How Do I Get My Daughter to Sleep in Her New Toddler Bed? Help...

It took us a long time to transition my son to his toddler bed. We sat in the room with him closer to the door each night for at least a month before we could get him to stay without us. It is a big change--just give it time.

My 1st 2 girls are 21 months apart, and we didn't want to buy 2 cribs. So here's what we did. We let #1 stay in her crib as long as we thought it was working for her... ended up being just under 2 years. We got her big girl bed, set it up in her room, and let her choose when she wanted to move on to that. If it's her choice, it may be an easier transition. Some nights she chose one... sometimes the other. I'd occasionally ask her if she was done with the crib so she could have more space to play in her room. Soon she wanted it out. So what about the baby? We kept her in the little bassinet part of the play yard when she was newborn. When this got too small, we took out the bassinet top structure and just used the playpen as her temporary crib. This also allowed us to put the crib away for a couple months between taking it away from #1 and giving it to #2. I think when #2 was around 4 months we set up the crib for her. The time flies, and we saved a lot of money. And #2 is now a lively 5-year old... no evidence of long term psychological damage from crib deprivation. Best of luck with #2. We now have 3 and it just keeps getting better (and more exhausting)! Get your rest!

We had the exact same situation with our son when we were expecting our daughter. My son turned 2 just 3 weeks after my daughter was born. He was also switching to a new room. We only had a regular full bed for him instead of a toddler bed. So we just put him in the new room with only the mattress on the floor, no access to toys or anything. We put a comforter on the floor next to the mattress in case he rolled off the mattress onto the floor. He ended up just liking sleeping on the comforter on the floor. We also put up a baby gate at the door so we could leave the door open but he couldn't get out. Then once he got used to sleeping in the room on the floor, we put the comforter on the mattress and he stayed on the mattress that way. Then once he got used to that, we put the box spring under the mattress and that is where he is now. When we first started this, we started with nap time and did that for a few days til he got used to it. He had to cry himself to sleep but he eventually got used to it. Then we added nights to it and let him cry it out there. We also had a good bedtime routine to help him get used to the new surroundings. But you pretty well just have to wait it out. Definitely better to do it now and have her cry it out now than later when the baby comes. Good luck!

Unfortunately a few things are happening here. A) you've given a very young child the authority to get out of her bed anytime she wants to, and B) you've changed her bed, causing disturbances in her sleep patterns. She will eventually adapt to this and sleep longer, but it will be awhile due to the age of your daughter. I totally understand the desire to not buy another crib, don't get me wrong! My first two were 15 months apart and I did buy another crib. My third is still in her crib, she's almost 3 (as were my other two when they were still in their cribs). It's all they ever knew, their security per se, so I have had no reason to take them out earlier. If you decide to keep the toddler bed for now, my advice is just to work with her each time, tell her it's not time to get up, place her back in her bed with her security toy/blanket. Eventually she'll get it but she's so little it will take more time than with an older child. Don't get in the habit of staying in that room with her unless you want to do it for another 2 years! LOL Good luck.... (ps I just read a post re: a pack n play or bass. for the new baby, this gives you 4-5 months more of your toddler in her crib! Lots of development there. Plus newborns are so tiny, they don't really need or adjust to the big crib until later anyway. May want to consider!)

We used a co-sleeper for our babies for the first 6 months. IF you like this style of parenting it can buy you a lot of time instead of stressing about getting the toddler out of the crib on a tight schedule.

Hey A.,
I haven't gone through this stage yet but I have heard other mom's have tried putting the mattress on the floor and let the child gradually work up to sleeping in the bed. Make it fun for her! Best of luck! I hope someone's advice works for you. (:
Cyndi

From your request, it sounds as though the baby's crib is not in a separate room but in your master bedroom. Move the crib into the seperate room. As suggested, let your daughter choose which bed to sleep in. She may balk at being moved away from Mommy and Daddy but this, though not easy, is going to be a 'necessary evil'. It really will hurt you more than it hurts her, though her crying may make that hard to believe. Two years old is not too young to be moving a toddler into her own room and into a "real" bed.

Maybe taking her on a room redecorating expedition for new curtains, lamps, etc. might make her feel a greater ownership of the room. After she gets accustomed to her crib being in her own room, you may find she is more comfortable sleeping in her big girl bed. You might even want to consider certain inducements like, when she sleeps in her bgb she gets milk and cookies before bedtime the next night; or the two of you get to color together in her bed before bedtime. Gradually, she will forget the dependence on Mommy and Daddy - you of course hope this will happen within the next 2 months or so.

If I might also suggest, moving the new sibling into a separate room at six months or so might be an easier transition. He or she will not feel the separation anxiety that comes with being moved from parents that comes if you wait a year or two longer.

Good luck!

does the crib have to stay in her room or can you take it out at least until the baby gets here? I think she misses it and when she sees it thats the problem, so I would get the crib out of the room. The baby can sleep in a bassinet for about the first 3 months in your room giving her 5 months to get use to the bed until baby is moved back.

been there, done that! what we did, when my second was on the way (they are almost 2 yrs apart) was this - we had two mattresses in the crib we had, so we took one out to use for his toddler bed, since it used a crib-sized mattress also. We moved all the sheets and everything with it (someone else suggested that also, and I think that really helped). plus my older son was a very "mature" toddler and was ready to do "big boy" things, but he still had trouble sleeping thru the night at first...

i should also mention that due to nursing, all of my kids slept beside me in the bed alot, and in a bassinet or cradle next to our bed for the first 4 months & then a pack-n-play next to me, mostly for my convenience - not having to stumble to another room in the middle of the night! we put my oldest in the regular crib every night when we HAD to share a 2 BR apt with my sister while my husband did his residency and we were only living there for 6 months. So my oldest basically was always either in our bed or in our room with us till he was over a year old. that was the hard part - getting him to sleep in his own room in his own crib. maybe that is why he was fine with getting out of the crib on his own, plus his stuff was all the same on the new bed. and we let him do it in his own time anyway - baby boy #2 slept in the cradle/pack n play by our bed for several months while the older one adjusted to having his own room and new bed. then we set up the crib (after it being gone for a few months) in his room so the boys could share a room like big boy brothers.

now when my third came along (16 months after #2), we kept her in the cradle more than our bed b/c she was a preemie and also b/c we had learned it is hard to break a toddler from sleeping with mom and dad all the time! while i loved our co-sleeping arrangement when they were babies, it did get in the way of romance and also as they started to flail around more, I couldn't sleep. so my dtr is the only one that actually LIKED the crib and didn't want a big girl bed til she was past 3 yrs old! lucky for us, she was the last, so we didn't have to rush her out of it...

let your dtr be the guide, do what you have to for the new baby, but the last thing you need is for your oldest to have any reason to resent the new baby! my second born had trouble adjusting to NOT being the baby anymore and always wanted me to put my dtr down so he could hold mommy! never went thru sibling jealousy with my oldest, so every child is different. once the baby comes, she may all of a sudden feel like the big kid and want to give the baby stuff to the baby and be your helper. or she may cling to her role as your baby and you need to try to allow it as much as is age-appropriate and help her slowly transition and understand that she will always be your special first-born baby girl and make time to spend with just her. it is harder with each kid you add, but it definitely helps them to know you haven't forgotten about them. let them be babies as long as they can, b/c you will blink and they will be 12, 10 and 8 like mine are!!! :(

best wishes!
A.

I agree with a lot of the other moms. As simple as it looks to us to go from crib to bed, it's a much bigger step for her. She's still young. How do you feel about cosleeping with the new baby? That will allow your little girl more time in her crib. Or let the new baby sleep in a pack and play or some other kind of cradle near you while you continue the transition to the toddler bed. At 7 months, you are probably feeling an urgency for her to hurry up and transition, and she may also be sensing that. So maybe take a step back, and try again later.
Please don't think of her behavior as manipulation. She's not trying to make life harder on you. It's a normal reaction for her age.

You may want to try and put the mattress and sheets that were on her crib and move them to her toddler bed. Also try not to move anything around in her room, that way when she wakes up her room looks the same as what she is used to. Another thing I would do is before she wakes up(when you are ready to go to bed)go into her room and wake her a little bit, offer her water or ask if she has to use the bathroom. Ths way you interrupt her sleep cycle an sh has to start over giving you that much more time to sleep. GL

Well, she may just not be ready. My daughter was a little over two when we moved her to a toddler bed, but she was ready for it, and we never spent a night with tears because I waited for her cues. Since you have circumstances that are different, you might find it easier on your family all around to purchase a pack and play or bassinet for the new baby to sleep in the first few months to give your daughter more time to adjust. Start out slow by having her take naps in there, and then work up to bed time.

Forcing the issue when there is already so much about to change around her could make this transition a nightmare for all of you. So I really think giving her more time, even if it does cost a bit extra, would be the best option in the long run for a smoother transition.

A portacrib with a bassinet feature for the new baby would help a lot, and put the child back in her crib. Sounds like she's not ready. Put the toddler bed in her room, too, so she can see it. When she is tired of the crib being in there, that would be the time. Our four year old changed to a toddler bed this last year. Before that, she loved her crib! Each kid is different. The older two couldn't wait to change.