A Big Boy Room For Ryan

When planning Ryan’s transition from his nursery to a big boy room, we debated whether it would be best to move him to new room entirely and maintain the current nursery for the new baby or convert his existing nursery to a big boy room and set up a new nursery in another room. Ultimately, we decided to keep Ryan in the same physical space but redecorate it to better reflect his changing interests. Our hope was that by officially designating the room at the end of the upstairs hallway as “Ryan’s,” the familiar location and routine would lessen the disruption, make the adjustment easier, and increase his comfort with and acceptance of his new room as well as his new role as big brother.

Given the amount of work involved in creating the perfect big boy room as well as our hectic schedules and general fatigue, the task of converting Ryan’s nursery to a big boy room required a phased approach that spanned several weeks. The photos and accompanying descriptions below document the room transformation process to date.

Phase 1: Ceiling Fan Installation

Since Ryan’s room is consistently much warmer than the rest of the house during the summer months (and significantly colder in the winter), we decided to install a ceiling fan to make the hot summer nights more comfortable. Ryan desperately wanted to help install the fan, but admitted he wasn’t quite “tall ‘nuff” to reach the ceiling and begrudgingly agreed to let Daddy handle the electrical work. Instead, his contribution was to use Handy Manny’s tools to help cut up the Styrofoam packaging, hold the ladder steady while Daddy installed the fan, and perform the final inspection before approving the installation.



Phase 2: Painting the Room

Even before we had picked the theme and bedding for his big boy room, Ryan insisted that the walls were to be painted “dark blue.” He was so resolute in his description of the paint color that we often liked to tease him by casually saying in conversation that we were going to paint Ryan’s room green (or any other non-blue color). He would adamantly correct us and specify that it was to be painted “dark blue.” If we confirmed he wanted a blue room, he would again specify “dark blue.”

We taped numerous paint samples on the wall of his nursery and slowly narrowed it down to a handful of dark blue shades we could all agree on. Luckily, Ryan approved of the color we selected. Several weeks earlier I had painted his big boy bathroom a shade of light blue to match the ocean / sea life theme of the shower curtain. Apparently the color blue I chose wasn’t dark enough because he immediately walked in looked at the color and announced, “Me no like this, Mommy!”

To increase the likelihood that Ryan would accept, and ideally embrace, his new room (and to avoid the same mistake of not involving him in the bathroom transformation), we decided to heed one of the fundamental principles of business – a person’s satisfaction with an outcome is directly related to his or her level of involvement in a project. Therefore, much to Ryan’s delight, we allowed him to help us with the first coat of paint. Daddy fashioned a smock out of an old dress shirt while Mommy prepped the room by covering every square inch of carpet with plastic. Then, Ryan did the honors of splashing the first strokes of blue paint on the previously yellow walls. Naturally, Ryan bored quickly with it and decided that Daddy and Mommy (who was more than 8 months pregnant at the time) could finish the dirty work!

Phase 3: Moving Day

We decided to make the big move over Memorial Day Weekend since it was a 3-day weekend and Daddy didn’t have paramedic class that Saturday and would be available all weekend. Early Saturday morning, Daddy and Ryan began moving the nursery room furniture out of Ryan’s room while Mommy washed the mattress pad and sheets for the first time. Since, in Ryan’s words, “Mommy has a baby in her belly” the two men handled the hard work and heavy lifting themselves. Luckily for Daddy, he was able to slip coasters under the heavy pieces of furniture so he could manage most of the weight on his own. Ryan soon decided that having crib mattress races up and down the hallway, compliments of Daddy, was much more fun than moving furniture!

Once the crib, dresser, bookcase, and glider had been removed from Ryan’s room, we put Ryan to work vacuuming the carpet, woodwork, and baseboard. We figured it best to take advantage of his desire to help clean (particularly vacuum) while it lasts since I’m sure his fondness for household chores will be short-lived! Once the room had been thoroughly vacuumed, Ryan and Daddy carried or, in Ryan’s case, pushed, the pieces of his big boy furniture into the empty room and started assembling the bookcase, trundle bed, and case pieces (i.e., dresser and side storage unit that flank the bed). Although we consider ourselves fairly laid-back parents, we did draw the line at allowing Ryan to operate power tools! So, while Daddy used the power drill to put together the furniture, Ryan once again resorted to using his Handy Manny tools to cut up the furniture boxes and “fix” the Styrofoam packaging.

Once everything was assembled and positioned in the room to our satisfaction, it was Mommy’s job to dust all of the furniture and make the bed. Then the three of us scrambled up onto the bed to relax, admire our hard work, and snuggle and read the first of hopefully many books in Ryan’s big boy bed.

The First Night

Saturday, May 23, 2009, was Ryan’s first night in his new big boy room. Not only was this Ryan’s first time to sleep in a real bed, but it was also his first night to sleep without a pacifier. Looking back, I don’t know if we were crazy to tackle both at once or whether it was wise to address them both in one fell swoop. We had been preparing him for weeks that he’d have to give up the binky once the room transformation was complete. Whenever we asked him, “what happens when Ryan starts sleeping in his big boy room” he’d gleefully (at the time) reply, “No more binky!”

To increase our chances of actually catching some shut eye that first night, we took Ryan to his first fire department carnival of the season. To wear him out, we purchased two all-you-can-ride wristbands for Ryan and Daddy and the two of them rode every age appropriate ride at least once. By the time we got him home, bathed, and ready for bed, it was nearly 10 p.m. Exhausted, we climbed into his new bed, read several books and told him a couple of bedtime stories. It was at that point that he realized his beloved binky was missing. As it began to dawn on him that the pacifier was gone for good, the crocodile tears then began to flow and he repeatedly cried, “Oh no, I miss binky.” As a parent, it was difficult to watch this genuine display of grief from a 2-year-old, especially knowing that he’ll likely experience many losses in his life and we can’t always protect or shield him from sorrow.

As an emotional late third trimester pregnant lady and a complete sucker for cute little boy tears, I had to leave the room before I succumbed to his desperate pleas for help and returned the binky. Luckily Daddy, who I affectionately refer to as the “baby whisperer” since he has always had the innate ability to coax Ryan to sleep, was able to calm Ryan down, stop the torrent of tears, and gently persuade him to close his eye and drift off to sleep. Daddy then spent the entire night in bed with Ryan, partly because he was so exhausted from his demanding schedule, but mostly because he wanted to be there should Ryan wake up scared in the middle of the night. I tiptoed quietly into the room several times throughout the night to check on them, but they both slept soundly and peacefully all night. I’m happy to report that ever since that first night, Ryan has slept in his big boy bed, without a binky, and without any protest or tears! And, even though he is able to climb in and out of his bed now at will, he still wakes up in the morning (at the crack of dawn to be exact), greets his 17 “friends” that share the bed with him (including, but not limited to “Puzzle Duck,” “Spot,” “Ruff,” “Peep,” and a collection of Guinness’ dog toys), sings to himself (either the ABCs or “Are You Sleeping”), and then excitedly calls out to us, “Mommy, Daddy, Morning yet?”