Hannah Morrison

Transitioning To a Big Boy Bed

When in quarantine, am I right? We have tossed around the idea of transitioning Knox to a big boy bed for months. Then, about a month ago, we were hanging out in the kitchen during his nap time… and before we knew it Knox was chilling with us like it was nothing. We knew he definitely needed to get a big boy bed now if he could just climb out of the crib without a sound or any evidence of “struggle.”

I wanted to share with y’all the routine we started him on (cold turkey… not so great hehe) and then what we would have done in hind-sight after some trial and error. I hope this helps you with your own attempts to transition to big beds. Remember, it is only a season! YOU WILL SLEEP AGAIN. It really is like having a newborn those first few nights all over again, but if you stick to a routine and rules then I PROMISE it will pass quickly.

What we did (the bad plan):

We transitioned cold turkey pretty much to begin with. We had him help us pick out his sheets and quilt and talked about it a lot leading up to the first night… but, we just went for it right away in general. Knox helped us break down his crib and said “bye bye” to it. And he helped us make the bed, seemingly stoked about it. Oy. Then night one, we laid him in bed, sang songs to him for about an hour, and left him… every 30 seconds. Literally… We had no baby gate or lock or anything to keep him contained. So, he came running out crying every minute or less for hours. We basically didn’t sleep for 4 nights straight. He would finally fall asleep after hours of saying “We love you Knox, but it’s time for bed.” And even still, we had a baby in our room at about 1 or 2 AM every night. Then, we finally broke down and rebuilt the crib, put it in the middle of his room, and ordered a baby gate to contain him. And, we bought a Nooie camera. (We hadn’t had a camera in his room ever! We did the Owlet sock until he was about a year, and then just haven’t felt the need for a camera.)

For a couple of nights while we waited for the gate, we would go into his room at bed time and ask him which bed he wanted – the crib or his big boy bed. This seemed to soften the blow of a quick transition, and it’s when I realized we maybe should have done this from the start!

Our baby gate arrived, we broke down the crib again, and tried round 2 of big boy bed… Operation CONTAIN THE KID. The issue with him getting out and coming to us (other than the obvious of no sleep for any of us hehe) was that we weren’t getting to comfort him in HIS bed. And, the excitement of having freedom was keeping him awake. These combined gave him free reign and control to do whatever he wanted. So we wanted to keep him in that room at all times- us going to him when he woke up or called for us. Make sense?

All this to say, the baby gate was a massive win. Night 1 was a little rough and he sat in front of it crying for a bit. We would come in and place him back in his bed, sing a bit, and then leave. (There was a couple nights I sat in front of the gate singing and talking to him but not going into the room once he felt okay enough to stay in bed even though he was still tearful.) It was a major win to have him stay in his bed! Then eventually, we just didn’t have to stay! The first night that he fell asleep right away and didn’t cry was our MAJOR WIN. We are convinced the baby gate made him feel like his room was just a big crib now… lol. The bars like the crib… who knows. But it made sense to us. 😉

The Plan We Will Suggest Now:

  1. Start talking about “Big Boy/Girl Bed” in advance! Any time they want in your bed,  say something like “Oh how fun! Would like a big boy/girl bed of your own?!” We did this a lot beforehand and he  would say, “Oh yessss, so excited!”
  2. Let them pick out their sheets and bedding/bed with you! They will love feeling excited for it. We picked out his options and asked him if he wanted the Buzz sheets… the obvious answer was yes. So, every day while we waited we would bring them up and how excited we were for them to arrive for his Big Boy Bed!
  3. The mattress arrived first and in perfect time for week 1 of quarantine, hehe. We just put it out in the living room and let him get acquainted with it. He loved it and it felt like breaking rules to have a bed in the living room. If it isn’t quarantine when you’re doing this… lol… then I would suggest putting the mattress on their floor and letting them get used to it and explore it on their own!
  4. Put the bed together entirely in their room and offer one of the other a couple of nights in a row. Say, “Are you so excited for bed? Would you like to sleep in your crib or your big boy/girl bed? If they say one, but then don’t want to stay in it, be gracious and switch them back and forth during this time. Let it be okay to them that it’s unfamiliar and they don’t have to be comfortable with it yet. If it lasts just 5 minutes even that they chose their big bed, then that’s a win!
  5. Tear down the crib together and make it a big hoopla! Talk about how tonight’s their first night with their Big Boy/Girl Bed. Make it a celebration! Have them help with everything – from tearing down crib to placing the bed in the right spot, to putting up the baby gate.
  6. Implement your sleep routine. Everybody has a different routine, but whatever it is do it just as you would with the crib on any normal night!
  7. Night 1 and 2, if you lean more toward the cry it out method like us, go in as needed every 5 minutes to place them back in bed and reassure them how much you love them and how excited we are to sleep in our big bed. Check on them and let them know you’re there. You can sit in front of the gate if you wanted to just to let them know you’re there! There is a lot of grace those first nights for sure to just let them know they’re safe! This is the MOST important!
  8. Night 3 and on- try not to enter the room. IF they keep getting out and coming to the gate, only come every 3-5 minutes to say “I love you, it’s time for bed.” Kiss them, touch them, love on them, sit for a few with them, and then walk away. Eventually Knox just started crying a minute or two and then would literally go tuck himself in bed!

It’s hard but WORTH IT to put in the effort of transitioning well. I truly believe empowering your child to know they can comfort and self soothe is important, but do this how YOU feel is best for you and your child. Everybody will have a slightly different approach and that’s GREAT. I am always and forever team “Do what is best for you.” Good lucky, mommies and daddies!

**We haven’t found a bed FRAME we love yet. So a mattress on the floor is what we have right now… hehe. BUT, I think it’s worked well with the transition! 

Loving Boys

This week is one of my favorites of the whole entire year! Valentine’s Day and our wedding anniversary are two very special holidays to me, and I can’t wait to spend time with my boys to celebrate how much I love them. Knox and I will go on a lunch date together, pending this awful sinus infection and remnants of RSV go away, to a very romantic… Chick Fil A date, most likely. 😉 And the entire weekend will be mommy and daddy time, baby-free! After the weeks of sickness we have had around here, we said all we wanted for our anniversary was sleep in our own bed without a baby for a couple days. Growing up, y’all. It changes everything. LOL.

As a boy mommy and a wife, I feel more than ever a weight to raise up and encourage men to be leaders. My husband is only as empowered to lead our family as I encourage and allow him to be. At his core, he is a great human with or without me. That’s not a question. But the cool part about marriage is that I get to be part of calling out in him an even greater version of himself, a closer version to the man designed him to be. It’s why the wife is called “helper.” I can’t do that by squashing his  leadership in our home. We are equals, but he plays such an important role as the head of our household. The greatest lesson I have learned in six years is that I don’t have to be right. I really don’t. I want to be known in my marriage as an encourager, not a fighter. And as Knox grows into a little boy and Baby R’s arrival inches closer, I just want to be a mom who shows how much I love my boys by empowering them to be… themselves. To be boys. To lead. To jump. To play. To make messes. I have had to so intentionally lay down my need for a clean home, organization, and “routine” to allow my son to thrive most. Those things are all important to me, don’t get me wrong. But, they come second to my child’s need to explore. I want him to be curious and playful. My home can be “put together” all the time again one day. But that day is not now.

I never knew having so many men in my life could be so fun. 😉 But truly, it’s the best. I never thought I had space in my heart for so many, but here we are. God just keeps expanding my space for more love. I can’t wait for mommy son dates in a couple years where Knox picks where and “leads” the date. I can’t wait. I cannot wait to raise up young men who love women and value their worth. I am forever grateful that God chose me to be a boy mom, even in my ache to have a girl one day, too. I know he chose me for a time like this and for boys like these. I don’t take that lightly.

Today’s shoot was a sweet Mommy & Me mini session with Cottonwood Road Photography a couple weeks ago at the Lumen Room in Plano. It’s my easiest and best shoot with Knox to date. We shot in 25 minutes and he didn’t even have time to be “over it.” He loved the props and didn’t want to leave yet when it was time for the next person! If you want a shoot capturing your baby’s personality, this is the way to do it. A mini session was perfect! And, of course, with Hannah H. is the BEST of all. She is SO GOOD at getting your kid to smile and at capturing their personality. Knox is curious, fun, and independent. I love that these photos show that!

I am fully convinced a toddler in Ralph Lauren chinos is the most delicious thing in the world. Far surpassing cinnamon rolls and donuts. 😉 This is actually the exact same outfit Knoxy wore for our Christmas photos, but without a velvet jacket this time. I wanted it to seem simple and a little chill. He had suspenders on, which he insisted on, yet when we got to the shoot he took them off within minutes… lol.

My pants are from PinkBlush, and are featured both in the maternity and non-maternity section. They just picture them differently for the different sections, one with a bump and the other without. I linked my clips and make-up, too!

My Most Recent & LOVED Purchases

Hey girl, hey! I hope you are well and feeling fab today. You guys know I am all about sharing my favorite purchases as well as honest reviews about the not so great ones, and I wanted to give a round-up here for y’all of my most recent purchases I am L O V I N G. My goal in sharing my recent purchases is to help YOU spend your money wisely on items you might need. I don’t think you NEED all of these, but I hope it helps you make purchases you love and feel great about for pieces or items you DO need or are in the market for.

Shoes:

  1. Black Combat Boots: I wanted a new bootie I can wear, particularly on Sundays from stage when I lead worship, that didn’t have a heel… Because, pregnant. I was a little nervous these would look cheap, but I am actually really impressed with the look of them! They look like they could be Jeffrey Campbell or Sam Edelman. I can’t speak to long-lasting quality yet, but as far as a cute boot for under $6o, these are a great buy!
  2. Spotted Calf-Hair Sneaker: I needed a new fashionable sneaker to pair with jeans, dresses, or skirts. These are so dang cute, and they will transition perfectly into spring! I love the pop of coral on the side, and the spotted dalmatian look is so in right now.
  3. Blush Pink Loafers: I love these & the price is AAAAMAZING. There are a lot of colors on the site, but the blush is my favorite. Surprise, surprise. 😉 These look fantastic with a great pair of skinny jeans or a tailored dress.

Non-maternity Clothes:

  1. Oversized Tee Shirt Dress: This paired with the combat boots or spotted sneakers is going to be THE cutest for spring! I wanted some more pieces that can work for pregnancy but will work when I am post-maternity as well. Plus, this is $29 so you just can’t go wrong!

Maternity Clothes:

  1. Boyfriend Tee Shirt: I am all about some good basics, y’all. This is just a great gray tee with space for that belly to grow. And… $19, holla!
  2. Pocket Utility Pants: These cute joggers! I LOVE THEM. I will for sure be pairing these with the spotted sneakers and a tee. Throwing on a denim jacket is an easy way to make it a little less lounge, and you could definitely pair them with some heels if you wanted to really go for it!
  3. Square Neck Tee: This is so great for the classic jeans and a white tee look, and just great to have on hand for any time I just need something to pair with a jacket of any kind. I bought it to pair with the Utility Pants above for sure as well!
  4. Acid Wash Legging: I freaking love these. ALL THE HEART EYES. I can’t wait to wear these with the combat boots and an over-sized tee + only $26!
  5. Floral Blouse: I have had this blouse in my cart since I found out I was pregnant… not kidding hehe. It’s so perfect for spring + a baby bump, and I can’t wait to wear it!
  6. Moto Workout Legging: These are what I have on in these pics! I am so obsessed with this brand, and these can pass for a cute workout outfit and/or paired with a sweater and booties. I love a good athleisure outfit!

Skincare:

  1. Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer: I love this stuff. I like to use it at night with a serum. I tend to use my Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Oil with it for the best results.
  2. Virgin Marula Oil: I use this a few times a week and rotate it with wrinkle serums (currently without retinol). It makes my skin GLOW. I love it!!
  3. Renew & Rewind Eye Cream: I love Tula Products. I particularly love using Tula and Drunk Elephant during pregnancy, because they’re clean and the ingredients are ones you can actually read and pronounce. 99.9% of their products are pregnancy safe. If I recall correctly, I think Drunk Elephant has only ONE you cannot use *their Retinol product* and all Tula products are pregnancy safe!
  4. CEO Vitamin C Hydration + CEO Glow Oil: This is the best combo to kickstart your day with! Vitamin C is great for dark spots and refreshing your skin.
  5. Neutrogena Bright Boost Gel Cream + Serum: This combo is like an affordable version of Protini & Marula Oil! I was so freaking impressed with this Gel Cream after two uses, and am suggesting it to everybody now as an affordable moisturizer!

Makeup:

  1. Clinique Even Better: This is a great foundation! It’s great coverage, lightweight and it doesn’t cake at all.
  2. Watts Up Highlighter: I bought this, because Cara Loren said to… haha. I do really like it, though, and it’s the last touch I put on before I am done with my face!
  3. Too Faced Bronzer: This stuff is so great and it smells yummy, too. It goes on great with a big brush, and then I top it with a pink blush using a smaller brush.
  4. Gimme Brow Gel: Okay y’all, I never thought I would be a brow filler kinda gal… but here we are. I love this stuff and it is way easier to use than I expected.
  5. Loose Setting Powder: This translucent powder goes on after my foundation/concealer/bronzer.

What’s On My Registry

EEEP! It’s done, it’s done! I feel incredibly on top of things this time around, because my registry is completely done. Well, I think. Who knows, I may add to it. But I am excited to share with y’all new items I am registering for with Baby R. For the most part, these are items that I either didn’t know about with Knox or they legit didn’t exist even just two years ago. I have different big ticket items this time around, too, since I have my stroller and MamaRoo. I hope this helps all you mommies-to-be as you navigate all things baby!

Big Ticket Items:

  1. The Snoo: Y’all, every review I have read or person I know who has this says “Get it!” They say it’s worth every penny. Knox was such an incredible sleeper from practically day 1, and I have hopes Baby R will be also. But, with a toddler around… I honestly just don’t want to even risk it. I want everybody rested so I can be the best mom to Knox and Baby R. The Snoo is essentially like having an extra set of hands to help baby sleep. Sign me up!
  2. The Willow Pump: Pricey, but worth it for the hands-free ability this gives mommas. Whether you’re a mommy of 2+ OR a work from home mommy… This pump sounds like a dream. I pumped the whole first year, and exclusively the last 6 months before weaning off breast milk. I legit got PP arthritis from how much work my fingers had to do with my regular Evenflo and Ameda Pumps. Not to mention how stressful it was to try to care for my baby, run a business, and pump all at the same time. I’m really hoping this lives up to the hype and helps me a lot this time!
  3. Crib and Changing Table: We will need a new set, particularly since Knox still is in his. This time, I am going for more modern and sleek. Bring on the darker tones and mid-century accents! It’s a total contrast to Knox’s all white and airy room with a sweet shiplap wall. Baby R’s room will have jewel tones and feel completely different. A fun part about having babies is you can practice all of your different decor tastes on them. 😉 I love BabyLetto and their quality is great. We had a cheaper set for Knox, and you just can tell. Pieces delivered to us broken two times, and the paint is peeling off of his crib from where he stands in the morning waiting for us to come get him. Because we don’t need as many high ticket price items this baby, I am looking to get better furniture.

Puppy Nursery :

We are doing a puppy theme for Baby R! It’s been so fun finding different pieces for his cute little room. Bring me all doggies (maybe even another real one…) Kidding… I don’t need that + 2 babies hehe.

Pumps:

  1. Hakka Pump: So many people on a recent IG post said get this no matter what. I had never even heard of it! But, while you pump on one side, you place this on the other. Apparently it helps manually pump/suck while you pump the other side. Sign me up for faster pumpings!
  2. EvenFlo Portable: This was a life-saver my first time around. The con is that they die fast if you use them too often. We went through 3 with Knox because I ended up using it for every single pump session. It’s called an “occasional pump” for a reason, I guess. It’s great to take with you to work or anywhere you need something portable and on the go with automatic storage!
  3. Brezza Baby Formula Dispenser: Look, this isn’t a necessity… but it seems too good to be true. A formula Keurig?! Because we used formula from so early on to supplement Knox for calories, I am ready to do the same with this one. Having this ready to go every day to mix with my breast milk sounds… SO FREAKING NICE.

Clothing/Other

  1. We have a ton from Knox still, obviously, so we don’t need a ton of outfits (though I am all about cute new outfits!). But as far as things go for what we need, I have registered for tons of newborn onesies and sleep-n-plays. These are LIFE those first 6 months. We lived in onesies and sleep-n-plays because they really do make life easier, and they’re so cheap. You will ruin every single one by the time they are grown out of them, so stick to the cheap, easy onesies!
  2. Tula Carrier: I never had a carrier for Knox, but I always wanted one. We just never prioritized getting one, though I really did need it. Sundays at church/on stage for practice would have been a lot easier with one. I tried all the fancy wraps and hated them. It seems stupid to me to having a million foot long wrap thing when you can have something simple like Tula that you just snap on. Sign me up for easy, please.
  3. MAM Pacis: We tried a ton of different ones, and Knox loved these. Every baby is different, so we will see. We really only used these until Knox was about 6 months and he just naturally phased out of them. We never had to go through the whole paci transition, but only because Knox just stopped wanting them. These were life savers the first months, though.
  4. High Chair: I picked this one because of reviews and it’s pretty. We had a different one for Knox that was top rated and highly spoken of… It was one that attaches onto the table. I personally hated it. Like, I am mind blown people love it. It was cloth, which I thought was odd. And it was as awful as I secretly thought it might be, but registered for against my better judgement because of reviews. No matter how much you scrubbed or washed… it smelled. Avocado never came out all the way, and I gave up on it. Knox just sat in a normal chair at our table from less than a year old. It worked fine for us, but I want to start with a normal high chair with this baby.
  5. SleepSacks/Love to Dream: These two were the most successful for us with Knox, and we figured out a system we loved with them! There are obviously tons of swaddle options, but these are our favorite. This style of sleep sack is what we used from the hospital to home as a newborn. We switched to the Love to Dream Swaddle Up around 3 months, and it was amazing! He transitioned great to them! Then, once they start rolling, you switch them to the arms-out version of the  Love to Dream.

I have everything above linked, along with all the other items on our list, below! 

Getting in the Kitchen with HelloFresh!

Phew, how has this month already come and gone so quickly? January is always so weird to me, because it feels like Christmas was ages ago… You know, like so last year… 😉 But in reality, it’s only been a few weeks. Anybody else feel so off the first couple weeks of a new year? To kick off our year right, we have made sure that our meal plans are back on track after all the craziness that ensues during the month of December. We ate out so much over the last 6 or so weeks that I am pretty sure it was more than the rest of the year combined.

I am so pumped to partner with HelloFresh to kick off 2020 and share why it’s so important to me to get into the kitchen this year! I believe so wholeheartedly in family time, cooking together, and eating at the dinner table together every night. I mean, truly, we eat at our table almost every single night, other than nights we have family or friend outings for church, etc. I grew up eating a home cooked meal at the table with all 5 of us every night, so I honestly don’t know any different. All I have ever known is you come home after work and start dinner so that your family can be together and eat well. It is just something of importance I carried into my own little family. But, whether you grew up that way or not, I really believe cooking together and eating healthy meals as a family is so important. Knox has also shown interest in the kitchen, too, which has made trying to include him in making the meal fun for us! He gets a kick out of just standing on a chair by the island and watching me, if anything.

I love HelloFresh, because their recipes are fool proof and also something I probably wouldn’t pick on my own. Not because it doesn’t sound good… but because if I was just scrolling through Pinterest, I would feel intimidated by ingredients in a lot of the recipes and just count it out. But, HelloFresh makes it so easy to try new recipes, challenging you to try something new with EASY to follow steps + ingredients all included so you don’t have to worry about a thing. After I finish a HelloFresh meal (in usually about 30 minutes, mind you!!!), I feel empowered and like I should earn a degree in cooking. I also have a stack of about 30 recipes now that I keep on-hand from HelloFresh for when I meal plan for those nights that we don’t have a HelloFresh meal to cook. So one way or another, we cook HelloFresh in our home a lot! Either their recipes or their full meal delivery. To date, our absolute favorite meal we’ve made was the Poblano Enchiladas… OH MY WORD. Y’all, it was so good. Paul took one bite and said, “Whoa, best one yet!”

With our food allergies (Paul is allergic to dairy and I am allergic to gluten/yeast), HelloFresh is really easy to navigate for us because every ingredient is individually wrapped with its own individual nutrition facts. I never have to guess what I can or can’t have! Plus, I like to feed Knox as “normal” of a diet as possible until we know otherwise. But I have been praying he has no food allergies, and so far so good! So, for example, our Poblano tacos required 3 different versions: Dairy-free with corn tortillas, dairy-filled with corn tortillas, and then the normal recipe as it was sent for Knox. The filling was the same for all of us as well as the red sauce they sent ingredients for! You can do this for pretty much any HelloFresh recipe, if you pick wisely. Obviously, you don’t want to pick a breaded chicken recipe if you have a gluten allergy. But for the most part, I would say 90% of the meals can be modified for people in your home with allergies. If you don’t have food allergies… GO HAM! They’re all so amazing. Each week has different options to pick from, so you never will grow tired of their meals!

If you want to challenge yourself to new recipes and family time in the kitchen in 2020, click here to get 10 free meals off your first month of HelloFresh! (Purchase Required)  

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