Sleep issues (big girl bed revisited)
It started before DD got sick with the fever but it's much worse now. Abby fights going to sleep at night and we've had to let her CIO again for about 20 mins. DH is too tired having to work during the week to let her CIO when she wakes between 2-3am that he's been taking the mattress in our room to put on the floor. She knows he'll come and get her - for me she only fusses for about 10-20 mins and is out again. Our room is more or less baby proof, hers is not. Then she'll sleep, but not actually on the mattress. Most mornings when I get home from work she's curled up in a ball in the corner, it's a pretty sad sight really but at least they both get sleep.
DH thinks the solution is that she wants or needs a big girl bed. I think NOT. I think we just need to be consistant and re-teach her to sleep by herself. I referred back to a baby sleep patterns link I've had since she was a newborn. I realize this is normal - all my baby books are on loan to others right now. Tell me what they say to do!! Did "the big girl bed" make things better or worse for you?
*specifically, he's convinced she doesn't like HER bed, IE - he doesn't want to convert it to it's toddler bed form. He wants her to have a new bed. He thinks since she pops up when you put her in, she feels trapped or something.
Re: Sleep issues (big girl bed revisited)
Do y'all keep anything in her bed for her? I know we use to leave a few toys and books in dd#1 crib for her and that seemed to help.
We did not have any issues w/ the crib when we moved dd#1---we just needed to switch her so we could get her use to her bed so we could have the crib for dd#2.
As for the big girl bed (it is actually a full size bed that is on the floor w/ a rail on one side)--we did switch dd#1 at 2 years old and she freaked the first day and after that loved it. We also bought a night light--well it is actually a flower light from ikea w/ a night light bulb in it so it is super dim. We keep that on at night and we moved out anything bad out of her room so she just has books and toys and will play by herself until she falls asleep. She really likes to flip through books then falls asleep on her own.
Not sure if any of the above helps but that is what we do and it works.
Taytee-we're also having the same issues. DD wakes up between 3-4 AM and screams, cries, and tries to climb out of her crib. I go in after 15 min and she is standing in her crib (usually w/ one leg on the rail). I pick her up and soothe for 5 min then (attempt) to put her back in her bed. Not.having.it. She's been sleeping in our room for a week now. She's 19 months old and I'm wondering if she's ready for her toddler bed or if this is just a phase?
Any thoughts?
We have ours on the floor (just the box spring and mattress(we also have a rail too). I also just made a fabric headboard and it looks fabulous IMO
many, many people start their kiddos on the floor and it does not mean they stay that way forever--just get them use to the bed first.
Heehee- a dog bed
We put the mattress straight on the floor, no box spring or anything. We decorated her room with 12" circles, so I put a collection of them above the head of the bed to make it look like it belonged there. I also put a rug at the foot of the bed and stuffed animals and things like that. It looks like a kid's room, I think. I'll try to remember to take and post pics when I get home.
For the transition- We started her at 16 months. Coming from co-sleeping (months 8-16), she was used to being in a large bed, but she seemed to like having a ton of room to herself, without DH or me to get in her way. There is no doubt it was much harder on us than her. We completely baby-proofed her room, but she didn't get out of bed until about a month ago when we moved into a new house. She would run all over the room during playtime, but for naps and nights, she would sit in her bed and wait for us to come get her. We used a video monitor to make sure everything was ok, which really helped my peace of mind. Now, she gets out of bed and knocks on the door when she's up.
We moved into the big bed early to get ready for DS since he'd be in our room, but she was ready for it. I think Abby is the right age for the transition, but I know some kids do really well in their cribs well past age 2. I do think her big-girl room was /is a lot of fun for her. She looooves to show people her room when they come over. I think she feels comfortable in her space. Of course, she was in our room for so long, she never had "her" space.
I hope that helps. Let me know if you want any other input