I need some advise on how to tansfer my 2 year old from her crib to her bed. She started climbing out of her bed so 2 days ago we changed her bed. We kept bedtime routine the same read her a book and try to stay with her until she falls asleep, but she won't fall asleep for about 2-3 hours after her normal bedtime. How can I get her to sleep so we could all get some much needed rest?
It's a transition...my son did the same. He'd climb out of the crib so we got a toddler bed...but he would come into the bedroom and wake me up, walk around the house.
It's a stage/phase we go through. It's exhausting; but will become a "safe place"...yes, tell her she is "safe" there...And what about the great safety blanket?
I wouldn't make that big a deal out of it and I definitely wouldn't sit there until she falls asleep if you didn't do that when she was in the crib. Why are you sitting with her? Gate the door and leave. Check every 10-15 min to make sure she isn't getting into trouble. Other than that there isn't much you can do. You cant force someone to sleep and its normal for this age to take a while to burn off the days energy to go to sleep. Read the book, kiss on the head, time for sleep,good nite!!!! Go back every 15 min, "Honey time for sleep, please get in bed and try to sleep"
Have you always stayed in her room until she feel asleep?? We just went through this with my son and he handled it much better than I thought he would. We kept our routine the same and told him that he needed to stay in his bed and then we left the room. If we heard him get up and start playing we just went in and put him back in bed. It really only took a few nights of this and he was fine. He occasionally gets out of bed now but I just tell him to get back in bed that it Night-Nigth time, not play time. I sometimes will let him have a small toy or a book in bed with him so he doesn't feel tempted to get out of bed. Hope this helps!! Good Luck!!
i have a 4yo and 2yo. they both still get out of bed. not every night mind you but often enough. my 2yo son asks for ice in his water and changes his mind about what blanket he wants on bottom. my dd was terrible about getting out of her bed so what i did was shut the door and sit on my exercise ball and every time she would open the door i would tell her it was time for bed watch to make sure she got back in bed and then shut the door again. it's exhausting especially when you have 2, but they will eventually learn. hopefully :). my ds is sometimes worse then other times but i've noticed that if i don't say anything to him when i put him in bed he falls asleep faster.
Just keep being consistent. It has been only 2 days and this is a HUGE change for her. We moved my daughter when she was 25 mos and it took her almost a month before she was falling asleep quickly in her new bed. We stayed with her for the first few nights but then we stopped doing that--we didn't want to create a new routine where we had to stay with her EVERY night from then on! One thing that helped us was to make a big deal about this being a "big girl bed" and that she wasn't a baby anymore. She ate that up.
Keep up your bedtime routine as usual and if she gets out of bed, calmly walk her back to her room and put her back in bed. Trust me, you'll be past this milestone in no time. Good luck!
Hi there,
I am still trying to get my 2 year old used to his after he started climbing out of his. After trying everything, we finally had to babyproof his room and put a cover on the doorknob and just shut the door. It has been very hard for me as a parent emotionally but I know it is the best for him, otherwise we are up every couple of hours when he wanders out and he is exhausted. we lay with him and wind down with our normal routine for about a half hour, tuck him in and then leave. Of course he doesn't stay in the bed and will get out crying and following you but we shut the door and believe it or not he will give up after a few minutes and go lay down. Sometimes he gets back in bed, sometimes he just sleeps on a blanket on the floor with his Eeyore, but regardless he is sleeping. Once in a while he will wake up and fuss like he did in his crib, but as long as we keep his door shut, he goes right back to sleep. Otherwise he just wanders out to our room and then we have to go through it again. We also kept his baby monitor in there so we can always hear if something is really wrong besides his fussing. Hope this helps.
I agree with Christine G to use the Super Nanny method and just keep putting her back in her bed over and over and over and over and over again. I want to add this, though... what I've done when my children (when they were toddlers- my youngest is still in a crib but I do this with him, too)have a hard time settling down is I put them to bed with whatever ritual we are doing at the time, and then I say, "I'll be right back." I leave the room whether they are crying or quiet-- if they get out of bed, I plop them back in, but as long as they stay in bed I say I'll be back and leave. If they are crying and upset, I go back in just a couple of minutes, but if they stay quiet I wait maybe 5-10 minutes before going back. This way, they are alone with their thoughts and can start to settle down and get sleepy, but they don't feel abandoned because they know when I say I'll be back that I really will be. When I go back in, I make sure their covers are on and they have everything they need, but I WILL NOT start doing crazy things they ask of me just to prolong going to sleep (like go get them something over and over again or anything that requires them getting out of their bed to get something)... Then I say I'll be back again and I stay away longer and longer until eventually I go in and they are either sound asleep or nearly asleep. If you stay in the room until they fall asleep, it can take hours because you are there as a distraction, but left by themselves they will settle down and drift off MUCH faster. I think leaving them alone to cry it out and fall asleep crying is just mean and unnecessary since you can just go in and check on them every few minutes and everyone is happy that way.
Hi, S.. Well, if it's taking her longer to fall asleep in the new bed, what I'd do is to try to get her more tired out before bedtime for at least a week. Also, since she can't tell time yet, move her bedtime up an hour. In other words, if you usually put her to sleep at 8, start bedtime at 7. If she takes a very long time to feel comfortable enough to sleep in what is a strange bed, then give her a head start.
You might also spend some time with her in the bed when it's not bedtime, just to get her used to the new piece of furniture. Maybe practice putting her dollies to bed in the new bed, showing her how comfortable and safe her "big girl" dollies are.
Peace,
Syl
You may have to "Super Nanny" her. If you have ever watched the show, her trick to get kids to stay in bed is: the first time they get out of bed, you bring them back to bed and say to them "It's bedtime" The second time they get up you say nothing and bring them back to bed quietly. And you keep doing this as many times as needed, it could be 50 times that you have to take her back the 1st night, but if you are consistent, the next night won't take as long and so on...
The first few nights in the new bed has always been the roughest. Just make sure there are no toys or other stimulating/distracting objects in the room so she is not tempted to stay up.
Good luck
