Transitioning to the big girl bed

I know, I know, I've been MIA, but with good reason - I'm expecting and due in early April and have been working on transitioning our daughter to her new big girl room. We've also been half-heartedly attempting potty training, but that'll have to be its own post.

The big girl room. I knew I wanted to move her out of the nursery a few months before I was due to give her time to "bond" with her new room. We started slow, had the new room painted and then set it up with all of the furniture and then slowly started bringing in her stuff to personalize the room - clothes (we installed a new closet system, too), pictures, her piggy bank...

Over the next couple of weeks we spent a lot of time playing in the room, reading books in bed, showing her where her clothes were, and just getting her used to the idea of her new room.

Then a couple of weekends ago we made the final move - we transfered all of her blankies and stuffed animals and she took her first nap in her big girl bed. We were warned it would be a trying experience, but to have patience with her. So, we laid her down, read a book to her, tucked her in, turned on her music, and left the room. She was up and out of the bed before we could head down the stairs. We took turns putting her back in bed and it only took 6 times before she gave up and fell asleep.

Bedtime went much smoother, probably because it was near pitch black in her room at that point. We did the same routine: brush teeth, pjs, book, and then we left the room. She didn't get up once. And the same the night after that. It wasn't until the third night that she started to gain more confidence and somehow managed to get out of bed without us hearing her.

My husband finally came up with a game plan that's been working for us. After we put her in bed and leave the room, one of us stands outside of her door for about 10 minutes to catch her before she gets all of the way out of bed. She's been averaging about 3 times each night before giving in.

And surprisingly she hasn't once tried to go into her old nursery and runs straight for her new room whenever she can. I think playing up the aspect of being a Big Girl helped a lot and really, who doesn't like getting all new things?

Some tips:
Be prepared to spend up to an hour putting your child back in their bed
Be proactive and put everything soft (that isn't nailed down) in their bed with them - if you don't, they will
Remove any items from the room that your child will play with, like diaper wipes, books, etc.

Here's how we set up our daughter's new room:


Items and where you can get them:
Paint color: Behr Green Shimmer, 420A-1
Bed: IKEA, similar to this
Bed rail: Target, Dex Safe Sleeper Bed Rail
Bureau: Target, Circo 4-drawer Chest in white
Closet system: Lowe's, ClosetMaid
Armchair: IKEA, Ektorp in white
Bedding: Target, Circo Eclectic Quilt Set
Lamps: IKEA

Homemade projects:
-Curtains: I bought a simple set of cream curtains from Target and then edged them with purple seam binding to match the bedding.
-Collage: Our daughter loves looking at family pictures and we were originally going to make her a photo album, but opted for the family photo collage in her room instead. We hung the frame at her height and she loves pointing out everyone in the pictures.
-ABC artwork: I bought a huge blank canvas from the craft store, plotted out my grid in pencil, and then carefully painted on the alphabet.
-Handprint artwork: This was so simple - all you need is a frame, mat, scrapbook paper, felt, and glue.
-Chair pillow: I just used some old purple quilting fabric I had and whipped up a quick pillow cover to coordinate with the bedding.

Pictures of the room: