Need to transition DD to a bed - how does it work?
Our doctor recommended that we have DD fully transitioned to a bed by January, so it's not too much change at once with the baby coming (we need to use DD's crib for the new baby).
We don't have room in DD's bedroom for both the crib and a twin bed, so the doctor recommended just putting the crib mattress on the floor, then upgrading to a twin sized mattress, then eventually putting in the twin sized bed with rails.
I'm just curious how others did the transition, and how long it took. Are we talking weeks? Months? The problem also is that DD doesn't really seem at all interested in leaving the crib yet; there have been no issues with her climbing out (or even attempting to climb out), and she seems perfectly happy sleeping in it. So I'm also feeling a lot of guilt about doing this. Ugh.
Any help you can provide is most appreciated!
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Re: Need to transition DD to a bed - how does it work?
We left the nursery as is and moved DD to a new room. It used to be our guest room and already had a queen-size bed in it, so we just bought a rail for it. I followed artslvr's advice (I am sure she'll chime in) and really talked up the bed and the room and made a huge deal about it. We let her play in it for weeks before she actually slept in it. She's a crappy napper so we didn't try to do naps before bedtime. We went to Target and I let her pick out those wall decals to put on. She picked animals and we put them on together.
I do remember it not being easy and taking a few weeks. We always always said "stay in bed, don't get out" and she would repeat those words after us (but did not always follow them). She was 21mo when we did it. Once in a blue moon she'll want to get into DS's crib for a few minutes and we let her play in it.
I think it's a good idea to do it 3-4mo before the new baby comes so she doesn't associate the baby with losing her crib. I like your pedi's advice and I know the mattress on the floor method has worked for many! My only concern would be doing it during cold weather.
good luck!!
Are the kids sharing a room? Why would you put a crib and twin bed in the same room?
They won't be sharing a room, but I've heard some people put the bed in the room (space-permitting) so the child gets accustomed to having it there. We unfortunately don't have that option.
We'd like to keep her in the room she's in because it's definitely "her room" and I feel like taking that away in addition to the new baby will be too much change.
I heavily debated on whether to transition DD#1 to a big girl bed or not when #2 arrived. I was nervous about transitioning her because she's a great sleeper and I didn't want to mess anything up related to her sleep, especially with the new baby coming. Also, we had just moved and she had just started at a new day care so I didn't want to add yet another change in her life.
So, I opted to buy another crib from Ikea for $70 and I got a used mattress for $10 off C-list. I am really glad I did this because DD#1 is still sleeping in the crib. She actually figured out how to climb out a few weeks ago and she slept one night in her big girl bed. After that night, she climbed back into the crib and has slept in the crib ever since. Every night I ask her if she wants to sleep in the big girl bed or the crib and she wants to sleep in the crib. So, I'm just going to let her keep sleeping in the crib for now since it seems to comfort her in some way.
So, buying another crib is an option if you think she's not yet ready.