Toddlers: 24 Months+
jlthompson19
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How did you transition out of the crib?
jlthompson19
member
Did you do naps first, or just straight to the night time?
FWIW, she's an excellent sleeper in her crib. Goes down for naps and bedtime w/o a fuss, doesn't need to go down asleep, etc. I really don't want to screw that up.
We tried DD in her big girl bed yesterday for a nap and she screamed.
My coworker thinks maybe putting her in a double bed is too big for her. We did that b/c we already had it and I'm cheap.
We have 2 months until the new baby comes and I don't want to repaint the nursery until she's sleeping in her new room, so I'd like to make the move sooner vs. later.
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Re: How did you transition out of the crib?
For both DDs, I did it the same and they did fine. No tears, no issues. Generally, I'm not a fan of the transition slowly over time for pretty much anything toddler-related (i.e. binkies, potties, crib transitions, etc.). We generally talk about stuff before it happens via books at bedtime and then just tear it off like a bandaid...disassemble the crib, put it out of sight and move the big girl bed in without her there. Add a cool light for reading before bed, lots of stuffed animals, a favorite blanket, a bed rail and cool step stool to climb on in. Make a HUGE deal about it being for the big girl and then move on. She'll be fine. If you're apprehensive, she'll sense it and react. Slowly over time does not work for toddlers for anything IMHO.
Also, I keep the childproof doorknob thing on the inside of her door so she cannot get out of the room unless we come to her so no wandering in the night.
We just took her crib down and assembled her full size bed. We made a big deal out of it being a big girl bed. She took a nap in it that day and then used it for naps/bedtime after that. It might just take your daughter a little longer to get used to it.
We didn't want to buy a toddler bed, either...I would rather spend the money on one bed, and since our crib converted to the full size, that's what she got!
I wonder if part of the problem is that it's a new room too?
We've shown her the room since it's been done and she's gotten on the bed multiple times and pretended to sleep, so it's not like it was completely foreign territory though. I just hate to hear her cry b/c it's so abnormal for her, it was like she was truly scared.
Maybe we'll try tonight with the bedtime routine in there.
We actually transitioned from crib to toddler bed (crib converted) and then to a full size bed in a new room a few months later. We had planned to go straight from the crib to the full size bed, but he started diving out of his crib head first before his new room was ready so we had to change our plans. He did great his first night in the toddler bed and was really excited about it. At nap time he would run around the room a bit playing, but always eventually crawled into his bed and went to sleep.
When we switched to the full size bed in his new room we didn't tell him about his new room or show it to him over time while we got it ready We waited until it was painted, had new furniture, and all of his decorations and showed it to him. He was so excited and wanted to sleep in it that night (we weren't expecting that!) so we let him and he's never asked to go back to the "baby room". We always call his new room the "big boy room" and "big boy bed" and make a huge deal about it. We call the other room the "baby room" now. He loves being a big boy so he's perfectly happy being in his new room and always tells people how he sleeps in a big boy bed.
My son had been used to sleeping on a cot at daycare and I think that may have helped him a lot. I would really push the excitement of being in a big girl bed. You may also want to give her a week or two to choose where she wants to sleep before making her sleep in the new bed. This was our plan, but our son surprised us and switched really well. Good luck!
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Every kid is different so you have to do what feels right for you and your LO. For us, we already had a Queen size futon in LO's room, but I felt that it was too big and too high for him to transition into, so we bought a toddler bed so we could use the crib mattress. He was OK sleeping there for both naps and at night but for the first couple of nights he went back and forth between the bed and the crib. After that, he would fall asleep in his bed if I was laying in the futon next to his bed, so he could see me before he fell asleep. I have to tell you that he didn't sleep great for a month during the transition, waking up at 5-6am instead of his usual 7am
That was rough. But we didn't lock his room so he would wake up, realize that he had freedom to leave his bed and come to our room at 5am. I did lock his door for naps though, because he would not stay in his bed. He still doesn't unless his door is closed for naps.
Now he sleeps in the Queen size futon b/c it turns out the toddler bed was too small for him. Waste of money. He never fell out of bed once so I should have just used the futon from the get go. He loves the futon now and likes how spacious the bed is. I like it b/c I get in next to him at night, read books to him and then lay next to him until he falls asleep. He'll fall asleep with or w/o me there, it depends on whether I'm in the mood to stay or not, lol.
I won't lie, the transition kind of sucked. He wasn't the greatest sleeper until about a month in, but now I love that if we travel we don't have to worry about finding a crib for him, he'll sleep in any bed. Plus, he won't fit in a crib anyway, he's as big as a 4 yr old and he's only 2-1/2.
Good luck!