We are attempting to transition our little girl who is 25 months into a big girl bed. We are expecting a second girl in Feb. and we need her current room and crib. We spent the weekend paiting and putting together her new room. She loves it and loves to be in there, but when it comes time to go to sleep she wants her old room. Does anyone have any advice or some ideas on what to try to make this as easy as possible for her.
Maybe try nap time in the new room? If that doesn't work right off the bat, I would try to put her to sleep in her old room & move her when she's asleep. Then she's waking up in the new room & sees that she's OK. I'm not to that point yet with my daughter but I think that's the route I'll take if I have trouble. Good luck & let me know what works! :)
Is there a reason for moving her room? Our older daughter would not sleep in her "new" room, so we ended up putting her stuff back in the "old" room and just putting her sister in the other one. That is a lot of change for a 25 month old...remember, they like consistency and the familiar.
Did you let her pick out her sheets and bedding? The first night my daughter was going to sleep in her big girl bed, we let her fall asleep on the couch and put her in her new bed. We have also really "baby proofed" her room so she cant get into anything, and put a doornob lock on the door. Maybe you can find a book about sleeping in a big girl bed! Or make one with her favorite character-check which ever companies website. Good luck!
Hi N., That's a great name! We bought our daughter a "big girl blanket" for the transition to her new bed. We took her to the baby store, while we were shopping for the new baby. We let her pick out a "baby" blanket for the new baby and a "big girl blanket" for herself. When we got home we put the baby blanket in the crib for the new baby and she put the big girl blanket in the big girl bed for the big girl. To this day, we still have our "big girl blankie." She's 8 now, but she still loves it! We also did a slow transition. We started with naps in the big girl bed for a week, then we did nights finally. We talked it up and gave her time to prepare. She also understood that her old crib was for babies, and we were getting a new baby soon now that she was a big girl. She was about 20 months when we did this. Good luck.
I would try getting her to nap there first. If possible lay with her in the bed and rest with her. Read there and help her become more comfortable with it. Then begin asking her where she would like to sleep. In the baby bed or in the big girl bed. Allow her to sleep where she chooses. We did this with our daughter and it worked great. It took several weeks of napping in the big girl bed before she finally chose to sleep there at night. Allow her to have some control in the process and it will happen. You have several months just take it slow and at her pace and it will work out eventually. Good Luck.
Would it have been possible to leave her with her original bedroom and put the baby in the other room? Just asking. To much change, to fast. I would put the new bed in the old room, take down the crib. Let her play in her new room, sleep in the old room but the new bed and then in a month or two move the bed and her into the new room to sleep. I wouldn't put the crib back up until about the 1st of February. This gives her time to adjust and minimizes the changes in her life a little.
Hi N.,
Can you put her bed up in her old room?
My daughter had a really tough time transitioning to a big girl bed. She beat on the door for hours at first.
She is now - 2 months later - beggining to sleep in it.
SHe often slept on the floor by the door and panic when she'd wake up.
I think leaving her in her old room may be easier for her.
We also left her toddler bed in there for a while in case she wanted to crawl into it.
She never did, she just moved it and pulled the sheets off.
We had to go back in through the night for a while to comfort her as she woke up through the night screaming and beating on the door.
It was a hard process for us.
Hope it is easier for you, that's why I'm suggesting leaving her in her old room. ;)
Are you sure you want your 25 month old able to roam around? Sure you can't have new baby in a pack-n-play for a bit until she is more ready for a bed?
Try putting her down with some of her crib bedding. The quilt or blankets... Anything more familiar. Also, play in the room as much as you can so she is comfortable in it.
My suggestion and it would be a lot of work is to try her in her crib in her new room. We did that with our son had him in his crib in his new room. Then when we needed the crib for his sister we took the crib out of his room and put it in her room. It may be scary for her a new room, new bed nothing is familiar for her. Hope that helps. Also you could try waiting a little longer if you are able to. Could you put the new baby in a bassinet, or pack n play? She may just be to young. Hopefully that helps you and you can find a solution to your problem.
New bed and new room are 2 BIG changes for a child who just turned 2. They thrive on routine and predictabilty at that age. Why do you want her out of the crib? It's pretty common to have kids sleep in cribs until closer to age 3. If she's not climbing out, sleeps very well and likes her crib just leave her be. Don't fix what ain't broken! I know you want a crib for the baby, but think about it.... will the baby be in the crib from day one? If he/she will be in a bassinet then you'll have a few extra months. Or do what we did... buy a 2nd crib for that transition time (our 2nd child turned 2 just 2 weeks before #3 was born). We spent like $75 for the crib and mattress by buying them from another mom in my mother's group. It looked brand new and was only a couple years ago so it was up-to-date with the safety stuff. The crib was only used for a couple months, because when the baby was 5-6 months old (she slept in a bassinet the first 2-3 months) our older daughter was ready for a big girl bed. We then sold the 2nd crib (still in excellent condition) for $75 and made our money back.
If you still decide to use the current crib for the new baby, just move the crib in for now. You still have a few months until the baby needs it. Let her sleep in the crib in her new room for a few weeks or a month until she's used to the room. Leave the twin bed in there so she can sleep on it if she wants. After a month or so, talk it up for a few days and then take out the crib. Changing one thing at a time is much better for her.
We moved our older daughter to her new room about halfway through the pregnancy but she had her crib. She was still a bit hesitant the first night, but she loved being in her crib so she was fine. It did take her a little extra time to settle down and fall asleep, though.
