Hungry, Hungry...Macy!

My sweet babies have learned how to stand in their cribs.

At first I got nervous....What happened?!  They are supposed to be laying down in there!  What do I do?  Are they going to get hurt?

And then I felt emotional...How did they get so big?  How are they able to reach the rail already!?  Stop growing babies!!

Lastly, I got down to business...Is she chewing on that rail?  Where did those bite marks come from?  I've got to get that covered and NOW!

So, those two small bite marks started my search.  I went to Babies-R-Us (one of my least favorite places) and Target to find out how to quickly remedy our chewing problem.  I found a couple of options.

1. Gummi Crib Teething Rail Cover ($26.99) 
When I looked and measured I would need two and a half packages for each crib bringing my total to $134. 95 for the twins.

2. Crib Teething Rail Cover ($27.99)/Side Rail Teething Rail Covers ($31.99) 
When I saw this solution I realized it only came with a piece for the front of the crib and I would have to buy something else to cover the sides making the grand total $119.96 for the twins.

Neither of these options were looking very good.  Who has $100 to waste on rail covers for a crib?!  Not this mom; so, I did what any desperate mom would do...I browsed Pinterest and found something similar to the second option I listed above.

It was a DIY version that actually looked cute in all the pictures I saw and the best part was I could choose any fabric I wanted!  With the help of my always crafty (and DIY) mom we ventured to the Hancock's and Target  to purchase what we needed to cover Macy's crib rails.  We bought 1 yard of fabric with a coupon for 40% off making the total cost for the material $8.99.  (I chose the brown to keep it as inconspicuous as possible.)  We then purchased a skinny pool noodle from Target for $1.49.  For both the fabric and the noodle I spent $10.48 to completely cover her crib rail on all three sides.

Below are pictures for our very own tutorial.  I have to say it turned out great!

1. Before we started we cut the noodle just to the middle so that we could open it and cover the back of the rail.  We then used zip ties to secure the noodle to the crib rail.  I only had small 7 inch zip ties so I had to connect three together.  Once I attached them all I flipped them over so the cut part was facing down.  I was careful to make sure the ties were not rubbing the crib.

 2. The next step was to cut our material.  Since their crib rails are not a standard size I laid the fabric over the rail to guess and check how much I needed.  We used 22 inches to wrap around the front and then 18 inches on the sides.  Once the fabric was cut to the correct size I folded it in half (hot dog style as my students would say) and then cut up from the open end.  I had to guess and check again how high to cut up but each strip was about one and a half inches thick.  That seems to work well once I started tying it onto the crib.

3. Once I finished cutting the strips we simply tied it onto the bed just like you would if you were making a fleece blanket.  It doesn't have to be perfect to look great (and that's the best part!) When I was researching how to do this several tutorials said to cut off one of the strips.  I found to make it look more "covered" I just tied three strips in between each rail.  That seemed to work for us.

4. The side rails had to be cut a little more than the front.  We did the same things with this side once it was cut that we did with the front of the crib.

It worked perfectly and the babies enjoyed playing in their cribs while we finished up our little DIY project.  But the funny part...just as we finished Macy's crib, Johnny stood up for the first time in his crib and marked his territory with his two little front teeth.  They must have been talking while we were working because he seemed to smirk at me when I caught him.  Needless to say, we were off to the store for yet another yard of fabric and a pool noodle....I should have known!   Overall, after both cribs were covered I had invested a couple hours and $20.96!  That number is music to my ear because we are out of diapers again!