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Toddlers: 24 Months+
ksyknelvr73
member
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
Toddler bed transition tips?
ksyknelvr73
member
Hi all - I don't officially belong here yet, but I felt this question was more appropriate for this board. We are converting DS's crib this weekend to the toddler bed (with the rail, still his crib) and I just wanted to see if anyone had any tips or advice on how to make the transition as smooth as possible. DS is a really great sleeper and usually tells US that he is ready to go "nite nite" and he sleeps through the night, does great for naps, etc. I worry that I will mess that up, but he is so ready to transition as it's obvious to me that he is wanting that ability to go get in bed on his own. Anyway, anything you have for me is greatly appreciated! : )
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Toddler bed transition tips?
We recently transitioned DD to her "big girl bed" and it was much easier than I thought. She was a great sleeper and we had very few issues with her sleeping through the night. DH and i were worried about her waking up in the middle of the night or just not sleeping.
We have had no issues. When she wakes up in the morning, she comes to the door, but that is the only time she gets out of bed.
I'm sure your transition will go smoothly!
I'm hoping our transition goes like this. I thought maybe if I didn't make a big deal about it, then he wouldn't either. How do you keep her in her room though? Do you close her door? My husband keeps telling me he doesn't want to close DS's door, but I don't know what another solution would be.
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
my read shelf:
We transitioned at 18mo due to DD2 climbing out of her crib. We have always closed our girls' doors so getting out wasn't a problem. I'd be sure to check the doorknob so your LO can't accidentaly lock himself in his room. We learned this the hard way and had to chistle out DD's knob one morning.
Our DD did get out of bed and probably spent the first couple weeks sleeping in front of her door. Eventually, she started climbing back into bed and then staying there. If she does get up, we tell her it's bedtime and to go back to bed. Unless she's sick or something, that's all we say to her if she gets up.
TTC #3: BFP 4/27/12, Ectopic 5/16/12 Expectant Management, 8/15/12 Cleared to TTC
BFP 9/25/12 EDD 6/6/13, Shooting 3-for-3 from the line: It's a Girl
PgAL/PAL Welcome
No, I don't want to mess it up. But I know that I want to start potty training in the very foreseeable future so my thought was I'd like him to be in a toddler bed and used to that so that he'd be able to get up for night time potty training. I wanted him to get used to it first...I don't really know what I'm doing, that's why I was hoping you guys would have all the answers for me! : )
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
I just remember my son doing a 180 out of his crib when he was 18 months old.
We did cold turkey with the crib to a toddler bed since his little sister needed the crib. The main issue that we ran into--before he was trying to get out of his crib which meant trying to get over the rail, and he kinda did not get at first his new bed which was a toddler bed. He also had a tendency to fall out of the bed--just make sure the distance to the floor is not very far and on carpet. And I did have to get up and keep putting him in the bed--the same for when he was not ready to go to bed--sometimes you have to put them to bed very sleepy to get them to stay in the toddler bed.
He totally gets his toddler bed now. And he slept in a queen size bed with me when I visited my parents over Thanksgiving holiday. He only fell off it once, and he got right back up and got back into bed. It took time for my son to get used to the change.
we were cold turkey (literally... at 1am!!) when he was 19 months due to him discovering how to climb out by himself. our little explorer would NOT stay in his toddler bed and we had to put a lock on the outside of his door for quite a long time to keep him in his room. once he realized the door wouldn't open, he became a fantastic bed sleeper again (and he was a fantastic crib sleeper before, with just a week or two of sleeping on the floor and night wakings during the initial big boy toddler bed transition). it's all about setting limits. door open would have been too much freedom for him, and that would have just resulted in a very poor bed transition.
my best advice is to not rule out locking the door. he might be old enough to handle a toddler bed, but he's probably not old enough to possess the personal conviction and discipline to stay in bed without exploring after bedtime. heck, my kiddo is 2y8m now and he STILL sneaks out of bed every single night!
we transitioned ds before he was two and he did fine. We needed the crib for dd and wanted to give him time to adjust before she came (they're about 25 months apart). I wouldn't worry that it will be bad, although I might be prepared so that if it does go poorly, you have a plan. We let ds "help" with the assembly of the toddler bed and really talked up how exiting the new bed was. He did fine at night;naps were more difficult the first week or so. He never got out of his bed at night or I the morning. In fact, the second time he's left his bed without us in the morning was Christmas, this year. And he heard us talking with dd, so he knew we were up. We used a gate on his door, just for peace of mind. Good luck to you! Oh, and just keep in mind that many kids aren't ready for nighttime potty training until they're older.
If this is your only reason to transition, I'd probably leave him in the crib. I know very few kiddos who night time PT'd at the same time they were day time trained. You don't know how long it may take him to figure out the night time thing or his body may not be ready yet, especially if he's a really sound sleeper. DD1 is 4 and has just been able to stay dry at night in the last 3mo but day trained for over a year and a half.
TTC #3: BFP 4/27/12, Ectopic 5/16/12 Expectant Management, 8/15/12 Cleared to TTC
BFP 9/25/12 EDD 6/6/13, Shooting 3-for-3 from the line: It's a Girl
PgAL/PAL Welcome
We are in week 2 of transition and it has been... rough. DS was a great sleeper in his crib, but with the arrival of #2 in a few short weeks, we needed his crib. We moved him to a big boy room and bed (twin mattresses with guard rail). He LOVES his room -- loves going in it, playing in it, having us go in there, etc. He is not in love with sleeping by himself yet.
Naps are a little better than bedtime since I'm the only one home with him most days (unless DH is working from home). Bedtime is still a guessing game as to what works best. We were told to keep his bedtime routine the same from crib to new bed, but that didn't work for us at all. So we're trying to find a new normal and some nights we have more success than others.
My advice would be to keep his room minimalistic until he gets used to sleeping there by himself. We don't lock his door, but we did buy a pressure gate to keep him inside. He often tosses out toys into the hallway when settling down/protesting sleep.
When DH is home, all bets are off as to a routine since DS is a HUGE daddy's boy and wants to spend every waking moment with him, it takes him time to settle down.
Good luck! I hope your transition is easier than ours!
2 years of TTC, Seeing RE Feb 09, 2 medicated TI cycles - BFNs, 3 medicated IUIs - BFNs, back to medicated TI cycles until IVF approval, IVF approved in March 2010. BFP on last medicated TI cycle.
We moved the monitor into her room, so we can still hear her. At first, we don't close the door all the way. It's only open a small crack. She usually doesn't get out of bed until she wakes up in the morning. If she does get out of bed, we go back in tell her to climb into bed, and sometimes will sit with her until she falls back asleep.
When DH does his final check on her, he makes sure her door is closed all the way. In the morning, if we don't go in and wake her up (on days we both work), then we wake up to her pulling on the door or knocking on the door to get out.
We did bring the gate upstairs, just in case. In the past 2-3 weeks, she has figured out how to open the door once. I think it was just a fluke, but we do know eventually she'll figure it out. If she does figure it out, then we will set up the gate on the outside of her door so she can't get out.
We are planning on making the transition this spring when Kieran is 2.5 only because we'll need his crib for the new baby. I'm dreading the transition. I would keep your son in his crib as long as possible if you don't have to make the transition.
Most boys don't start potty training until 2.5 or 3 so you still have plenty of time since night training is usually after they have mastered day training.