Who else is trying to address toddler milestones before baby arrives?

mollyskywalker

DS is going to be 2 on January 20th and back in September I had grand plans of getting rid of the binky over Christmas vacation then transitioning him to a big boy bed around his bday. We also bought a potty to get him thinking about the idea of using it. Well, he has no interest in the potty and we've made no attempt to take away the binky (he only uses it in the crib when he sleeps/naps). I've purchased a sheet set for his big boy bed but haven't actually purchased a bed because people started telling me that we should keep him in the crib as long as possible if he's sleeping well. BUT, all of a sudden during the past 2 weeks he's been waking up a lot more in the middle of the night and calling out for "mama, daddy." Maybe now is the time to make these changes since he's not sleeping well anyway? I know there's no definitive answer and I'm sure our pedi will have advice at DS's 2-year check-up in a few weeks, but I guess I'm just looking for advice from others going through the same thing. I feel like I'm procrastinating big time!

jackie9480

I know the feeling!  We have been working on alot of this this fall/winter.  We successfully got rid of binky in November.  She was an addict so it was pretty hard.  We have been in "big girl" bed since November as well but its been a struggle.  She has been fighting it.  So most of Dec.  she ended up sleeping in our bed because I was too lazy/tired to fight w/ her.  Now we have buckled down and are making her stay in there.   Its getting better..... slowly. 

Finally on the potty training we have been doing okay.  She is getting better at telling us.  She has been wearing pull-ups. I was waiting till she is better w/ sleeping in her bed before we start another BIG change.  I am just worried that once baby gets here we will have even less time to work w/ her on the potty thing.

Good luck to you and we should keep eachother updated on how its going!

July18Bride

Going through the exact-same-thing here! We just transitioned DS into a toddler bed two weeks ago. He is doing OK, but bed time is a fight almost every night. I am glad we did it now because I imagine he will be very well adjusted by April. He was sleeping great in his crib, but I didn't want to buy another crib for this baby or deal with the transitioning with a newborn.

Regarding potty training- I bought a book on potty training boys and it gives a list of 'cues' to know if your child is ready. DS is not showing any of those signs...so I am just waiting a bit on this. Ideally I would have loved him to be potty trained and in a big boy bed by April. But- he may not be ready for that. I have heard when it comes to potty training....if you rush it or pressure it may not be as easily as if you wait for them to be ready.

Good luck with the binky- DS never took to one, so we are lucky we don't have that habbit to kick.

sherbear1322

I hear ya on procrastinating.  Our pedi wants kids off of all bottles by 15 months and he still gets all of his milk in bottles (he's 13.5 months).  He drinks water from a sippy but haven't changed to the bottle situation.  I figured I would try to ditch the paci around the same time; he uses it for sleep and in the car, but haven't started on that either.  No advice, but you aren't alone!

ChicagoBroad26

Crib- I'm keeping her in the crib as long as possible- maybe until she's three. She sleeps so well in there and I'm not messing with what works and keeps our sanity these days.

Pacifier- Working on weaning her down to just bedtime.

Potty Training- My parents are coming to watch her for a long weekend at the end of January and my Mom said she's start with her while I'm gone if I want her to. Sounds good to me.

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha

Personally, I would address the milestones only if my child seems ready. I wouldn't stress about whether to do it before or after baby arrives.

If your LO hasn't been sleeping well as of late, then I say go ahead and give the big boy bed a try. And if you're unsure about it, I would suggest you start off with just a mattress on the floor. You could even leave the crib up in his room so that remains an option if the big boy bed doesn't help.

The binky I would probably take away now, as I feel the longer you wait, the harder it'll be. I might not do it at the same time as I transition to the big boy bed, though.

rayofsunshine99

DS is 4 and in a big boy bed and is potty trained, doesn't use bottles, sippy cups, nuks etc obviously but it sure as heck would be nice if we could get him to sleep through the night consistently before or by the time the baby is born!! 

MamaSpryte

DS is going to be 3 next month.

Big Boy Bed: Been in one for a while now, so we have the crib for baby

Paci: Still have it at night, BUT he has obstuctive sleep apnea so it helps him sleep at night. He has a surgery consult on the 15th of Jan, so we are hoping that we can figure out what is wrong and get rid of it before YDS arrives.

Potty Training: Still working on it. He will sit on the potty just fine, but won't do anything. Then the moment we put a pull-up on him, he will pee in it. It is very frustrating.

We are trying to get things done so that it is not too many big things happening at once. We do not want any regression.

skoogirl

Yes, my son's second birthday is the 23rd, so we're almost exactly where you are  The last few nights DS has gone to sleep without his paci! He woke in the middle of the night only one of the three times, so we are making real progress on that front.  We restricted paci to inside the crib almost his entire life, so that's the only place where we are still working on it.

We are going to use the crib for LO, so we purchased DS a twin.  It hasn't been delivered yet and we haven't bought a mattress yet, but hopefully within the next few weeks.  For his birthday his grandma is getting him waterproof mattress pads and his aunt is getting him sheets. 

He's moving into the 2s room at daycare which brings some changes, but he seems ready.

Lastly, on potty training, I think he's too young to fully train as their muscles usually aren't there at this age, but he has a lot of interest.  He's pee peed on the potty three times, but sits on them almost every day. I don't think there has been a more happy and excited moment in his entire life for me than the moment he peed on the potty!  I really felt like throwing a party.

It's a lot to do all at once and I think there will be plenty of set-backs, especially with the twin bed and especially when LO arrives, but we're progressing on all fronts.

KrisM86

My DD is significantly younger than your DS (she will be 18 mos. in April) but we aren't planning on making any big transitions before the baby comes, other than weaning from BFing which we are currently in the process of doing.

I think at this point, since there are only a few months until our new LOs arrive, there is a good chance of the older kids regressing after the babies come. In your case, I would maybe consider trying a toddler bed (although I see no reason to move him from the crib just because you have a baby on the way), but I'd definitely postpone potty training. That process can take several months, and if your DS isn't showing signs of readiness, rushing it is just going to set you up to have more issues with it once your baby comes.

kara1204

Sounds like us!  After some great advise from the ladies on this board we did the switch to a "big girl bed" and I have to say it went really well.  We are in the process of potty training now.  Good luck!!

blueandgray

I debated moving DD to a big girl bed just so I don't buy a second crib that we use for like 3 months. And she naps on a cot at daycare since she turned 1, so I thought it may actually be a smooth transition, but she sleeps so well at night in her crib that I just don't want to mess with it.  Plus it may be handy to have somewhere safe I can 'pen' her in for a few minutes if I ever need to do something urgent with LO2.

I bought her a potty for Christmas since she's been patting her butt and saying "diaper" or "uh oh" when she's gone poo or pee which I took as a good sign, but I haven't taken it out of the box yet.  She's not even 18 months yet, so it'd be really early and we will be moving a couple weeks after LO2 is born, so between the new baby & move, I see regression written all over the place!

So no, right now NOT planning on any big milestone changes pre-baby.  I'll tackle the bed, then potty, over the summer once she turns 2, after I get LO2 into his/her new routine and ideally STTN.  Yes, my perfect dream scenario!

Trish&Pete07

In the same boat with DD2, she is just over 2 (turned 2 in Oct)

Pacifier - She was not a huge soother person, she didn't actually really use a soother until she was 15 months old and started getting her molars. Then at about 18 months we made a rule that she could only have it at nap/bed time. Then in November she started to really chew them and she bit holes in a few and I made her throw them out. Once she bit through the last one she was done with them. Rough couple of days but not as bad as I expected.

Potty - Last week Wednesday DH went back to work and after all the hustle bustle of renos and Christmas we finally had a week of no plans. So we pulled out the potty and she has done AMAZING! A week in and she has only had 5 or 6 accidents (3 on day 1) and that's it. She will not climb out of her crib so I am hesitant in training her through the night yet but soon!

Crib - She is still in the crib but plan to transition her to a big girl bed on Family Day (feb 20th) and DD1 onto the top bunk. Then in March or so we will get them to start sharing a room.  

I say that you have to listen to your kid. Especially with potty training. If they are not ready it will just be a constant battle. DD2 was super ready and started showing sign to train at 15 months but I wasn't ready. I am so glad we waited. What ever works best for you and your family. My SIL waited until her son was over 3 to start training, and one day he put underwear on himself and that was that.  

synchrosally

I have two milestones I want to address: potty training and STTN. The only time I had to do potty training was over Christmas and we DID it!!! Uh, except we're having problems at daycare. Boo.  I wanted to do it now so he's well trained before baby comes. STTN is still a struggle and we've been working with developmental therapists for 5 weeks and so far, no success.

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courtneyt13

DD will be two in Feb and yes I am having issues getting her ready. I wanted her to sleep in her own room (we bed share), stop using her pacifier and potty trained. So far, none of these things have happened. I am too tired to lose sleep from sleep training or no pacifier (she wakes up without it). Potty training we have had some success. She poops in the potty pretty good, but won't tell use when she needs to pee. I don't want to pressure her so we have been really relaxed about it. Maybe when she turns two I will try harder.

Mella&T

DD is 20 months and over Christmas we decided to stop the nighttime bottle and also went cold turkey on the paci (she only used them to sleep). The bottle went fine, and really, so did the paci. We had a couple rough nights trying to get her to sleep (she had to be rocked instead of falling asleep on her own) but about 4 days into it, she was back to normal. We just told her that we said "byebye" to the pacis and they were going to another baby. She actually said our friend's daughter's name and we said, "Yep, we gave them to Elise!". She understood a lot more than we thought she would and it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be. She's staying in the crib for at least another year. We're in no rush to get her out of there since she sleeps so well in it.

Lhyacinth888

I thought about it, DS just turned 2 Jan 1st, but I think I am waiting.  I am going to move him to a big boy bed after new DD has a decent sleeping schedule.  My DS has gone on the potty a few times but I am not really pressing it.  If he becomes more interested in it before the baby comes then so be it.  If not we will be waiting til he shows signs of readiness and more interest.  My son still takes his binky at night and that's ok with me.  I feel like I will know when he is ready and it's not time yet.  I admit I am really scared to make these big transitions.  I am a SAHM and DS has a crazy schedule so I will be flying solo a lot with the two kids.  My DS is an angel as far as sleeping and I am terrified of ruining that and having to get up with 2 kids in the middle of the night so I am going to wait to rock the boat...  hopefully it doesn't backfire on me!

nyki06

I REALLY wanted to get my daughter potty trained before this baby came (she'll be two one month before this LO is due). I think she could do it successfully but I just haven't had the motivation! 

MarchABC

My son will be 2 in March. 

Pacifier - He used them for naptime and bedtime only but over the holidays he started chewing through them so they had to go. The transition has been fine but I think he slept a little better with them. He has a little more trouble falling asleep and putting himself back to sleep but luckily can do it eventually.  

Crib - We were given another crib by our neighbor so he'll be in the crib until he starts climbing out.

Potty Training - He's interested and tells us about his poopy diapers so he sits on it but doesn't go. We just treat it like a fun thing so hopefully when he's really ready, he'll feel comfortable. We're not pushing it now.  

We're not really pushing anything. The change of becoming an older sibling will be hard enough. The rest will happen in his own time. I'm a big believer in developmental readiness.