Montessori Floor Beds

[Beckily]

One of my favorite clients is also one of my favorite mothers and she is a Montesorri teacher. I adore her and feel that she is overflowing with awesome knowledge.

She mentioned Montessori bedrooms today so I dutifully went home and investigated.. and am very much in favor! It seems very reasonable and fun.

Any of you try this already? Anyone else think it's awesome like I do? :)

http://www.bgmontessori.com/montessori/athome

There's quite a bit out there if you google it and very cute little bedroom pictures! I like the mirrors by the beds and the beautiful wall decorations. Everything is simple, practical and child friendly.

[Peony]

Does having just a mattress on the floor for 6 years count?  I finally got a "real" bed right before DS was born, it is still low to the ground, we don't use box springs. I find the mattress on the floor or the low beds work really well for families like mine that co-sleep for years, once the babies are crawling I can teach them how to back off the bed and I don't really worry about falls. Every baby of mine rolls out of the bed eventually but since it isn't far too go, I don't worry about it. 

[Beckily]

I had a mattress on the floor for years as a teenager and am a big fan ;) Seems reasonable. Plus, I like the kid getting to chose activities and get up without my assistance. Sometimes that might seem annoying, but having them quietly playing instead of sleeping sounds soooo much better than screaming ;)

[RubyLu]

This is just what we did for my firstborn starting at 3 months old. Partially because I learned about it in Montessori books, partially because my husband was thrilled we didn't have to spend money on a crib (we already had the full sized futon mattress) and partially because it made it really easy for me to creep into bed with her and breastfeed. :-) All around win!

[PoetryLover]

I really like this idea! I even googled some pics.

[Beckily]

I really do, too! I think we'll go with a full sized futon mattress. In one of the things I read they mentioned it and it seemed better - younger babies less likely to roll off, more room to move and easier for me to join him.

Montessori said they recommend this after three months, and moses baskets before.. but I'm being iffy on the moses baskets.

I love this group! It's fun to have somewhere to post exciting things :D

[artekah]

DDCC. My DS has had this setup since around 12 months--a full size mattress. He has 3 of these leaves above his bed: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60054636

And all his toys and books on shelves in his room. Art on the walls, his own cd player and a cozy rug. It's quite the setup. It's awesome, he loves it, we love it! Definitely do it! It's great because his bed is big enough for me or DH to lie down with him if we want, or to nurse to sleep. And he is in the habit of getting in and out of his bed to go to the shelf and pick out a book, play with toys, choose what clothes to wear etc. (He is almost 18 mos. now.) His room is totally baby proofed and it's great to not have to worry at all about safety!

[Beckily]

Originally Posted by radicaleel 

DDCC. My DS has had this setup since around 12 months--a full size mattress. He has 3 of these leaves above his bed: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60054636

And all his toys and books on shelves in his room. Art on the walls, his own cd player and a cozy rug. It's quite the setup. It's awesome, he loves it, we love it! Definitely do it! It's great because his bed is big enough for me or DH to lie down with him if we want, or to nurse to sleep. And he is in the habit of getting in and out of his bed to go to the shelf and pick out a book, play with toys, choose what clothes to wear etc. (He is almost 18 mos. now.) His room is totally baby proofed and it's great to not have to worry at all about safety!

I've lusted after those leaves since I first saw them! :D

I think IKEA is actually a pretty good choice for a lot of the stuff I'm reading about. What mattress do you have? I'm thinking probably a futon? But we do have an IKEA and they have some nice things and it'd be easy to get it all together.

I hadn't gotten excited about baby stuff until today. Sheesh. Now I'm all set to run out and spend all our money!
 

[Beckily]

I'm all excited, please excuse my posting CONSTANTLY! ;)

http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2009/04/finnians-montessori-room.html

So cute!! I'm going to do something similar, I say! :D

[Baby_Cakes]

I agree it's very useful and helpful to have their room set up for *them* instead of what we typically think of as a nursery.  With DD it sort of happened organically and if I'm being honest I'm chuckling that this is actually a method!  She's been sleeping on a futon mattress in her room since around 18-19 months old.  We coslept/bedshared until then, and it was just difficult (to put it loosely) to have her sleep in a tiny toddler bed.  I couldn't lay with her and snuggle or nurse,  and she really needed that.  So, we dropped the futon mattress on the floor and it's been a dream having her sleep in her own room.  She has all her toys in there (well, I'd say a good amount) and her books are at her level.  It works!!  And you're right, it's much better than screaming!!  

It's funny b/c sometimes we'll all be asleep in the morning, and then over the monitor hear one of her dolls or toys start talking/playing and she just is awake quietly playing in her room.  It's nice.  Much nicer than I thought it would be.

[Beckily]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

I agree it's very useful and helpful to have their room set up for *them* instead of what we typically think of as a nursery.  With DD it sort of happened organically and if I'm being honest I'm chuckling that this is actually a method!  She's been sleeping on a futon mattress in her room since around 18-19 months old.  We coslept/bedshared until then, and it was just difficult (to put it loosely) to have her sleep in a tiny toddler bed.  I couldn't lay with her and snuggle or nurse,  and she really needed that.  So, we dropped the futon mattress on the floor and it's been a dream having her sleep in her own room.  She has all her toys in there (well, I'd say a good amount) and her books are at her level.  It works!!  And you're right, it's much better than screaming!!  

It's funny b/c sometimes we'll all be asleep in the morning, and then over the monitor hear one of her dolls or toys start talking/playing and she just is awake quietly playing in her room.  It's nice.  Much nicer than I thought it would be.

You're just that good. Discovering brilliant methods all on your own ;)

We're going to go with a twin mattress due to cost. Still big enough to snuggle! Small enough so that we can buy it! Then storagy things and my mom's giving us a dresser...! :D I'm all excited.

[kristandthekids]

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Edited by kristandthekids - 1/16/13 at 7:27pm

[PoetryLover]

Originally Posted by kristandthekids 

There's a thread Re: Beds on the floor and the mold problems they can cause in Mindful Home right now.
http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1305489/silly-question-about-beds-as-simply-a-mattress-on-the-floor
That said mine will be on the floor for a while since I cosleep when they're bitty.

It's a beautiful room, but it doesn't look like a child lives in it. It really doesn't look lived in at all.
I taught at a Montessori school and I love some of their ideas but I'm not on board with all of it.

I actually started that other thread. It seems some folks with high moisture levels in their homes have a problem with mold and others do not. I like the idea of this for DS, though, especially when he transitions to his own room and for naps even before then.

[artekah]

Originally Posted by Beckily 

Originally Posted by radicaleel

DDCC. My DS has had this setup since around 12 months--a full size mattress. He has 3 of these leaves above his bed: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60054636

And all his toys and books on shelves in his room. Art on the walls, his own cd player and a cozy rug. It's quite the setup. It's awesome, he loves it, we love it! Definitely do it! It's great because his bed is big enough for me or DH to lie down with him if we want, or to nurse to sleep. And he is in the habit of getting in and out of his bed to go to the shelf and pick out a book, play with toys, choose what clothes to wear etc. (He is almost 18 mos. now.) His room is totally baby proofed and it's great to not have to worry at all about safety!

I've lusted after those leaves since I first saw them! :D

I think IKEA is actually a pretty good choice for a lot of the stuff I'm reading about. What mattress do you have? I'm thinking probably a futon? But we do have an IKEA and they have some nice things and it'd be easy to get it all together.

I hadn't gotten excited about baby stuff until today. Sheesh. Now I'm all set to run out and spend all our money!

We actually went with an unusual (and pretty expensive) option so that he could have a truly non-toxic mattress. We saved for it for the first year of his life and I'm really happy we got it for him. After lots of research I determined the cheapest non-toxic option was to assemble our own mattress from http://www.foambymail.com/LatexMFull.html

We got the 6" talalay latex mattress (medium) with a 2" talalay foam topper (soft) and zipped them together in a terry cloth cover. About $700 for the whole thing, which is a lot if you're comparing to futons, etc. but really cheap if you compare to other "non-toxic" options. I think the most non-toxic mattress at Ikea still had some nasty chemicals in it and cost a couple hundred more. Plus it was really fun and easy to put it together ourselves! And it's so heavenly comfortable! We also sprung for a cozy wool waterproof mattress pad, but if I had to do it over I'd just get a 100% wool blanket on the cheap and lanolize it myself like I did for our bed. /ramble

[Beckily]

Originally Posted by kristandthekids 

There's a thread Re: Beds on the floor and the mold problems they can cause in Mindful Home right now.
http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1305489/silly-question-about-beds-as-simply-a-mattress-on-the-floor
That said mine will be on the floor for a while since I cosleep when they're bitty.

It's a beautiful room, but it doesn't look like a child lives in it. It really doesn't look lived in at all.
I taught at a Montessori school and I love some of their ideas but I'm not on board with all of it.

He doesn't, at that point. He isn't born yet :) She changes it up as he grows.

I'm liking that room for the basic plan, but mine will be a bit more homey. I lean a bit more to Waldorf myself, but I like the floor bed, the mirrors, the cute mobile, the shelves with the small amount of stuff and the table and chairs. And the rug. That's all pretty basic stuff :)

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by Beckily 

I'm all excited, please excuse my posting CONSTANTLY! ;)

http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2009/04/finnians-montessori-room.html

So cute!! I'm going to do something similar, I say! :D

I think that room is just absolutely adorable and perfect.  Maybe a little too perfect, though!  I cringe at how she expects this child to fit right into this mold she's envisioned.  I do love some of the ideas, though!!

I especially love the mirrors on the wall and the movement mat.  Very neat and probably extremely stimulating!!

[Beckily]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

I think that room is just absolutely adorable and perfect.  Maybe a little too perfect, though!  I cringe at how she expects this child to fit right into this mold she's envisioned.  I do love some of the ideas, though!!

I especially love the mirrors on the wall and the movement mat.  Very neat and probably extremely stimulating!!

If you keep going through her blog, you see pictures of him growing up in his room and the other things she does in the house. It's quite wonderful, really. I wanted to go live there ;)
 

[kristandthekids]

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Edited by kristandthekids - 1/16/13 at 7:27pm

[Beckily]

Originally Posted by kristandthekids 

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes 

I think that room is just absolutely adorable and perfect.  Maybe a little too perfect, though!  I cringe at how she expects this child to fit right into this mold she's envisioned.

first timers and their visions and the things you can get away with when there's only one kid

The room totally appeals to me in my grownup view. Calming, muted colors. Cute framed vintage illustrations.
But I compare it to my kid's room that they decorated. They picked out bright colors and bold patterns. Their own artwork stuck haphazard over the walls with that sticky poster stuff. Modern and stimulating. Not anything that I would pick out. Not anything that I would want. Not anything anyone would ever make a thread about and post pictures of. But they're happy and show it off with pride.
I really don't see a big deal against having a toddler 6 inches off the ground and getting some air flow under the mattress that they're going to wet. But maybe I'm spoiled since I'm small enough that I did curl up with the kids in their toddler beds. Personally I think I would skip to a twin bed on a very low frame, but I live in humid Austin.

That's funny. I'm really liking orange and bright green and bright blue. Yay, kid approved! ;)

[Maurine]

I like the idea of the bed on the floor in a child-proof room so they can explore on their own.  I think we'll go for it!  But the idea of switching out the art and mobiles and various things to correspond to their developmental stages fills me with anxiety.  I am sure that's wonderful for the kiddo but what a lot of work (and pressure) for Mommy!