Chronicles: Infant to Toddler Room How To Convert A Graco Crib

The transition from an infant room to a toddler room is coming along. So far, we've removed everything from the room and repainted gooey walls. Now it's time to work on the furniture in the space.

Our first challenge is to convert the infant crib to a toddler bed. Fortunately, we had this very milestone in mind when we purchased a crib that grows with the child. We've learned from experience that it can be pretty expensive to buy a new size bed every time your child grows. This bed converts into a full size bed later. For now, we are making the conversion to a toddler bed.

This model is a white Graco 3 in 1 transition crib.

1.) Take the front panel off of the crib. This was quite simple. Of course, it means we had to remember where the hex wrench was to unscrew the screws from each side. *In my tool kit I keep all the hex wrenches that come with different pieces of furniture in one place so it's easy to find when we need it. You can also store them in plastic sandwich bag. Once we took the panel off we also removed the mattress slat to lower it. 

The advantage of a toddler bed is that it's lower to the ground. As toddlers learn to sleep in a space that doesn't confine them, they may fall out of the bed a few times. The closer to the ground they are, the less scary that inevitability will be.

Once we replaced the mattress slat, the bed was ready to dress and be slept in for the first time without any confinement.

The bed is dressed and ready for a good night's sleep. The cover on top is a fleece no-sew kit that only took about 20 minutes to make. Since it went so well with the theme of the room and didn't have any characters it was a perfect fit for the room.

The front of the crib becomes a "picket fence"

FUN IDEA: The front slat of the crib was headed straight to the closet until I came up with a more fun idea. The closet will already have quite a bit of baby gear we simply don't need. So, I thought, why not use this to add some charm to the decor.

The crib slats give the impression of a picket fence outside a charming cottage in an enchanted forest. It's all about make-believe in a toddler's room.