Moms with toddlers, talk to me!

zekesmommy611 · December 2015

So me and DH have been talking about redoing the nursery and getting DSs new room set up. This brought up how and when to move DS into a toddler bed. He is 18 months now. We've had some sleeping issues with him : not wanting to be in his crib anymore, crying as he falls asleep and him wanting to sleep with us. Once he's asleep in his crib he's out for at least 11+hours ((GREAT SLEEPER!)).
This LO will most likely sleep in the rock n play for 3ish months so it's not an immediate need to move DS. However, I don't want to have to transition DS into his toddler bed when this LO is born as I don't want two babies who aren't sleeping.
We have talked about getting two cribs but that seems very silly to me especially since DS will be almost 2 when this LO is born.
So tell me what your plans are with moving your toddler or how you have already moved him/her.

kbru88 · December 2015

I moved my girls to a big bed between 2 1/2 and 3. My biggest tip would be to give a big transition like that, two months. A baby is going to be a big enough transition, so I would either transition two months or more before baby is here; or wait a couple months after baby arrives.

Jenly17 · December 2015

My DD is just over 2 and has learned to escape her crib. We are moving into a new home in March (fingers crossed) and at that time, I plan to move her into a toddler beod or a twin bed. I want her to transition before the next one comes along.

I guess my advice would be to ride it out til the point that you have a few months to adjust. I think it will be too much to try to get him to sleep in a toddler bed AFTER the new baby arrives. Maybe it's just a terrifying thought to me, haha... but transitioning later seems like too much potential lack of sleep and unnecessary stress.

2.red.heads · December 2015

My older two kids aren't that close in age but with my oldest we went ahead and set up a toddler bed while the crib was still up! Some nights he'd sleep in one, the next the other. Kind of goofy but it worked for us!
My neighbor's baby was born when he DD was 18 months and they moved her to a toddler bed because she had a c-section and she wouldn't be able to lift (she unfortunately had little help from anyone tho).

Unicorn522 · December 2015

My son is almost 2.5 and we haven't moved him yet. He's not made any attempts to climb out but we are also planning on moving before LO gets here and hope to transition him to a twin bed at that time. Hopefully a big boy room all decorated and everything will make him excited about the transition. I too would like to have the switch done before LO gets here so that I'm not dealing with 2 awake kids all night.

helleebellee · December 2015

My 2 year old has had a twin sized bed since 15 months. She's about half and half when it comes to actually using it. I give in and let her sleep with me. If I were to really enforce it, though, she'd sleep in there all the time. I'm a push over, especially when it's cold.

kbrands7 · December 2015

DS hated his crib and liked to sleep with me best; sleeping alone in his crib, he'd wake at least 4 times per night and would climb out. We transitioned him to a twin mattress on the floor (our pediatrician recommended this route) at 18 months and he has made significant progress in only a couple of months. He only wakes once on an average night now and usually goes back to sleep quickly. He will take a solid 3 hr nap in his big boy bed now too. I'd definitely recommend trying it if your LO isn't attached to his crib. I agree with PP who recommended around 2 months to make the full transition. DS snapped to pretty quickly, but he really hated being behind bars. You'll want time to teach him to stay in bed, for him to build sleep-space awareness so he's not rolling out, and to disassociate his sleep from the crib if the baby will be using it.

JennyS86 · December 2015

Oh man, I needed this post too. I have 21month old twins still in cribs. I would love to keep them in cribs as long as possible because they sleep and nap well. They turn 2 in March, and I do worry about lifting them into their cribs after my next c-section. However, I will have DH and probably my mom around for the first 2 weeks.

finnybooboo · December 2015

We transitioned my DD into the bigger room and at the same time converted her crib into the toddler bed around 22ish months. For us, it helped that the bed/mattress was actually the same, just didn't have the front panel anymore. I'm so glad we decided to do both at once instead of going through 2 transitions. I would definitely give a few months to transition before baby comes so he can get passed the rough part!

cgg0707 · December 2015

I'm planning on transitioning my son at the beginning of February. He loves his crib so I want to give him plenty of time to detach from it before the baby gets here. I am also redoing the whole room in the hopes that this will help the transition. I will report back in a couple of months.

JessicaB0627 · December 2015

We moved DD right at 2.5, which was a couple months ago. I was worried that when the baby came she would be resentful if the baby slept in "her bed". We put her in a toddler bed for a couple months but just moved her this week to a full size bed. It was in our guest room which is being turned into the nursery. She did really well with the move after the first couple nights. She loved her crib and was upset at first, but she loves her big bed now!

Bluejay3030 · December 2015

I'm so stressed about this transition. DD just turned 2, and I'm trying to decide when to tackle the big girl bed. I think we're going to skip the toddler bed and just put a normal bed with a rail in the same place her crib used to be.

Bltbear82 · December 2015

I was just asking my SIL about this. DS will turn 2 in March, she said to transition him now but he's an explorer, which means he will definitely wander around once he's no longer contained by a crib. Feeling stressed about this, I don't want to mess up his amazing sleep routine but better now than with a newborn. Has anyone used a gate on the bedroom door as a deterrent for curious toddlers?

kbrands7 · December 2015

@bitbear82 we just shut DS's door for sleep times. Usually he sits right up and yells for me when he wakes up. Only once so far has he managed to open his door and come down the hall to us instead of calling for me (and even then, hearing his door open woke me up). We had a childproof door knob cover, but he figured out how to pop it off a few days ago.

doozer1345 · December 2015

As soon as DD was able to swing her leg up on the crib we put her in a toddler bed. She was about a year or so old. We did the 5, 10, 15 etc min rule but it only lasted a night before she got used to her bed and has slept well in there ever since. We have a baby gate blocking her bedroom door so even if she were to get up she is in her room. There were times when she got out of bed and played (I'm pretty sure) but we had child proofed her room so we knew she was safe. She always ended up putting herself back to bed. GL sleep transitions cane sometimes be rough.

JessicaB0627 · December 2015

@Bltbear82 I was worried about DD wandering too but she hasn't much. There have been a couple nights that she was fighting sleep and would get out of bed to play but I always heard her and made her go back to bed. When she wakes up she yells for me and asks if she can get up.

gemini2005 · December 2015

We ended up buying another crib for DD. DS had just turned two when she was born and his crib transitioned into a toddler bed so I felt like I didn't want to disrupt him unnecessarily.
It was a rough transition for our family when we put up the toddler rail (when he was 2 1/2). He was up roaming the house in the middle of the night until we gated his room. He also woke up extremely early to play. It took a while but eventually he adjusted to freedom. DD is almost ready to have her crib transitioned into a bed and DS is getting bunk beds in his room so I can use his crib for baby #3. I'm not looking forward to this transition!

countrygrl5533 · December 2015

DD was 2.5 when we switched her. Would have been sooner but that was just when my parents had time to bring down the extra twin bed and mattress set they had. We actually never had any issues. She's always been fairly obedient. She was told she was to stay in bed until someone came to get her or called out to her that it was okay to get up. If we were staying in this house, I'd have her moved to her new room already so she would be getting used to it. But since we are hoping to be moved by May, not bothering since that also involved building a wall in that bedroom to make it a bedroom and storage room, not the combo it is now.

I would just start the transition now so that hopefully by May, all the kinks are worked out and he is sleeping well in his bed and new room.

zekesmommy611 · December 2015

Thanks for all your input!

Those that went straight to a twin bed, what type of railings did you get? And why did you choose a twin over a toddler?
We already have a twin bed in our guest room but I feel like it's super high.
I have been binge watching supernanny hoping to learn new techniques. She makes it look sooo easy.

countrygrl5533 · December 2015

zekesmommy611 said:
Thanks for all your input!
Those that went straight to a twin bed, what type of railings did you get? And why did you choose a twin over a toddler?
We already have a twin bed in our guest room but I feel like it's super high.
I have been binge watching supernanny hoping to learn new techniques. She makes it look sooo easy.

I didn't. I just rolled up a beach towel and put it under the fitted sheet. As for why straight to that, I don't see the point in a toddler bed. One more thing to purchase. One more thing to store. A stool by the bed made it so DD could get in and out.

doozer1345 · December 2015

zekesmommy611 said:

Thanks for all your input! Those that went straight to a twin bed, what type of railings did you get? And why did you choose a twin over a toddler? We already have a twin bed in our guest room but I feel like it's super high. I have been binge watching supernanny hoping to learn new techniques. She makes it look sooo easy.

The noodle (pool noodle) under the fitted sheet works wonders!

lest12 · December 2015

DS is 18 months old. We are moving him into the 3rd bedroom, which is being done over as his big boy room. He's going to get a twin bed. We aren't using a box spring so that it will be that much closer to the ground for him.

Now that the holidays are over I'm hoping to finish up his room and move him in the beginning of February, and give him a few months to transition. Also, I could use the space in the nursery to get ready for the baby. My house feels so disorganized right now and it's driving me nuts.

We're going to get these rails from Target to go on the twin bed - https://www.target.com/p/munchkin-bed-rails/-/A-21419205?ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=21419205&ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Baby_Priority+Shopping&adgroup=Baby_Priority+TCINs&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9001990&gclid=Cj0KEQiA-4i0BRCaudDcrrnDi6kBEiQAZSh5f3bujHS4VlNq2kD4DsrJMWREb0hzt0xwjQuP-CquMf0aAkSM8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

countrygrl5533 · December 2015

doozer1345 said:

zekesmommy611 said:

Thanks for all your input! Those that went straight to a twin bed, what type of railings did you get? And why did you choose a twin over a toddler? We already have a twin bed in our guest room but I feel like it's super high. I have been binge watching supernanny hoping to learn new techniques. She makes it look sooo easy.

The noodle (pool noodle) under the fitted sheet works wonders!

Just be sure to get a regular or a jumbo one. I didn't realize the ones from Dollar Tree weren't as big around and really don't work for that purpose.

Klittle779 · December 2015

Hi,haven't posted much this time around but my son is 17 months and we are in process of transitioning him to his "big boy room" ...he will go into his crib just in his new room. and after DD makes her arrival we will eventually transition to a toddler bed (his crib converts) we ended up splurging and buying a convertible crib for this LO too because it will be easier in long run. I've been going through same mind game on when and how to transition especially where he is going into a new room we decided baby steps... get him into his new room (in his crib) let him settle for awhile and go from there. Luckily he hasn't tried escaping yet (fingers crossed!)

Good luck. Hope this helps

stiches221 · December 2015

The crib we have you just remove one side to make it into a daybed/toddler bed so I did that when DD was 18mth. She sleeps on it just fine but we also keep a good sleep schedule so she knows when she is put down for night night or nap she is to sleep not get up. This setup also allows her to get up and play after her sleep is done rather than wait on me to come get her out of a crib if I am busy at the moment. She will turn 2 a couple weeks before baby is due and will get a twin size bed for her birthday and the crib will be moved to the baby's room even though she will sleep in a bassinet in our room for the first 3 months.

mlangblom · December 2015

We are on our second round of crib to bed transitions at our house, and some lessons have been learned along the way. We have big kids (DS2 is 16 months old and currently transitioning into 4T clothes) so they move early because they get so cramped in the cribs. Their age can be challenging, but it has also been helpful. Especially with our boys they were excited to be "Big Boys" and weren't as defiant at the younger age.

With DS1 we moved him just after he turned 16 months. We spent a lot of time beforehand talking about how the transition and then just moved him one day. He got a special turtle light (Cloud B.) for being a big boy and he did fairly well. For a month afterward we kept the nursery door shut and re-enforced that it was for the new baby. By the time DS2 was ready to move in there he was so excited for him that there was very little jealousy. We also moved furniture around so the room looked different.

With DS2 we have started earlier (15 months) because of his size. Of course he started a long sleep regression just days after we converted the bed, so the process has been drawn out. He is in the converted toddler bed in the nursery and slowly figuring out that you have to lay down and go to sleep and not get up and play with the monitor. Our hope is that in the next month he will be able to move into the shared room with his brother and their new twin beds.

One thing that was important for us was their ability to understand how to put themselves to sleep. If you are still rocking them to sleep, I would start working toward getting them away from that an into a solo sleep routine and then work toward a bed transition. Their ability to put themselves to sleep seemed to be paramount to our success. DS2 doesn't have as firm a grasp on it, and the transition has been harder.

I would suggest starting the process as soon as your little one seems ready. Take advantage of his willingness and hopefully everything will be done by the time the new baby is here. Speaking from experience, there is nothing worse than a bedtime with two crying kids because they both want your attention. The more independent #1 can be when baby comes, the better!

We used the Regalo double-sided swing away bed rails. They are awesome for thicker mattresses or restless sleepers.

doozer1345 · December 2015

countrygrl5533 said:

doozer1345 said:

zekesmommy611 said:

Thanks for all your input! Those that went straight to a twin bed, what type of railings did you get? And why did you choose a twin over a toddler? We already have a twin bed in our guest room but I feel like it's super high. I have been binge watching supernanny hoping to learn new techniques. She makes it look sooo easy.

The noodle (pool noodle) under the fitted sheet works wonders!

Just be sure to get a regular or a jumbo one. I didn't realize the ones from Dollar Tree weren't as big around and really don't work for that purpose.

My Dollar General ones worked well... Dollar tree is awesome but they skimp a bit more than Dollar General.

countrygrl5533 · December 2015

doozer1345 said:

My Dollar General ones worked well... Dollar tree is awesome but they skimp a bit more than Dollar General.

Good to know! Dollar General just came to my state a couple months ago. Of course, none in a convenient location for me but I do drive by one once in awhile.

katxattack1212 · December 2015

I moved my DD to a toddler bed at 18 months. I'd start now to avoid too much change at once. I am currently transitioning my 4.5 year old to sleeping in a low bunk bed now. Obviously new baby won't be sleeping in a bunk bed for some time, but less changes at once are better for us!!!

Bltbear82 · December 2015

I'm less worried after reading these experiences, thanks for that! I'm just a little nervous since DS is such a little explorer, but I think closing the door and gating at first might be necessary his for me to sleep without worrying constantly.

I was going to do a low bunk bed since they'll eventually be sharing a room. Just figuring out how to fit a bunk bed and crib at the same time might take a bit of rearranging and creativity.

kbrands7 · December 2015

Bltbear82 said:
I'm less worried after reading these experiences, thanks for that! I'm just a little nervous since DS is such a little explorer, but I think closing the door and gating at first might be necessary his for me to sleep without worrying constantly.

I was going to do a low bunk bed since they'll eventually be sharing a room. Just figuring out how to fit a bunk bed and crib at the same time might take a bit of rearranging and creativity.

In addition to closing the door, we did extra childproofing, made sure that all of the furniture was anchored to the wall, and arranged furniture to minimize climbing because I thought that DS might explore.

JSandP1120 · December 2015

I transitioned DD at around 20 months. We went to a toddler bed. Now my DD is a terrible sleeper so its been an adjustment for us. She does get up every night from her bed and call for me. We ended up just putting a baby gate in her doorway so she will not leave her room. Like with everything I think it will be an adjustment until DS gets used to it. Good luck momma.

sillyfox · December 2015

My DD is 19 months. Her crib is convertible, so I bought another convertible crib. Each one has the capability to transition to a toddler bed with three sides and a small rail then later to a twin bed. I will get plenty of use out of them, and I don't want to transition DD until I have to! She's never tried to climb out and she's a great sleeper so I'm not going to mess with a good thing.

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