Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Switching to toddler bed
My daughter will be 2 in October and we have a son due in November, I wanted to move her to a toddler bed sooner rather than later so she is comfortable before our new addition - any tips on how to get her to stay in her bed etc?
Thanks so much!
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Re: Switching to toddler bed
I put Emerson in her big girl bed at 2 because I had twins on the way. She acutally did great.
I put a gate on her door because I didn't want her to roam the house at night. She never did.
We also put some books and safe toys in the bed with her as well as a Melissa and Doug flashlight. We followed the same routine we always had and she did really great!
If your toddler does get out of bed, don't talk to her. Simply keep putting her back in the bed and walk out. If you do get the gate, if she falls asleep on the floor, leave her there. hth-
If #1 is willing to stay in the crib, buy a new crib. We have been in living hell since March 1, 2010 - the day my 16m27d old DS1 climbed out of his crib and we moved him to the toddler bed, then a mattress on the floor, for his own safety.
Like, serious destroying our marriage, seeking psychiatric help MISERY.
Let #2 sleep in a bassinet or PNP for a while. Or just get a new crib altogether. But for the love of god, keep #1 in the crib for as long as it is safe to do so.
DD naps in her big girl bed and sleeps in our bed at night.
We just put her in bed, turn on a fan and sound machine, and she's out!
Wow.
This is us (minus the twins). Our DS#2 is due in September, so we just moved DS#1 to his toddler bed last week. Night time is fine, just as he was in the crib. Naptime can be troublesome, but we are getting used to it. He would rather play than sleep at times. I think it helps that he has been in a cot at DC since 14 months.
The only stupid thing we did is trying to do this while DH is OOT. I am exhausted. While he has been going to sleep rather well, he is now getting up a little bit earlier and that combined with being pregnant is making me exhausted. Plus, my H has a magical touch with DS and getting him to sleep, so the nights/naps when DS is fussy, his Daddy isn't here to work his magic.
Go Phils!!
Yeah. We did the "no talking, just put them back in bed" thing. I lost count after we did it SIXTY times in one night (in one HOUR). We tried a gate, but he takes it down, climbs over it, knocks it over, etc.
Now the gate is a threat. every night at lights out we say
"What happens if you get out of bed?"
"I get the gate."
Like it's a spanking or something. It has kept him in his bed, but he just sits there and screams, or starts stripping his clothes and diaper off and/or escalating other behavior until we HAVE to intervene to keep him from hurting himself or peeing all over the bed.
We have been keeping a journal of the bedtime activities for a month in anticipation of possibly going to a behavioral sleep clinic at one of the local medical centers.
Obviously, this is not everyone's experience, but I highly recommend against risking it unless you absolutely have to because the crib is unsafe for the kid. Not wanting to spring for a new bed for #2 isn't that great of a reason, especially since you can get a perfectly safe crib for $100 to accommodate the second baby. That is WAY cheaper than therapy, pediatrician consults because you're at the end of your rope, behavioral sleep clinics, and divorce.
A 16 month old is way different than a almost 2 year old. 6 months makes a huge difference in the development of a toddler.
True, but he (and we) have been handling it poorly every day since, and now he's almost 3. Perhaps it would have unfolded differently if we could have started later.