embracing more hippie life // a post about floor beds

With the birth of our little Fox boy looming ever closer, we've been talking more and more about the day our little woodland boys will share a room. It won't be until little Fox is at least six months old, but we've been talking logistics on how we would set it up and thinking about what additional furniture we'll need. I've seen a few articles about Montessori floor beds, and I brought it up. Kyle was a touch skeptical at first, but I explained the whole concept behind the floor bed and now I think he was more excited about it than I am.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a Montessori floor bed basically turns the entire room into baby's crib. You put a firm mattress right on the floor, baby proof the room so they're safe if they get out of bed and voila. It helps facilitate freedom and movement, as this is usually done while still in the months of babyhood. But even though we're starting late I have a feeling this is going to be great for all of us.

So far, so good. Seth no longer bangs his head and wakes up long before if humanly acceptable for any of us, and he's totally happy to play in his room on his own. He's only fallen asleep out of bed a handful of times, and that was only in the beginning when the crib was still up as we moved stuff around and got my mom moved in to her new place. After it was down, he happily went to sleep on his bed in a variety of adorable positions. I have no problem hearing him get up, and he knows that if he calls for me or knocks on his door I'll be there to open it. All in all we're really wishing we'd done this sooner.

Seth's bed is just an old futon mattress on the floor, made pretty with cozy textiles. He's got two pillows that are almost never slept on because he favours that huge dog picture above, and a couple baskets filled with quiet toys and a few board books for him to occupy himself with if he's not yet ready for sleep or ready to come play with mommy. I think what I love the most is that I can cuddle him and comfort him as he needs to without having to jostle him around to get him into bed once he's asleep when he's sick or having a bad day. I just lay with him when he needs me until he either falls asleep or no longer needs momma there, then I quietly slip out and he doesn't get upset about being put in bed anymore. It's really helped our bonding and I love getting to watch him fall asleep.


I'm not sure how we'll make this work with the two littles in the same room, but that's a bridge we'll cross when we come to it. I'm pretty sure we're sticking with the floor beds all around though - they're a huge hit in this hippie home!