Lofty Transitions

The loft!

We wanted to provide Akilah with the option to not sleep in the same space as a nursing baby that wakes up every 1.5 - 2 hours, and that opportunity has finally arrived!

For the holidays/Akilah's 5th birthday we hired a friend to build this loft in what has been her playspace/room. (The space behind the tapestry is my office/crafting area, which used to be half of the front porch. Our house is tiny.) All the standard lofts we found were, of course, not made in this country (booooo and grrrrrrrrr), all the ones on Craigslist for quite some time were metal (yuck), and those made locally were uber expensive. So we are loving the final product!

The loft was actually completed last month but we have been mattress hunting. We refuse to buy a standard twin mattress, as they are full of toxic chemicals.

Yes, we bed-share with an "Asheville King" (a queen and a twin put together) and both are made of non-toxic natural latex. (We LOVE them by the way and will never go back to buying toxic mattresses). The downside is that natural latex mattresses (or organic cotton mattresses) are insanely expensive. Soooo we have been patiently waiting to find one on Craigslist. In the meantime we are borrowing a twin from some friends and it shall join the loft today.

The next step is for me to finish sewing a fairy bower to hang from the ceiling. Akilah has helped me design it and is beyond thrilled. I am just very tired for projects right now...

The top, eagerly awaiting a mattress.

The bottom makes for a lovely play space! Eventually another mattress can go under here for Akilah's little sister. But not for a long long long time. (And just maybe we will have moved out to the country by then anyway!)