Our Montessori Mountain-Themed Nursery
Montessori in Real Life
Well, it took a few months, but Baby S’ nursery is finally complete! In the past few months, we’ve installed new carpet, painted the walls and trim, and painted the mountain mural. This past weekend, we cleared out what was our guest room and added all the baby furniture and decor. It reflects our family’s love for the mountains, forest, and adventure. It feels and looks so much fresher and lighter now! I think S is going to love his room as much as we do. And once he is a bit older, we hope to have both kids share this room.
Setting up a Montessori baby bedroom is a bit different than setting up a traditional nursery.
Floor bed instead of crib. This allows freedom of movement and independence from an early age. You can read more about the why’s of a floor bed in my previous blog post. Right now he is on a mini-crib mattress but he’s a big guy so we will probably switch D to a twin and switch over to a normal crib-size mattress and frame soon.
Toys, books, and artwork are minimal and at the infant’s level. This allows him to enjoy and access their environment without our assistance. As he gets older, we will keep fewer toys in here as this is meant to be a place of rest first, play second.
Baby-proofed. The trickiest part of setting up a Montessori nursery is making sure it’s safe once he is on the move. We use outlet covers, tuck cords behind shelves, and keep the floor clean. Once S is crawling and/or pulling up to stand, we will remove the rocking chair, table, and changing table.
At four months old, S is only sleeping in his room for nap times. At night he still sleeps in the bassinet in our bedroom, but we will probably transition him around 6 months. To get him more used to this room as his place of rest, we typically do our bedtime routine in this room, and then I carry him over to the bassinet in our room. Our bedtime routine consists of: bath, change, nurse, books, partial swaddle, songs, set him down with a kiss and an “I love you”. :)
Since about 4 months old, S has been mostly sleeping independently. By creating routines (NOT rigid schedules), paying attention to wake windows, helping him gradually shift from falling asleep nursing to falling asleep with his thumb, and setting up a cozy place for sleep, he’s able to put himself to sleep and sleep longer stretches, both for naps and nighttime sleep. Though I still wear him and hold him plenty during the day, I know he sleeps more soundly in bed and I enjoy a few moments of “me-time” or something like that. ;)
If you are interested in any of the furniture or decor, keep scrolling! Below is a list of all the nursery products with links. A lot of good finds on Etsy! Note that my husband made the floor bed frame and the pull-up bar. However, Sprout Kids makes a beautiful floor bed and Heirloom Kids makes a pull-up bar!
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