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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
AMomWithABlog
member
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
AMomWithABlog
member
Hello!
We are expecting baby number 2 in January when my son will be 22 months old. We would like the new baby to have Canden's crib so we don't have to buy another one, and transition Canden to a toddler bed. We would like (hopefully) for Canden to be well adjusted to his new bed before new baby comes. I was wondering if you could give any advice for making a smooth transition for a fairly young tot. Thank you in advance!
We are expecting baby number 2 in January when my son will be 22 months old. We would like the new baby to have Canden's crib so we don't have to buy another one, and transition Canden to a toddler bed. We would like (hopefully) for Canden to be well adjusted to his new bed before new baby comes. I was wondering if you could give any advice for making a smooth transition for a fairly young tot. Thank you in advance!
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Re: Transitioning to Toddler Bed
1. We took down his crib & put up the toddler bed all at once, so the crib was not an option (this was more for US as I didn't want to "give up" & plop him back in the crib).
2. We still sat & read in our chair while he drank his milk, but once he was done we would put him in bed. He got a special blanket & singing GloWorm in bed w/ him. If he got out, we would say "It's time to go to sleep, now. You sleep in your bed." & put him back. After that we just put him back repeatedly & mostly silently.
3. We sat in the open area of his toddler bed so we were right there, but not IN his bed. We interacted as little as possible, though. The first few days this took a good while & there were a few (but not many) tears. After a week or so it was no big deal.
4. We placed a kinder mat & in front of the bed in case he fell out, which he only did 2-3x very early on & hasn't since then.
5. Once he adjusted to this routine, we started moving further away: First, on the chair but not touching his bed; Then, in the chair right next to the bed; Now we sit in the chair a few feet away.
He went from waking 2-4x overnight to STTN & sleeps about an hour more overall as well! The blanket is officially his first "lovie" & he no longer uses the GloWorm or white noise at all. These days (18mo) I lay him down, he shifts a bit to get comfy & goes right to sleep!