STM+ Tips on transitioning to toddler bed

iwubrory · October 2013

Happy Friday ladies! We're making the big move to a toddler bed starting this weekend. Does anyone have any advice? What not to do so we don't create any bad habits, etc. What routine has worked for you? He usually goes right down in his crib. Should I expect him to climb out of his bed the second I put him in it? I'm most worried about what to do if/when he wakes up at night. Sometimes he'll wake, stand up and cry for 5ish seconds and then go back down. I'm thinking that now, he may get up and try to find us.

Also, should I put a night light in his room or maybe just outside in the hall? He currently sleeps with his bedroom door closed. Thanks so much for any advice you can give! I'm really dreading this!

Edit: Just wanted to add that DS is 21 months.

jdubh · October 2013

We'll be making the big transition soon too...I'm interested to see all of these tips. We're planning on using a baby gate at the door. I never liked sleeping with my door closed and I don't really want to do that with DD either.

MamaVantobe · October 2013

We're transitioning in December. I plan on closing the door so if he does get out he can really only play with his books. We'll be bolting the dressers to the wall so we don't have any safety issues.

I plan on keeping the same routine. If he gets out right away we will just keep returning him to bed until he learns he can not do that.

Edited for crazy typos

mamatobe2012 · October 2013

Following! I'm going to transition my son soon. He knows how to open and close the doors so I would love to know what to put on the doors to keep them closed (they have the horizontal door knobs not the round).

Firefly9 · October 2013

I think every kid is going to be different. We just converted the crib to the toddler bed last week. We moved the baby gate to his door so he wasn't wandering around the house at 3 am. We've had mostly good nights, but a few bad ones. He's excited that he can get in and out by himself. He does get out, but the majority of the time stands at the gate talking and puts himself back to bed. When he DOES cry at the gate, let me tell you---it's a lot louder than when they cry trapped in their crib

He eventually did put himself back to sleep.

The first nap time in his toddler bed, though, he was out immediately and was running around his room playing (happily) for 45 minutes before climbing back in and going to sleep.

We just talked about how cool it was to have a big boy bed and that he could get out, but he should stay in like he does in his crib.

[Deleted User] · October 2013

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MamaVantobe · October 2013

mamatobe2012 said:
Following! I'm going to transition my son soon. He knows how to open and close the doors so I would love to know what to put on the doors to keep them closed (they have the horizontal door knobs not the round).

I would try a baby gate in the door frame. Didn't think about other types of handles!

mom2case · October 2013

My DD can't open doors so we don't have an issue with her wandering. We keep her door closed though and when she can open doors, a baby gate will go in her doorway. Stairs are right outside of her room and that scares me.

Anyway, the transition was easy as could be. We put up a toddler bed and left her crib in there for a little over a week in case she wanted to go back to it. She loved her toddler bed though. We told her not to get out of bed and she usually doesn't. When she wakes up in the morning, she reads 1-2 books that she chose an put at the foot of her bed the night before.

slwprincess · October 2013

We have a baby gate on the bedroom door just in case they go wandering. Really, both of my kids transitioned very easily but I do think the gate helped a lot.

Weber22 · October 2013

We just transferred my DS about a month ago . He's 2 and a half . I was stressed about him not napping and getting up all the time . He has a Thomas the train bed . He has adapted really well . First few nights he woke up at 3 am and came next to the bed saying "mama" . Scared the fucking crap out of me . But DH told him you have to stay in bed . It's been pretty smooth sailing since then . Now potty training is another story . Wish I could hire super nanny to come over to my house !!!!

C12H22O11 · October 2013

When we converted DS crib to a toddler bed, I fully expected him to get out. But he never really did! I think it's cause he was already used to napping on a cot at school. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Now, that said, there were nights where he got up over and over before finally falling asleep. Each time, we marched him right back in there and put him back to bed. There was no way we wanted to reinforce in his head the idea that if he kept getting up, we'd give in or sit next to him till he fell asleep.

ramfan05 · October 2013

We have a gate at the top of our stairs, so I never put a gate at his bedroom door or anything. Actually, when we first transitioned him, it was like he didn't realize that he could get up out of his bed on his own, haha! He would lay in bed and call for us. Now, if he gets up at night it's because he needs something. I've had a few problems with him getting out of bed at naptime, but I always just go get him, put him back in bed, say goodnight and leave the room again. This usually only happens once or twice before he just gives up and stays in bed and falls asleep

Good luck!

jdubh · October 2013

ahhh...it sounds like the transition was like a breeze for ya'll...I hope it goes like that with DD

WookieesCookies · October 2013

We did the switch last weekend. The first night he got up and started playing in the dark. We had to lay with him and rock him until he fell asleep. The next few nights I got away with rocking him until he started to get drowsy and then he would lay down on his own. It's getting easier every night.

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