a little bit of heaven

We've been co-sleeping ever since Adelaide was a month old and - utterly exhausted - I finally threw away all those baby books, listened to my heart, and tucked my sobbing, hysterical baby (who never wanted to be put down, ever) in bed with me. And Addie and have slept side by side cozily and happily every night since.

Recently, however, Adelaide has been growing rather long. Her habit of sleeping sideways across the bed - with her feet in my face - is starting to get to me! And so we have decided to try and find her her a bed of her very own.

We took a trip to Ikea, but the toddler beds we saw there just weren't for us. A quick look online showed us that we didn't want to spend a huge amount of money on a designer toddler bed. So we decided to drag Adelaide's old (brand-new) crib mattress up from storage and we just plopped it down alongside our bed. It's a good spot - Addie and I can hold hands when we fall asleep, and in case of bad dreams she can still crawl in with me, if she really needs.

It's been getting really cold lately, and I was having trouble finding a nice and warm blanket for her. I have this aversion to polyester bedding, or wrapping up my kid in synthetic fibers - they just don't feel good to me. After much internal debate, I have finally caved and bought a down duvet for Adelaide. I looked online and on ebay and called all around but was discouraged at the price tags when I found them at Quilts, Etc for quite a bit less than price of other shops, as they are made locally right near our house.

After I brought the duvet home, I quickly sewed up a cover for it out of wonderfully soft and warm pink flannel with polka dots. The fabric is "Be Merry by My Mind's Eye" from Riley Blake Designs. I measured and put together my own basic pattern, but you can find many patterns online to make your own as well. I double-folded all the seams over so that it is sturdier and I don't have to worry about it fraying. I also didn't bother with any buttons or snaps to close the duvet together, but just left a small 14" or so opening a the bottom and it works just fine. I think that a lovely down duvet and cover would make a wonderful gift for any toddler or child... Adelaide's new duvet really is a little bit of heaven!

Now Addie loves her little bed, and insists on tucking in her dolls and showing it off to everyone who comes to visit us. So if you happen to drop by, please don't mind when she drags you upstairs and insists that you try out her new bed!