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August 2011 Moms
melissa0726
member
Big girl bed time?
melissa0726
member
I am thinking about moving DD into a "big girl bed." DH and I always said that we will keep her in her crib until she is actively attempting escape. We were hoping that would be closer to age of 2. But I feel like there are a couple of factors adding up to trying it sooner.
1. She was starting to form an attachment to sleeping in our bed from when we were all sick. So we had to put a futon mattress on the floor in her room to transition her back to her own bedroom. And while we do have her back to sleeping in her crib, she REALLY wants to settle down and read her bedtime stories on the futon. We tried to take the mattress out and she threw a fit, so we put it back. So I'm wondering if I should follow her lead and try to let her sleep there. Oh, and when she wakes up first thing in the morning, she all but leaps out of my arms to go lay on the futon and snuggle under a blanket.
2. I'm having a lot of trouble with back pain this pregnancy, and getting her in and out of the crib is already a problem at times. I can only imagine how this is going to be when I get a lot bigger!
3. I'm not too keen on the idea of spending money on a second crib since she's going to be 21 months when #2 is born. New baby will be in our room anyway for 3-4 months, so I think a second crib would be a waste.
4. That said, I am thinking I would want to get her settled into a bed (if she takes to the change) well before we bring home a new baby and further upset current routine. So I'm thinking of giving it a try in the next month or two
So, any thoughts, ladies? Am I crazy for thinking of putting her in a bed before she's attempting escape? We already have a twin mattress and box spring for her room. DH is back and forth on the issue, and basically leaving it up to me. So he's no help 
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Re: Big girl bed time?
You can switch her. We didn't want to buy a second crib, so we put DS1 in a toddler bed at 18 months.
He had no toys and no furniture (except for the bed and glider). I didn't want him to be able to climb on things or play with toys in the MOTN. Basically, his room became the crib.
Anyways, good luck. It worked out well for us, hopefully, it will for you guys too!!
He didn't sleep at first. He was up all the time and couldn't fall sleep. We ended up taking everything out of his room but his bed and books. Once we did that he was able to settle down and rest.
I think it can work, but like JandK said, make her room like her crib.
Let us know how it goes!
Best thing we have done, it keeps her safe.
Thanks for the replies! You ladies helped seal the deal, I think we will definitely try her in the bed soon. We moved the twin mattress into her room, and her door already has a gate installed. DH and I were just talking last week about securing her dresser, but we hadn't done it yet because it (almost) matches the crib. So I'm thinking we'll move out all of the furniture out at once, leaving just the mattress when we're ready to transition. I had been thinking we would get all new furniture for DD's room, since we did not do that when we put her nursery together.
We have a big basket for her toys in her room, so I'm thinking we can just slide that out into the hall at night after we clean up and get ready for bed. This will also help force me to do more toy rotation on a regular basis since the basket is currently overflowing onto the floor.
We need to finish #2's room (cleaning it out and throwing up a coat of paint), so I think we'll focus on getting that done in the next month. Then we can make the big switch on the furniture and work to get DD in the bed. I'll report back and let you know how it goes when we get started!