Crib to Twin Bed Transition- How to Deal with Night Wakings?

I have no experience in this arena, but a friend of mine had trouble with her toddler son waking at might and coming into their bed. She says the no-cry sleep solution for toddlers worked for them. Good luck!

You may not mind the "quick snuggles" when you put him to bed, but it's just like when he was an infant; he needs to learn to fall asleep on his own. Then he will be able to fall asleep again at night on his own.

I have to snuggle with my 3 year old before he will go to sleep, too, but unless he's super sleepy (and therefore falls asleep very quickly) or is sick or extra cranky, I say, "thanks for snuggling with me" and after a hug and kiss, I leave.

We have done away with this part in the last few months, but it was a lifesaver to have a baby gate on his door at night. Mostly, I was afraid because he would have to walk past the top of our stairs to come to us in the night, and didn't know how to keep him safe when he first ditched his crib. I think he actually liked being limited to his room. My first son used to wake up in the middle of the night and get up and wander around, just because he could, and then he'd start sobbing because he was so tired! So my second son liked transitioning from the small safe area of his crib, to the slightly larger safe area of his bedroom. Now he has no problems waking at night or navigating our house at night (should he need to) and asked if we could leave his fence down, so we do.

And the baby gate works because while he's confined, his door is open and he doesn't feel trapped in his room. I think most kids would prefer it this way, but for DS #2 it's especially essential; he is terrified of feeling trapped and unable to get to me.

So hopefully that's a kinder way to "lock" him in his room that will work for you!

BTW, we have a $20 gray tension gate from Walmart, so we can move it anywhere we need it (it's not permanently installed on his door). It's great for Christmas morning, too!

When my son was ready for the transition, the first week was horible, he loved the big boy bed, as long as he did not sleep in it. But we put a knob on the door so he can't get out of the room, and let him stream, and cry all he wanted. He was asleep with in an hour. When we cheeked on him at night, when we know he is alseep, a lot of the times he have to pick him up and put him in the bed. We have a extra mattress by his bed just in case he falls. That was about a year ago, and I am so glad we did the transfer. We never layed in bed with him, but if he wanted to snuggle before we put him to bed we would do it in the rocking chair, so he knows that his bed is only for him, and he needs to sleep in it. Good luck

I would put him back in his crib. My 2 year-old spent 1 night in his big-boy bed, and woke up at 6 AM (usually wakes at 9 AM) and was running all around his room and running into our room to get us. I put him right back in his crib and he has not had anymore problems. He did not fight going back in his crib---he was excited and wanted to be there.

Do you have to walk him back to his bed? Could you instead put a sleeping bag or something on the floor of your room and let him come in and sleep there? If he needs snuggles, could he come into your bed and fall back asleep? I've heard from many parents who co sleep or bedshare that kids will naturally choose to be in their own bed all night by 3 or 3 1/2, and my son seems to be following that path naturally.

I can't even consider the idea of waking up 2-3 times a night, getting out of my bed, walking across the hall, and putting my son back to bed for the week or so it would take to make this happen - my sleep is too important to me and I would have a difficult time falling back asleep after going through all that. It is fine if you can, but if you can't, I'm hopefully giving you some alternatives that are working for us and have worked for several other families I know. Good luck!

We also moved our son from a crib into a twin bed shortly before his 2nd birthday, and it was a hard transition to get used to him being able to get out of bed and come into our room anytime he wanted! At night I would just pick him up, not talk to him (except to say "it's bedtime now and you need to stay in bed", or something like that), and put him back in his bed, then walk away. We wouldn't snuggle or talk or anything. I did have to do this many, many times before he started to get the hang of it, but it did end up working. I also would put a baby gate in his doorway for nap time, so when he got out of bed he couldn't get out of his room. And I would still use the method of just putting him back in bed without any talking or prolonged interaction when he got out.

We really tried to use positive reinforcement (and still do even now that he's 5) where we'd tell him if he was quiet and in his bed we'd remove the gate, come in to check on him, snuggle with him, whatever he was wanting - but if he was calling for us, getting out of bed, etc. then we would not be coming back to his room. Again, this took time to sink in and become habit for him, but once he figured out that he would get our attention by staying in bed he got really good at sleeping by himself. Even now, he'll call for us to ask if he can get out of bed to use the bathroom!

It took awhile, but I think if you're consistent with putting him back in his bed and not rewarding his night-time trips to your room (by letting him sleep with you or get to snuggle with you) then he should get the hang of sleeping in a big boy bed before too long.

Good luck!

I think that once the snuggling starts its hard to stop but anytime my son got up I would just lay him back in bed. If he starts crying he is going to have to learn how to self soothe. Maybe once he knows that your not going to snuggle with him you may have more restful nights down the road. But getting there will be a challenge.
Good Luck,
A.

K.,
Whatever you do you will need to be consistent. So If you don't want to be snuggling three times a night, you need to have a routine for bed time and then be constant the rest of the time.
What I do is just take their hand,(not carry because then they are getting the reward they wanted) and walk them back to bed and tuck them in with kindness, and leave. (minimal talking if any) It might take awhile with tiring nights, but eventually he will get it.

The other thing I like to do when transitioning is to keep the crib up and in the same room (if you can). I remind them that if they are going to sleep in a big bed they have to be big and stay in bed. I give three reminders (putting back in the big bed), then I put them back in the crib for the night and tell them they can try again tomorrow. Same with nap times.
I also agree that at some point he will need to be able to get himself to sleep with out your snuggling. It can be hard now, but the more independent he is, the easier it will be for you and him in the future. (especially if you plan on having more kids).
So perhaps his bed time routine should include a snuggle but leave before he is asleep. It helps to say something like,

"I will be back to check on you in a bit, after I... do the dishes etc... if you stay in bed."

I wouldn't lock him in if he will respond to other methods. I think there are a lot more options then just that. #1 being just put him back in the crib if he truly can't stay in bed and you have tried a few other things and you are just plain tired of not getting a good sleep yourself:)

I have had very good luck with mine transitioning around 2- 2.5 years, you might want to consider letting him try but not being dead set on it, and waiting a little bit longer. I start trying to get mine in the big bed at least three months before or three months after anything big in the family is happening (especially a new baby).
Good luck and may sleep be with you!
E.