STM+ ? ~ Transition to toddler bed

Magnolia+Mama · November 2015

OK veteran moms...since we want to use DD's crib for our Christmas baby, our pedi has encouraged us to transition her to her "big bed" before baby comes. He says that the change will bring regression no matter what, and that it's better to start now before baby is here so DD doesn't feel like she is being kicked out of her room. We have set up her new room and been reading bedtime stories in her big bed every night for the past month or so. This weekend (yesterday and today) I've tried getting her to nap in big bed but she just wants to play. What worked for your family to transition successfully? I'm not sure what to try next?

mhwood · November 2015

Doctors are so funny...our family doctor and pediatrician recommended NOT moving out almost 2 year old into a big bed because of regression.

I'd also love to hear some advice as DD2 will be moving into her new room when the baby is 6 or 7 months and ready to move into her crib.

Bombmom3 · November 2015

Honestly I never talked to the doctor at all about it. We just moved her after baby got here and we were settled into a routine (since I keep the baby in my room until they sleep through the night anyways - I'm lazy and I'm not running across the house to nurse three/four/twenty times a night).

My mother was still here helping with the new baby when we did it and she flipped out that we needed to do it slow and blah blah blah because it was a traumatic/big change ... We just moved her crib at the new toddler settings into her new room and put her to bed like everything was normal - no drama, no big deal, we're just going to bed here - and she didn't even bat an eye about it. I know if we'd made it a big deal at all she would have had a rough time with it. That's just her personality.

Now, I am anticipating more of a fuss from kid #2 when we move her and do another "shuffle" after this baby gets here and he needs his own room but I am planning on a similar approach - do the move, continue with life as normal. If she is upset, lots of love, snuggles and understanding is pretty much how we'll get through it if it causes a rough patch.

MorganW24 · November 2015

We are in the same boat! We moved our little guy last month so he had plenty of time to get used to it. He is 16 months and has been doing surprisingly well. Naps are a little more challenging then nights for us. We do normal bed time routine and then I lay with him until he falls asleep. I've been slowly cutting down the amount of time I lay with him so he gets used to falling asleep in his big bed by himself. We went straight for a twin size bed so that if he does wake up we can go to him and not bring him into our bed. Stay consistent is the best advice I can give!

redfallon · November 2015

We moved DD when she was able to crawl out of her crib. We put the toddler rail on it and she "helped" Daddy do it. The only issues we had were her waking up early and getting out of her room. I locked her door a few nights and that stopped that. Now everything is the same as when she was in the crib. We are going to move her again to a Queen bed with a rail and I'm not sure when we are doing that. Baby brother will be using the crib, so she'll have to move. We still have five or six months before we need that to happen though. Some do better than others.

KRH6829 · November 2015

How old is your DD? Do you have to move her out of the crib? My son just turned two and he is still happily in his crib. We bought a second crib for the baby. We plan on keeping him in the crib until he figures out how to climb out or until he is three...whichever one comes first. Why ruin a good thing.

redfallon · November 2015

KRH6829 said:

How old is your DD? Do you have to move her out of the crib? My son just turned two and he is still happily in his crib. We bought a second crib for the baby. We plan on keeping him in the crib until he figures out how to climb out or until he is three...whichever one comes first. Why ruin a good thing.

She doesn't want to buy a second crib.

Magnolia+Mama · November 2015

DD is 20 months and will be 22 months when this baby arrives. We don't have another crib (although I suppose we could get one). She loves her crib and sleeps very well in it. She does try to climb in/out by herself, but hasn't successfully completed either yet.

KRH6829 · November 2015

Personally, if she is sleeping well in her crib, I would try to leave her in there. Of course, that is if it's in your finances to get a second crib. You can get a crib pretty inexpensively these days. Obviously, this is just my opinion, but I know that I wouldn't want to be dealing with a toddler getting used to a toddler bed and a newborn at the same time.

mhwood · November 2015

We plan on using a pack and play with a bassinet attachment like we did with DD2. She lasted until she was 7.5 months in that. I figured if we do the same thing with this one, we'll be good for another 8 months or so with DD2 in the crib.

Mags128 · November 2015

We transitioned DD out of her crib about 2 months ago right after she turned 2. We didn't want to buy another crib and didn't want her to think we were taking away her bed. She actually never tried to get out of her crib. We got a twin bed and we just tried to make it very exciting tha she was getting a big girl bed. We got her some Mickey sheets. She didn't have any issues transitioning. Actually she doesn't seem to realize that she can get out of the bed on her own. She still waits for us to get her up just like the crib.

kfreeman2008 · November 2015

We have made this transition very recently. We have used the toddler rail since he was 18 months. He is a major climber (doesn't need any footing to pull himself onto our bar height counter). So it was aa safety thing.

We had a twin mattress on the floor in his room for 3ish months. More so I could kay down during the day when I had MS really bad. So he just got used to it. When we finally moved him, it was cold turkey. His nap was in there and then bedtime. He handled it better than we did. We have our door locks turned so we can lock them from the outside. That way he can't get out. Child proof handles don't work at all. He can take them off and even use the door with them on. So we lock it when bedtime routine is over and then in the morning. He is a bad sleeper so he wakes several times a night and will escape without us knowing. Even with a monitor (sound and video). So he is challenging.

My only advice is to do it and be done with it. No one likes change (I handle it well, but still get anxiety). It was more of a stick to your guns thing with us. He moved last .month and we just set up the second crib for our twins last week. We wanted an out if needed, but he needs to get used to the idea of having two babies in the nursery. We refer to it as Zoe and Ryan's room and then his big boy room. That way he associates the names with the babies who will be in there. Sticking to our plan was hard, but I chose a weekend so my husband could be here to help at nap.

stlmomof2 · November 2015

I never talked to a doctor about this but my crib turned into a full size bed when he was 2 years old. DS did not like his toddler bed and mattress so we bought a new full size box spring and mattress for him with dinosaur sheets. We bought rails to go on the sides as well in case he rolls over. At first he kept wanting to get up and play but we had to discipline him to stay in his bed. DH and I would turn our lights off and pretend to go to sleep. We would tuck DS into bed and say good night and just remind him it's "bed time". Every now and then I try story time but he never sits still for books. He always wants to play with the pages.

ACarter0914 · November 2015

It wasn't a big deal for my daughter to move into a toddler bed and she did the transition around 2 years old maybe a little after. I never talked to my doctor about it either.

We just made it as comfortable for her as possible and this meant that she was a "big girl" now. It was really easy actually, there was no fuss and this was the new normal (we kept the exact same nightly routine). My daughter isn't allowed to have toys in her room but she does get to watch a movie, we call it her "wind down" time and it works really well for her. She's usually passed out in the first 20 minutes (we limit TV time during the day so it's a treat). She's in pull ups and learning to get up and go potty when she has to go and it's amazing! Some nights are better then others but we are very proud of her.

janelleashu · November 2015

We moved our two year old to a toddler bed and it's definitely been challenging. He's been going through some sleep issues anyway (waking up at 4:00 regularly and at least one other time in the night). But the bed has made it a bit worse. He likes his bed, but actually prefers the ground. We just kind of wing it and try our best to make the bed as comfy as possible. My husband has been getting th e short end because I can't quite pick him up, rock him or lay on the floor with him like hubs can. We're trying to figure out if adding potty training before new baby would be just insane OR the best idea ever.

lwebley · November 2015

We debated over transitioning to a toddler bed vs staying in the crib when the baby comes. DS will be almost 2 when DD gets here. We have decided to keep him in his crib until he's ready to transition (aka crawling out on his own). We bought our second crib on Craigslist and made sure we found one with a toddler rail included. This is so not like me. I'm usually a bit of a snob, but I couldn't justify spending more than $70 on a 2nd crib since I have no idea how long he'll use it. I felt like this was a could compromise for everyone in my family

AlejandraN2 · November 2015

We moved DD to a toddler bed with a rail a couple of days after her 2nd bday (she'll be almost 25 months by the time this baby arrives). She was sleeping ok in the crib and never tried to climb out but we knew we'd need the crib for the baby so we got a toddler bed just to try it and she loved it. She honestly sleeps better there than she did in the crib and she plays in it too by bringing her stuffed animals and reading them stories. She does get out maybe once a night and comes to me and wants me to go back with her to tuck her in but I don't mind. She's out immediately and she sleeps till the am. I think she enjoys the freedom. When she was in the crib if she woke up she'd cry for a while but now she just calmly wants me to tuck her in and go back to bed. I think it differs with every kid. We made a big deal about it being her big girl bed but she could've easily hated it.

313Meg · November 2015

We did it a few months ago so he has time (a lot) to adjust. And bc it was easier. We want to use his crib. We put a mattress on his floor. He's fallen out a couple times but doesn't hurt, just alarming for him.
He hasn't had to nap in it (I nap w him in my bed), and he usually comes in our bed at some point at night. But DH will go in there when baby comes.

So I guess I should say it's not fully transitioned but it's the best we can do and what works for us, for now.

katy4128 · November 2015

We moved DS a few months ago at 16 months. No way I was buying a second crib! He is in a toddler bed now but decided that sleeping on a mattress on the floor in his room is a better idea. Frankly, dh and I just wanted our bed back so we just let him sleep on the mattress on the floor in his room.

When we transitioned him we just did our normal bedtime routine. We lay with him until he is almost asleep which helps. I am not a fan of shutting his door all the way so we have a baby gate up in the hall way. He only as access to his room and my bedroom at night. He will come into our room when he wakes up.

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STM+ ? ~ Transition to toddler bed

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