Roman’s sleep journey has followed its own long and winding path.

At 15 months he now naps once a day for 2-3 hours and sleeps through the night for almost 12, most of the time. After months of relying on motion to fall asleep, he will now squirm himself to sleep in bed with us at night and at nap time. In our bed, which we now keep on the floor. With us. He has co-slept, for the most part, since birth, which was not something we had planned for or anticipated in the least, but I must say, for us it felt very natural.

With the new baby due to arrive in less than 3 months, our move to a 2 bedroom home is happening just in time to make one last sleep transition for Roman before her arrival. We decided that the simplest way to transition him to sleeping alone in his own room will be to buy him a mattress to place on the floor, Montessori style, and continue our current routine… except that after he falls asleep we end up in our own bed in our room, and he stays in his. I don’t worry about him waking up alone because this is something he’s accustomed to and comfortable with at nap time. I just love hearing him wake up and play in bed, and seeing his smiling face when he wanders out into the living room on his own. Most nights I put Roman to sleep myself before his father gets home from work, but when we are both home we usually make it a whole family event. We plan to adjust to only one parent at bedtime every night now, since that is how it will have to be when the new baby arrives.

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Besides the necessity of the floor bed for our bedtime routine, I’ve always been inspired by the Montessori method in our approach to parenting and my perspective on Roman’s development. He is naturally inclined to explore on his own and involve himself in our activities of daily living, like preparing meals, so the philosophy has been an easy fit.

As far as the nursery design we have two main things to consider. The new house is set up with the master bathroom and bedrooms upstairs, streamlining our bedtime routine. Now after bath time we can take Roman directly to his room for stories and cuddling, avoiding the distracting atmosphere of the living room full of toys. So we want to make sure his bedroom is a simple, calming environment, since its main purpose is as a sleep space. It will house all his stuffed animals and bedtime books… nothing that lights up or plays music, no clutter.

With the Montessori style room there is a lot to take into consideration to ensure a safe set up. Roman LOVES to climb. He climbs on EVERYTHING. So obviously, I’m a little concerned about leaving him alone in his room to wake up and play independently. We will use a video monitor, and the room is directly adjacent to ours, but still.

I’m accumulating a growing list of “safety precautions” which so far includes that: 1. all wall outlets will have to be hidden; 2. all climbable toys and furniture will be kept in the living room and downstairs office/play space, including: his rocking horse, activity cube, rocking chair, and shelving unit; 3. we will need padded walls surrounding the bed, and a bumper to ensure he does not roll out, even though the mattress is on the floor (he does a lot of wrestling to get to sleep, and a lot of tossing and turning and crawling at night); 4. no hanging strings or curtains; and 5. always leave the door shut, and the stairs gated, consider adding an additional barrier between his room and the steps.

Do I sound crazy? I might, but I’m telling you: this kid is a dare devil; I feel 100% certain that he will still find some way to get himself into trouble!

*Inspirational images via: apartment therapy, apartment therapy, Offbeat Families, spearmint baby,  mommo design, Paul and Paula

I look forward to updating you on the transition and new nursery soon!

Do you have any experience with floor beds and Montessori nurseries? Any advice? Is it something you would consider?