Any advise on how to transition my 27 month old son to his new toddler bed from sleeping me & my husband at night? Day-time nap transition was successful but since he has always hated sleeping in his crib (located in another room) we are careful not to spoil the new romance he has with his new "big-boy" bed. We have always tried not to let him sleep with us but with the recent birth of my 3.5 month old daughter who was sleeping in our room in a bassinette, it was difficult not to cave. No that she is sleeping soundly at night in his old crib how can we regain possession of our bed?
I think THE BED BUMP is the perfect way to transition a child from the crib to the bed.
I used it for my second child and it was so wonderful and such an easy transition for her.
The bed bump makes a child feel safe and snug in their new bed....and it easy for the parents to snuggle in the big kid bed for story time and extra cuddle time. It so much better than the awkard and sterile bed rail.
I really like what Dr. Jay Gordon has to say about family beds. you can check it out here.
http://drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp
but remember that he still may be adjusting to the new baby. I know when I had my 2nd, my 1st would go through a slight attention craving phase every time there was a new milestone the little would have. and there are several in that 1st year.
she also did very well transitioning to her own bed in her own room, but then realized that the baby was still with us. she couldn't help but feel left out. needless to say, she came back for a while until things settled down. the transition was much easier for her to stick with.
research has shown that when done correctly, bed sharing and attachment parenting can play a big role in your child's physical and emotional development. so kudos to you for the good work you're doing as a mother.
Try a reward system similar to potty training. Every time he sleeps all night (or at least stays) in his room, he gets a sticker on a chart. When he gets 21 stickers (21 days to build a new habit) he gets a new toy or something. Have him pick it out in advance and put a picture of it on his chart. You may also just have to put him back in his room when he crawls into bed with you. We've done that, and even though he may cry, he will go back to sleep. He's not too young for either thing, and the chart will be good practice for future potty trainging and chore charts.
I have two girls and what worked for us was giving them the choice. We made it a special adventure to pick out the new bed and then when they were each about 2 1/2, we put the crib and the new bed in the same room and let them choose at bedtime where they wanted to sleep. No kidding, on the very first night they both chose the bed and never went back to the crib. We left the crib in their rooms for a couple of weeks anyway, just so they could see that they still had the choice. Eventually we took the crib out saying that another baby needed it. No fuss, no muss.
Good luck and congrats on the new baby!!
