Our Montessori Baby Room {& Peter Rabbit Nursery}

For my first baby, I researched cribs and whether or not I “needed” one.  I looked up the Montessori method and the notion that a floor bed is safer and better for baby.  I also looked into only having my hammock.  But, alas, I did not follow my “mama gut” and I stuck with conventionality.  With John, our first, we had a big, beautiful white crib, and an Ikea nursing chair too.  

For both of my pregnancies, we did not know if we were having a boy or a girl.  Meeting our little one and finding out who they are have been the best two moments of my life.  Since we didn’t know their sex, for my son, we made a neutral themed nursery.  We painted it light green — my favorite color — and added various Peter Rabbit odds and ends.  I have always loved Beatrix Potter, so making a Peter Rabbit nursery just made sense.  I knew I could make it boyish (with blues) or girlish (with pinks).  

John has since moved into his red, white, and blue sailboat room, and the nursery stayed the baby room for our next pregnancy.  So when I had my baby girl, May, I was excited to research, again, about my own parenting philosophies — as well as bring some pink into the room!  :) I love the look of the pastel greens and pinks together. (I am a pastel colors girl.)

How can I create a Montessori home environment for my children?

With my son, we were oriented towards: what is convenient for me?  What “should” I have?

Now, for my daughter, I am constantly thinking: How can I orient her towards freedom of movement and independence?  What does she need to help her become more challenged and self-aware?  

The bed

The crib was still in the room for my baby girl, but I also put our twin bed right next to it because her and I had gotten used to nursing to sleep.  I wish I had done this with my son and had the floor bed in there for him.  I would have felt so much more rested.  When I nurse her in the middle of the night, about half the time, I fall back to sleep with her.  It was much different with my son — having to hold him in the chair and trying to transfer him into the crib, hoping and praying that he wouldn’t wake up.  Those were hard nights (and days, since he didn’t nap, but in my arms!), so having a bed would have been heaven.  (I chose not to bring him — or her —  into our bed, since  it is high off the ground and that terrifies me.)  So thus the reasons for the twin bed on the floor for her.  This was not for “Montessori” reasons, but the more I read about Montessori principles, I realized that this fits in with its ideals.  Of course, her reliance on me to sleep does not coincide with promoting a baby’s independent nature, but that is what is working for us.

So, since discovering that May would not be sleeping in the crib, due to her needs and my parenting style, we moved it out to leave more room for play time.  I am so happy with how the room looks now as it was so very crowded and every time I tried the crib, it just produced tears, so now, we are both happy.  My husband was not as thrilled, but he has slowly accepted her new room.  A baby room without a crib!  Crazy.

But I want her to gain knowledge from, and explore her environment — a natural human tendency!  {See To Crib or Not to Crib at Maria Montessori:}

Not only will the child learn to function on his own, but this exposure to his environment will aid him in the development of independence, concentration, movement, self-esteem, and decision-making, leading to a healthy, well-adjusted child later on in life.

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Bed details

I have a couple of pillows in the bed and these are mostly for me when I come in to nurse her.  She sleeps with a pillow on either side of her.  I want to keep her safe, though it’s not far, I don’t want her to be scared of slipping off.  I also have a blanket, for me again, at the bottom of the bed.

I looked everywhere for the perfect color sheets and found these amazing, well-priced ones at Amazon.  I love the color!

Her flower pillow is Shabby Chic from Target, on sale, and her other little lacy pillow is from my dear aunt, it has her full name embroidered on it.

There is a mirror by her bed that she loves (and John loves too).  It is a simple, door hanging mirror from Bed, Bath, & Beyond.  (I hung it up myself — with John’s help, of course — but I was pretty proud of myself!)  She can look at herself and play.  She also likes to stand at the mirror with various little toys.

This is the view, looking into the little room from the door.  We have the bed, a changing table made by my father-in-law for our first, two bookshelves, and the Ikea tall Trofast shelf.

Montessori teaches to keep pictures at eye-level for children.  Since I had already put many of the wall fixtures on the walls before making her room, I kept them up and have been since adding to her space on the lower parts of the walls. Since the holes have already been hammered, I just haven’t put in the effort of taking things down and repairing the walls.  I don’t mind it — though it’s not completely “Montessori” — there are many dimensions to look at now!


Here is her bed from two different angles.  I have a sweet ABC chart that I found off Zulily which I love for learning time with her and my son.  It is filled with soft objects for each letter.

We also placed a basket at the foot of the bed for books and toys.

Here is the bed from May’s angle.  She loves to climb up into it herself and look in the mirror or bury her head into the sheets and pillows.  She is my snuggly girl.

Where to set up toys?

I want her to have her things accessible, so she can begin creating ownership and respect for her things and for herself.

Here is her little basket.  I keep it sparse, and with only a couple of very visible objects.  This is very different from what I did with my son.  I had these baskets just filled to the brim with various toys.  Now, my philosphy has become that less is more.  If they see it in an inviting way, they are more likely to play with it and engage themselves with it.  For toys, we:

• Only place a few toys around the room
• Every toy is accessible in a low shelf or basket
• The toys are constants and have not changed very much over the past few months

When I change the toy set up, I only change one book here or one book there.  This keeps her environment consistent (versus the rest of the house which is changed up constantly by her brother, and more purposely, weekly by me with John’s toys in his room and in the living room).

The changing table

While many Montessori rooms promote either elimination communication or have a changing area on the floor, my changing system was not one I wanted to give up, for both convenience as a mother of two, and for overall cleanliness in the room, too.

Here is the view of our amazing changing table.  Marshall’s dad made this when I was pregnant with John.  I gave him the specifications for how high and wide that I wanted it.  I knew we were going to cloth diaper from the beginning, so I wanted to have everything accessible.  For John I had baskets on the top and bottoms shelves.  But now, I only have three baskets: for onesies, little outfits, and for her cloth diapers (you can read my posts on cloth diapers here).  The rest of her clothes are in her closet, but at least I have some of the more commonly used items easy for me to grab.

On the changing table, I have the changing pad, her audio (and not digital video anymore! — read my post here) monitor, a sweet green bunny rabbit lamp from my mother in law, some blankets, another basket with various items like diaper cream, teething ointment, etc, a wipes container, and hand sanitizer.

Marshall also added some hooks to the changing table, so I have her little bath towel and Aden + Anais sleep gown hanging up — I love these — they are perfect for summer and winter since they are a thin, muslin material, so she always has one on for night time and they let her know that it is sleepy time!

To the left of the changing table is our diaper pail (with diaper pail liner), which is a nice barrier from a couple of wires from the monitor and lamp.  This is too heavy for her to move, so I feel that she is safe from that area.

To the right, underneath, is her Conair Baby Noise Maker.  This thing rocks.  (I used two other kinds that both broke.)  This is so small and portable, but is only $16 — it has been going strong for over a year now!

Now that I cleared the bottom shelf of more baskets of clothes — she has a nice little place for some books and toys.  (I was constantly picking up when her brother was a baby — he, of course, loved throwing all of the neatly folded clothes out of the baskets, I should have thought to put toys on the bottom shelf for him!)

The bottom of the changing table acts as a toy shelf.  She loves Baby Touch and Feel books, we have four of them!, and she loves them (see below!)  I gave her a sweet little wooden truck; she loves having little trucks, like her brother.  I try to keep natural-fibered and wooden objects at her reach in her room.  We have a lot of plastic toys around the house, but I like that her room is more organic and natural-“materialed”.  I scored that beautiful basket from Salvation Army and I hide different little treasures in there for her to discover.  The wooden blocks were a gift from a friend and have nursery rhymes and scenes from nursery rhymes on them.  (That basket below holds more diapering and clothing items.)

I hide various items in her basket for her to discover.  Blocks, toys, rings, etc.

This is the view of her room from the changing table corner.  She has another shelf with various toys.  We also have a bead gym, a small rocking horse, and a small basket of stuffed animals.

In the Trofast shelf, honestly, are many of the books that were displaced during the room change up. There are also some foam blocks and Magneatos, and one bin is actually my “junk drawer” — don’t tell Marshall.

I love our curtains.  I found them at Pottery Barn — they are green gingham — and the ones on the window are black out, while the ones on the closet are not.  These are not inexpensive, but the quality is outstanding!

This little shelf used to be filled with books.  I have board books coming out of my ears.  Literally, we have so many.  And I love to read to her.  I try to read at least five books to her two times a day.  But this shelf has helped her to have her own space, apart form her brother, to play independently.  Her bible and name puzzle  — from Etsy, these are so beautifully made — are on the top of the shelf.  Two little baby wooden toys — an egg and holder, a peg and peg holder, another bible, and a Noah’s Ark with little animals inside.  Then she has a little basket with her sweet Skip Hop soft blocks — she plays with these and stacks them regularly — a beautiful triangular stacker I scored at a resale ship, and another book.  Next to the shelf is the bead gym, which I only keep in her room periodically.

Discovering and playing.

In case you are wondering what is behind the curtains — we put shelving up from Lowes.  Believe it or not, this is organized.  Above these shelves are labeled bins of clothing for various ages and genders.  She has her hanging clothes, then shirts, pants, and shorts on her shelf, extra sheets, clothes in the basket, bibs and socks in the next basket, and too many folded blankets.  It is a lot, but I don’t mind the bulk since the curtains are closed most of the time and I love not having a bulky dresser ;)

Sweet details

I found this beautiful Peter Rabbit light switch from Etsy.

Marshall’s aunt painted this gorgeous Peter Rabbit mural.  Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?!  It was above the crib, but now is above her bed.  It is a bit too high for her to enjoy, but there is a big hole in the wall, and I just haven’t taken the time to put it down lower and try to repair a gaping hole.  Also, my son can be a bit destructive, so I’d hate something to happen to this!

I found these adorable Peter Rabbit story paintings from Etsy, too — I can’t find the exact ones — but these are similar.

On the high shelf are various Peter Rabbit items, and an adorable picture of my two loves.

This painting was another gift — I love it on the wall with the green ribbon.

May loves her Haba Sunshine Mobile.  I wish I had read more about mobiles before May wasn’t, well, mobile.  How We Montessori writes extensively about their use and having a specific spot for baby play and mobiles.  We keep this one above her changing table and still loves to look at it.  I hope for our next baby (God, willing), I will have another couple mobiles and a spot on the floor for baby to discover!  Check out her posts on mobiles, they are so enlightening!


Here is her sweet basket of stuffed animals.  She loves to kiss them and hold them.

This rocking chair was an “ugly” wood, but I bought it for $3, and my mother-in-law painted it for May.  ♥

My younger sister made this sweet cloth painting for me when she was in middle school.  Every time I see it, I hold back a tear.  This is one of my most prized possessions — I am so glad I framed it and it is hanging in our nursery. ♥

Above the Trofast shelf are a sweet picture of May and me.  A cute bunny rabbit, a gift.  And a heart that I bought while I was in Israel.  I can’t believe I bought that when I visited The Land and now it is hanging in my baby girl’s room.  {Here is my post on my trip to Israel.}

Here is the view from the door of her sweet little giraffe bookshelf.  I found this at a garage sale for $7!!  I love that the book fronts are exposed so a child can visually see what she/he wants to read.  It is a little overstuffed right now and I need to reorganize it.

Lastly, her little Radio Flyer.  This was (and I guess, is) her brother’s.  He used to walk this around our house and our yard.  This is, by far, the best walker I have seen.  It is a little chunky and difficult to turn, but May loves it, as she is beginning to move her little, perfect feet.  Look at me, mom, I’m walking!  Yes, sweet one.  Don’t grow up too fast, my love.

Another smile from my sweet angel.

More information on Montessori baby rooms

Thanks for visiting her room!  Sorry about the pic-heavy post, but I am excited to share her space!  I have been very inspired by many of you and I want to share some awesome posts, some of whom delve deeper into the “why” and “how” of what Montessori means.

• How to Prepare a Montessori Baby Room and Montessori Baby Resources from Living Montessori Now.
• Otis’s Montessori Room from How We Montessori.
• Floor Beds from Montessori on the Double.
• Montessori Toddler Bedroom from The Kavanaugh Report.
• Montessori Bedroom from Grey Likes Baby.
• Baby’s Montessori Room from A Montessori Musing Place.
• The Floor Bed: Merging Attachment Parenting and Montessori Principles from A Secure Base.

If you have a baby room post– please share your link — I’d love to see it!

The room is completely safe for her, with no sharp objects, outlets, or wires available for her to be harmed — please make sure you practice caution when setting up any sleeping or play area for your baby!

 

 

 

 

I am grateful to all of the wonderful linky party hosting mamas: check out my Link-Up page for where I may link this blog post!