Big Girl Bed
Okay, now let’s talk about her transition. I’ll start with when I knew it was time to transition. Honestly, I wish I wrote this blog post right when we switched her because I feel like now my reasons for switching her feel a little hazy in my mind. But I’ll do my best recalling everything. Honestly, I was always told that we should keep Molly in her crib as long as possible. Every sleep coach or expert I had ever talked to said keep her in there if she was happy in there and not trying to escape. Molly never once tried to climb out of her crib and she always seemed pretty happy in there. So I planned on keeping her in there until she didn’t fit anymore. Ha! You can find a link to her bedroom decor with the crib here!
Flexible Timing Due to School Switch
The only reason we decided to switch earlier than planned is because Molly switched schools. As you guys know, in November we switched Molly’s preschool. I was nervous about the switch and how she would take it so to get her excited about it I told her that it was a new school because she’s a big girl now and needed to go to a big girl school. Molly is absolutely obsessed right now with being stronger and bigger and older so I knew this was an easy sell.
1. BED FRAME | 2. BLUSH COMFORTER | 3. WHITE RUFFLE SHEETS | 4. OK-TO-WAKE NIGHTLIGHT | 5. SIMILAR EURO SHAM | 6. SIMILAR THROW PILLOW | 7. GUARD-RAIL | 8. WALLPAPER
So I thought that since we were playing up the big girl aspect of going to a new school, I also thought we could re-emphasize it by telling her she also got to have a big girl bed now. It’s funny, because almost everything I’ve read has said not to do more than one big transition at a time. Something about this just felt right to me. And let me tell you, the look on Molly’s face when I told her she was getting a big girl bed was the cutest thing ever! She was so so so excited! I would say things to her like “now that you go to a big girl school you get to have a big girl bed too!” tying it all together and making it exciting helped me sell her on the new school. Honestly I didn’t think too much about how hard it might be trying to transition to the big girl bed. And lucky for us it wasn’t hard at all it was seamless! If anything it made our life so much easier.
She Was Probably Ready For Quite Awhile
Molly’s bedroom time routine in the crib went from about 20 minutes when she was two years old to about an hour when she was three years old. She never wanted us to leave the room and it became a little bit of a struggle to actually leave. She would cry and scream and fuss and asked for one more song. We used to sing her one song before bed and I had gotten to a point where we were singing her 6+ songs before bed in addition to stories before that. She always just wanted one more, one more, one more. I should’ve realize this was a sign. She kind of felt trapped in there and I guess I just didn’t really realize it. I thought for sure that by switching to a big girl bed, not only would she keep asking for us more, but then also get out of the bed and follow out of there.
1. DRESSER | 2. FAUX TREE | 3. BLUSH BEDDING | 4. BED FRAME
The crazy thing is once we got the big girl bed, miraculously she stopped asking for more songs. And now our bedtime routine with her is about 15 minutes. We get on PJs after the bath, brush her teeth, read one or two stories max, lay next to her for 1 minute. And then leave the room. We don’t even do the songs anymore cause she doesn’t ask for it. Now she just asks that we lay next to her for one minute and then we can go. 50% of the time she’ll ask that we check in on her after one minute and we do it and that’s that. Look, I realize that we might be the luckiest people on earth and that most kids don’t transition like this, but I had to share the story because of any other parents have a child who is two or older in a crib that is prolonging bedtime, I really think it might mean they’re ready for a big kid bed!
Her Nightlight Helps
Molly has not once tried to get out of bed without permission and I’ve yet to see little eyes staring at me in the middle of the night while I’m in bed like a mini poltergeist. Ha! And to be quite honest, I feel like our OK-to-wake light is to thank for that. If you have an infant, I recommend getting them started on an OK-to-wake light early. We use the Hatch Baby Rest and love it. If you have an older child you could introduce it now, but I feel like the reason the transition was so seamless for Molly is because she was using that light from the get-go. When she was in her crib she knew it wasn’t time to call for us to get her out of bed until the light turned on. And now that she’s in a big girl bed, she will not get up and leave until that light goes on. We tell her that the fairies turn the light on and off. So sometimes in the morning if it’s not on yet I’ll hear her on the monitor saying “Fairies! Please please please turn the light on!”. Sometime she’ll say it over and over until the light goes on. Which is pretty cute. But, she will not step foot out of that bed until the light goes on. So I would say having that light and using it as early as possible with your kiddos is my best tip for making this transition as smooth one.
1. BED FRAME | 2. BLUSH COMFORTER | 3. WHITE RUFFLE SHEETS | 4. OK-TO-WAKE NIGHTLIGHT | 5. SIMILAR EURO SHAM | 6. SIMILAR THROW PILLOW | 7. GUARD-RAIL | 8. WALLPAPER
Anyway, I just wanted to share my story and hopes that it helps anybody out there thinking about making the transition with their kiddos soon. And as always, we love so much about this blog is the amazing community of women that read it. So if you have any tips or tricks that you’d like to share please do in the comments below! Plus who knows, Riley might be a totally different story and I might need to try different things with him when that time comes.
My girls aren’t close to a big girl bed just yet, but this is how I pictured their bed!! So adorable and she seems to love it!
Beautiful!
Allison
https://clementschronicles.com
Beautiful bedroom for a beautiful little girl! I love it! I also didn’t have any issues transitioning my 3 kiddos (now grown with their own kids). My oldest daughter, who was always my climber, climbed out of the crib before age 2, so she transitioned on her second birthday and was super excited. #2 and #3 around 2 1/2, mainly because they were both potty trained and sometimes got up at night to go. I think most kids transition well between 2 and 3; it’s a big deal for them! One of my granddaughters used to just sit on her bed when she woke up after first going into a bed, until her mother said, you know you can come out of your room! Haha. I guess she was waiting to be told!
Thank you for sharing!! You’ve given me the confidence that my daughter Sarah will be ready this Spring/Summer. She doesn’t turn 3 until 9/2. But I feel like she seems to be in the same boat Molly was. Thank you as always for sharing your momma stories, tips, tricks, etc.. 🙂
So sweet!!! I love it! I’m currently trying to figure out what to do for my son’s room when he transitions out of his crib. His room doubles as a guest room when my parents are in town (not often). I really want to just have one bed in the room but that means using the queen mattress for a toddler. I’m not even sure I can find a queen sized bed frame (love the house beds as well!) that super low/on the floor that would be appropriate for a kid’s room. Oi!
Just an FYI, platform beds are lower and don’t require a box spring. When we were looking for one for my daughter we wanted something lower as well because we have wood floors. Bonus, we got one with drawers under!
Try IKEA! They have platform beds that are padded and super low.
Beautiful bed, bedding and room! Great job, Ali and I’m so happy Molly loves it and her bedtime routine has become easy and comfortable for her as well as you and Kevin!
OMG! Thanks so much! My daughter is few months younger than Molly and also being looking at the “big bed” and I have looked at all the beds in your blog. You just made my decision easier.
Can you please tell me which mattress did you pick for Molly? The mattresses in Pottery barn are very soft now.
Thank you so much
We have the Hatch light for our three year old as well. Curious – when she’s awake and asking for the light to turn on, will you manually do it on the app or still let her wait until the time you’ve already set it for?
We transitioned our son around the same time (age 3.5) and Santa brought him “Superhero big boy bed” and he was so excited about it. We had converted his crib into a toddler bed at age 2 then just added the extra rails to convert it into a full-size bed at Christmas. We got the superhero bedding from pottery barn and he just thinks it’s the coolest thing ever! He does occasionally get out of his bed so we ended up putting the childproof door knobs on his door so he can’t get out of his room – ha! But we do have a monitor still so if he yells or cries and needs us, we can go in there and help him… usually it’s, “Mommy, I need to go potty” in the middle of the night. Fun times!
Do you have the HATCH light off all night and only turn it on for the morning?
Yes off at night. And I always manual turn it on in morning. I don;t know why. I just do.
Gorgeous bedding! So similar to what I picked out for my daughter’s room. We are about to transition her from a toddler bed to a full-size since she will be 4 on Leap Day. Which mattress did you go with? I keep looking and looking but reviews are so mixed for them online!
We transitioned my son very early, because honestly, I had another baby and didn’t want to buy another crib! He was a very active not quite 2 year old, and I knew he wouldn’t stay in his bed. But he surprised us and never once got up during the night, and even stayed in bed until we came to get him in the mornings. They do sometimes amaze us!!!
what an adorable bedroom!
looks like a comfortable bed to ‘jump’ on…I mean sleep in. 😉
does Molly say night time prayers?
(if that question is too personal, I apologize)
have a nice day.
Hi. What a beautiful bedroom. Molly is one lucky little girl to have such a peaceful room to snooze in and call her own. Pottery Barn has so many nice things. My grandchildren have the Lifeguard beds from Pottery Barn and couldn’t be happier. I love reading your blog and watching you on Home and Family. Been a fan since you were on the Batchelor wearing that gorgeous yellow gown! So glad you’re on Hallmark channel.
I love that you shared your story Ali. I have an almost 7 yr old who when we transitioned to the bed was so easy but we waited until 3(and she was a tight fit in the crib by then!) because we were worried about the same things! She transitioned so easily. My son now is 2 and is so so active. I’m worried about both potty training and the transition to bed. I’m not sure he will stay in the bed all the time. ☺️ Also the bedding is gorgeous yet somehow as pretty as some beddings look, I cannot get myself to buy it if it is not 100% cotton. Especially for kids bedding, it looks gorgeous but is uncomfortable and in summers polyester is the worst. Wish they would have more options that look this nice in cotton as well. Thanks Ali for sharing!
That’s so interesting! My 2.5 year old has learned the art of stalling at bedtime, so maybe he’s ready to switch too?! I’m not quite ready myself 😂 But the day is soon approaching 😂
My almost 3 year old son has prolonged the bedtime routine as well and also seems perfectly content and has made no escape attempts from his crib. This gives me hope that he is ready and maybe we can soon be out of there in 30 min like we used to!
Hi! Did you get her a twin or a full size bed? She is so cute and glad it all went so well! xo
Didn’t you mention she was scared of the dark for a few night? Did that princess nightlight help?
It did not. We had it in her room 2 nights and it just kept her up. But she doesn’t say she is scared anymore. SO I dunno what happened!
Where did you get Molly’s rug? Really want to upgrade to a plusher, cozier rug for my 2 year old’s room. On your Instagram stories it looks like your kiddos have fun playing around on the rug in Molly’s room
Man, I’m so jealous of you and everyone else in the comments talking about how easy your transition was! My 3.5 year old transitioned over a year ago and it’s *still* a struggle. He never prolonged bedtime when he was still in the crib, but he does it all the time now. And he tries to get out of bed multiple times every. single. night.
Definitely going to try incorporating the Hatch light into his routine & see if that helps.
I have a 3 year old who prolonga bedtime constantly, sometimes for 2 hours! I don’t stay in there that long but she’s still awake playing or screaming. 🤦🏻♀️ I found my only saving grace was putting a baby gate at the door and a little potty in her room. So she has everything g she needs in there and can’t escape. 🤷🏻♀️
Wow my daughter turned two in November and like Molly has never tried not even once to climb out of her crib. However recently she has been trying to stall more and I’m up to 5 songs at bed time and she still screams when I put her in her crib….usually I just do it and leave quickly, she will cry and scream for maybe a minute or two then she is fine. But you got me really thinking if it’s because she feels trapped in her crib…I was hoping to wait until we had another baby that needs the crib but we may need to think about it sooner…thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Hi,
Just wondered what mattress you bought for Molly?
Thank you!
What mattress did you get!? We are in this process right now!
Yay Molly! That’s so exciting. I feel like all big transitions with my kids I put off because I was worried. I was worried how they would react and if that would make things more difficult for me. But in the end they always transition (sleep training, getting rid of pacifiers, no more bottles, big kid beds) way easier than I ever thought. It made me realize how much I need to trust in them and give them the opportunity to grow and not worry so much how it could impact me haha.
This is such a helpful post! My daughter just turned three and I have been looking at Pottery Barn beds. This post totally sold me on it. Super cute and I love the way you decorated the room. I have two girls so will probably have them each in a twin. Any recommendations on the mattress you got?
Two twin bed of this style would look sooooo cute!!!!! They have pics that you can see on PB’s website.
This is SO helpful! Thank you for sharing your story. My LO isn’t ready for a big boy bed yet, but I will definitely revisit this blog post when he is!
Question about your Hatch: my son is only 18 months and right now we just use the Hatch for the white noise for sleeping. When did you start training Molly with the light? I still feel like he’s not quite ready to comprehend the different light concept.
I started using the light with Riley at like 8 months!!! Start ASAP!!!!!
I am sooo glad you wrote about the signs that she was ready for the transition. Our 2.5 year old who had always been a great sleeper recently became super difficult at bedtime. Her routine tripled in time. So many tears when we leave and asks for a million songs. Her older sister sleeps across the room I’m a big girl bed. Realizing from your post that she’s feeling trapped in her crib and is probably ready. So thanks for that!!
Yes totally!!!! I am SOOOO glad this was helpful for you! Let me know how it goes.
We might be in the same boat. My daughter just turned 3 and has always loved her crib and has never tried to climb out. The past week however bedtime is a nightmare!!! She doesn’t want to go to bed, cries when we leave etc etc. This could be her time for the big bed also!!!
This post came at the perfect time! I am about to transition my toddler into a big girl bed, and I was struggling so much on the style I wanted. You nailed it! So adorable! Would you mind sharing what type of mattress you got for Molly?
Molly’s bedroom is adorable, just like her. Can you please tell me where you purchased the mattress. Thank you.
Thanks so much for the tips!👍😊 Do you mind me asking how old Molly is? I am also torn about the transition to a big girl bed. My daughter’s name is also Molly and she’s 2.5 years old! She’s a great sleeper now and we have a good routine at bedtime.. I’m nervous that it will change with the transition.
Thanks so much!
Maria 😊
Adorable — and one of our favorite books is “Just One More” by Jennifer Hansen Rolli, you would find some familiarity (and humor) and your little one would love it!
So cute, glad it went so smoothly! We have been co-sleeping with our daughter n shes now two and I am dying to get her into her own bed. Shes always hated the CRIB and shes used to our king bed so I am finally getting her room put together with a double bed for her (it used to be our guest room). I’m so nervous how it will go and I hope she takes it well instead of being scared. She still wakes up from naps crying and I just dont get why. Send prayers lol!!!
Was keeping an eye out for this post, so thanks for sharing! We recently bought my 3.5 year old the same PBK Catalina bed but did not buy the matching dresser. She is currently using the one that matched her crib (also from PBK but they don’t make any furniture in this color gray anymore) but it’s a different color and was hoping to find a dresser in white that matched without having to spend $$$. The link for her dresser takes you to Wayfair but not a specific dresser. Maybe they don’t sell it anymore? Can you post the name/brand of it? Looks like the whites match perfectly 🙂
Love the room! Also love the wallpaper, but the link goes to wayfair’s wallpaper page not this exact print. 😓 do you know if they still carry this wallpaper? Thanks!
Ali, You have an adorable little girl….PLEASE PLEASE start brushing her hair. It’s not hard to do a pony tail or a pretty bow in it……..Look back at your instagram story of the ice cream date today
Nice bed. Superb and I love the way you decorated the room. Thank you for sharing amazing idea.
best interior design ideas 2020
Your description of Molly’s bedtime taking longer & longer to the point where she did not want you to leave the room, is exactly what I did with my first born. I just never wanted to put him down and boy did I suffer because of that. When my 2nd baby came along, she learned to put herself to sleep from day one just about. I actually would put her in her crib when I was busy doing laundry or cooking dinner and subsequently she would fall asleep with no fuss and no crying. To this day she is a better sleeper!
Just love Molly’s new room. So cute and so her. BTW my daughter has the duvet you ordered for your bedroom and she loves it. It’s in her guest room and it’s a wonderful bedding set. I’m sure you’ll be really happy with it.
Could you share where her curtains are from
Thank you so much for sharing! I have a 21 month old daughter who sleeps remarkably well at night and stays asleep in her crib for 12 hours. But, she takes about an hour to fall asleep these days. She doesn’t cry or talk or try to climb out. I’m expecting a boy at the end of September and want to transition my daughter to a queen bed before he’s born. Advice? We have the Hatch but don’t use the green/red light because I don’t think she’d understand right now. Thanks!
Where did you get the round wicker table
Hi I love the wallpaper in Molly’s room! When I clicked on the link it took me to wayfair bit not to that exact one . Any ideas the name of it? We’re moving next week and want to put this in my daughters room:)
Thanks!