Big Boy Bed

mplesset23 · December 2013

Hey Ladies:

I rarely come to this board and I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times, but I need help. My DH decided that it was a good time to move our 2 year old (he'll be 2 1/2 in Feb) to his big boy bed. This wouldn't be a huge deal, but I am having a baby in the next 3 weeks. We have good days and bad days since we started trying this over the past month or so.

The first few nights we had to stay in his bed until he fell asleep and I nixed that right away. Any advice on getting my LO to go to sleep in his own bed without us having to stay in there. I really don't like the idea of locking him in his room like some of my friends have suggested and baby gates don't work as he climbs/flips over them.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. TIA!

jc&cat · December 2013

Your timing is tight with the new baby coming so I hope he settles into a routine soon! We moved DS into a bed about 2.5 years and it was a few months before DD was born. For the first 3 nights DH stayed in the room til he fell asleep but moved each night. So was in the chair by his bed night one, night 2 close to the door and night 3 at the door. For the next few nights, we took turns and stayed on the step outside of his room and he would call to make sure we were still there for about 20 min or so. If you are past that point, obviously skip it. To keep him IN bed, we told him he had to wait until the sun came up to come get us. Some people set a timer on a lamp for when he is allowed to get up. there is also a time to wake clock that does the same sort of thing. If he is into rewards, staying in bed X amound of nights will get him a trip to get ice cream or whatever. We didn't want to do the gate thing, lock him in either and successfully transitioned without that. Overall stay consistent and don't give in!

myschlove · December 2013

Im so glad you asked this and Im curious what people have to say! My son is 25 months and Im currently pregnant with my second as well! My son will be 2 1/2 when this baby is born. Our bedtime routine consists of snack, bath, books, bed. when he's in his crib he bounces for 15 - 45 min and then lays down and goes to sleep. He has never climbed out of his bed so my plan was to keep him there as long as i can, but i know the closer he gets to 3 the closer he will get to needing this transition. and since he is a bouncer, I'm not sure how this is going to go!

Best of luck to you in your new little one!

ncbelle · December 2013

I've just sat with my kids as they fell asleep - it doesn't take long and it's a nice way to reconnect at the end of the day. I think you may also find that once baby is here, that time could be a valuable one-on-one moment for the two of you. And eventually he will grow out of the need.

Teresa1896 · December 2013

Personally, I wouldn't want to get into any routine that you couldn't undo, ya know? When we moved our DD to her mattress at 18 months, she was scared at first but wanted to sleep in it. My plan was to have the crib and bed in her room for a few days, then move her into the bed, and then remove the crib. But she wanted the bed from the get go. I told her the only rule about the big kid bed is that she had to stay in it, so she did. She stays in it at bedtime and only rarely gets out of it during the night. I wouldn't feel comfortable locking my kid in their room, but again I've never had to worry about my kiddo roaming at night.

mplesset23 · December 2013

Thanks ladies!

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