Moving from Crib to Toddler Bed-what's the Plan?

Skip the toddler bed. We went right to a full size so we wouldn't have to buy another bed. She loves it - but...my husband thought it would be helpful for her in the beginning to lay down with her until she became comfortable with it - needless to say at almost 4 - I, not my husband, is still laying with her to get her to go to sleep. this is a kid who went to bed wide awake from the time she was 4 weeks old until we put her in her bed.

I never had concerns about her falling out - we bought the side rails so she can't.

Good luck

Hi N. -

This past Christmas my son,(he was 2 this past March)rec'd a little pop up tent, he wasn't sleeping well in his crib so we decided to pop the tent in his room and move his crib matress into the tent! He loved it (he called it "his house")and slept through the night from that point on. That lasted for about 3 mo. I decided not to go w/ the toddler bed so we decided to use what we had and he now sleeps on a queen size bed w/o the frame or box spring. Just an idea! Good luck!

L.

Hi N., I am C., mommy of 2 little girls ( 6 and 4).. from the South Hills area. My advice is to scrap the toddler bed altogether.. they grow out of them tooo quickly. I don't think they are worth the money. My husband and I did something a little unconventional. We put a boxspring and matress on the floor and made it like a regular bed. Both of our
daughters slept on the bed this way for a few months, until they were ready for a big kid bed.. then we raised them up on small bed frames with a safety bar on the open side (my kids still sleep with their beds against a wall) I don't know if this is something you would be willing to try.. but it is alot nicer than wasting money and it makes going to bed a little more fun for them.. LOL.. and I found it was easier to get them to stay in bed.. Go figure

Good Luck,
C... mommy of Hayley ( the big first grader) and Emma ( the big girl)

Elmo's 'Big enough for a bed' book was so helpful! My daughter was ready a bit after her 2nd bday, when I knew she would be able to climb in and out safely, and was emotionally ready for the freedom of it. Make sure to child proof the room completely and keep toys in the room to a minimum! Good luck!

We got our daughter into a "big girl" bed when she was about 20 months old because she was climbing out of her crib. What we did was put a twin mattress on the floor with all of her big girl bedding and blankets. She slept on that for about two weeks and we then put the mattress on a twin bed. For the first week we gave her a guard rail so that she wouldn't fall out. After that we took it off. She fell out of bed twice but after that hasn't fallen out since. She just turned three and is doing great!

Hi N.,

We put our older daughter in a mattress on the floor when she was 2 years old, which was about the time we needed the crib for the new baby. This way we didn't have to worry about her falling (the room is carpeted, so if she did fall it wouldn't be bad). She wasn't happy at first, but got used to it. We actually never got a toddler bed, which we thought would be a waste of money, and went straight for the twin mattress (now she has an actual bed). Good luck !

We talked about the change with our son off and on before we made the switch. The transition was fairly smooth except for nap time. Toys and books were suddenly in reach and proved just too tempting.

Good luck.

Hi N.,
What's the rush? I have a soon to be three year old still in her crib. We will be making the transition from a crib to a twin bed (with a trundle for future sleepovers)by her third birthday coming up in October. I like her in her crib because she does not climb out. We are nervous about her getting out of her twin at night after we tuck her in. After we tuck her in at night in her crib she lays there till she falls asleep because it's not easy getting out.

Hello,With my second child I had found out I was pregnant again and my second child was only 8 months. Needless To say I was not ready. I felt as if I was cheating them both. I had put him in his big boy bed when he was 15 months old. What else could I do. It was very easy. I honestly think that the little they are the easier to go into a big boy bed. Well for you it would be girl bed. You should let her help take the bed apart she will enjoy that . Also you must let her help put her new bed together.You could let her pick out her sheet .Let her help you get a night light for her room or go buy her one that she can pick out. Then maybe the first couple nights read her a book beside her bed to show her that it is not scarey in there.Also reward her the next day by letting her help you bake cookies. Let her help alot . She will then think she is a big girl and she may adjust better.
Good Luck,
B.

Hi N., This may sound strange, but we skipped the toddler bed altogether. We waited until our son's 3rd birthday and got him a "big boy bed" (full size). We put the boxspring and mattress on the floor and he was thrilled! We really played it up for him that for his 3rd birthday he was getting his "big boy bed" and he ate it right up! Just last month we put the bed on frame and he just thinks he's so cool! His sister is turning 3 in January and can't wait for her "big girl bed". We never had a problem with him falling out of bed or leaving his bed. It's worked out really well for us. T.

We moved our daughter three months after her second birthday. We made it a big day I took her out and let her pick out which bedding she wanted and got a new trash can and cutrins. We told her it was her Big girl bedroom!! She got up the first night but after that she ws fine. When she got to big for that we moved her into a twin on the floor and hvae worked up to it on the bedframe. Things take time but they always work out in the end>

My brother bought my daughter a toddler bed for her second birthday. I didn't think she was ready for the switch but as soon as she saw it in the box she begged me to put it in her room so she could sleep on it. I'm sure it had a lot to do with the fact that it is a Disney Princess bed, which she just loves. I brought her to the store and let her pick out the matching spread and sheets. It helped alot with her middle of the night accidents because she doesnt want to ruin her pretty bed.

1st i would like to say, my daughters name is N., 2nd i, too, work in a resturant, and third ... here is what i did... i have a 4yr old. i had her crib next to my bed until she was about 2ish also... i set up her pac- n- play in her room (which was next to mine) and when i did that, she was excited to sleep in there, so we let her sleep in the pac- n play until she out grew it. (or was able to climb out of it i should say.) we have a baby gate in her door way (still)... we tell her, it is to prevent the dog from coming in and bothering her while she is sleeping, but really it is to keep her in there and not wondering at night.. it also serves as a good "time out" statement.. she knows when the gate goes up she is in trouble. beleive it or not she doesnt try and climb over it, she could if she wanted to but she knows her limits. she occassionaly wakes in the middle of the night crying and we let her come in with us ( i want her to feel safe and secure, plus honestly i like cuddling with her too) but for the most part she knows she is a "big girl" and she is to sleep in her own room. (by the way, she sleeps in a big girl bed now)
good luck
T. p

It can be a tricky thing. We were really nervous to move our oldest out before his 2nd birthday too.

We toyed with the idea of putting the matress on the floor first and ease him into it. But, decided since his crib transformed into a full bed we went straight to the full size bed and off of the floor. We put a matress on the floor to give hima soft landing if he needed it. Since we moved him in December he has never once fell out of his bed. We put a gate at his door. Everynight we read and cuddle with him for a little. He only got up out of his bed for a few nights...then he settles right in...even naptime went smoothly after a few days.

Our friends did the day bed/toddler bed first. Our friends son is doing great in it and is still there. Our other set of friends girls kept falling out of it and went very quickly to a matress on the floor and then a regular bed.

Good luck and hope this helps....
H.

N. do you think your daughter is ready to go to a toddler bed is the ???? Is she trying to climb outta her crib does she dislike being in there now ...I moved both my girls into there toddler beds when my oldest was climbing out a 2 and 1/2 and my youngest i moved out closer to she was 3 she loved her crib then i moved her into the toddler bed then a twin bed ...they do have rails for the toddler beds i think someone else said that you can get if your worried about her falling out and i would gate her bedroom door so she couldnt go exploring cause they love the fact that they can get up and outta there bed when they want then ....If you feel shes ready then move her but if not wont hurt to keep her in her crib a bit longer my two did really good they wouldnt get outta there beds they still waited for me to come in and get them but i heard stories where kids get up and roam the house at all hrs ....let us know how ya make out i wish you luck :)

Why are you moving her to a bed? My oldest son who is 4 moved to a bed at 2 only because jumped out of his crib numerous times. He really wasnt ready but he kept landing on our wood floor and wandering around the house! But my little guy who is 27 months is happy and content in his crib. I hope to keep him in there through the winter until he turns three. When my oldest started sleeping in his toddler bed, I put a gate in the door because he would wake up and wander around! Good luck!

I have succesfully moved two of my three children from cribs to toddler beds and then one to a twin size. There are two aspects and I am not sure which you are looking for advice with so I will give both.
First of all to get her excited try bringing her to help pick out a comforter set or at least a new pillowcase with a favorite character or theme.
Secondly about them falling out of bed. If it is a low to the ground one like my son's we put the coushins from the couch next to the bed for about a week. Then they get used to there not being a side. If it's a little higher off the ground you can get those side rails with the mesh that tuck under the mattress. I used that with my daughter and it saved her from falling quite a few times. But I have taken that down now too. I hope that helps.

Hi N.,
We didn't take my son out of his crib until he was 3 1/2 years old. He couldn't and didn't climb out of it until then. He also really like his crib. I filth he was safer in the crib. Once we switched his crib to the day bed, I still had to turn the bed around to fast the wall because he liked the crib so much more. Before we would go to bed we would turn the bad around so he would be able to get out. He did come in our room several times a week. After about 3 weeks of putting him back every time he came in our room he was sleeping in his bed all by him self the whole night. Now that he out grew his toddler bed at 4 years old (Too long) we got him a full size bed. He loves it! We got him Cars bedding and changed everything that was Poo Bear to cars and he feels like a big boy. We still have a gate at the top of our steps going down to the first floor. This is just in case he gets up and tries to go down stairs. He would get himself into a lot of trouble down there with on one watching him.

I hope this helps and good luck.

N.,
I had the same plan for my daughter to move into her "big girl" bed. It took me a while to get over the fears of her falling out of bed, or getting up and wandering the house, or getting hurt in general. Honestly, none of that happened when I moved her.

She loved the fact that she was getting a "big girl" bed. I got a set of those side rails to put under the mattress so she couldn't fall out. You can get them at Kids R Us/ Toys R Us or even Walmart.

It is a step in both of your lives, and it is scary to watch your little one grow, but it will be fine.

I did the exact same thing that you did; I gave my son's crib away when he was 22 months, and I actually laid with him in his bed for a few weeks to show him that is where he sleeps, and he adjusted quickly. Plus, his toddler bed is a car bed, so it has the protection whereas if he rolls over, he won't fall out, etc.