Moving DD into her big girl bed... Any tips?

[Jaxvipe]

We are moving DD into her big girl bed in about a week and a half. She is a great sleeper now, she puts herself to sleep with little to no fuss at all. She seems excited when talking about her new bed. But I have heard horror stories of the transition from crib to bed. Do you ladies have any tips that might make this transition a little easier?

Thanks!!

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

We made the switch at 15 months with very little trouble. Just went through her room and baby proofed everything we could think of. She would get out of bed and come crying to the door for the first night for an hour, and we'd have to go re-settle her every 5 minutes or so. The second night she figured out she could play with her toys instead, and that was the end of that. Now if we put her down and she isn't sleepy she will just play for a bit, and then crawl into bed when she's ready to sleep. We don't hear from her until 8 or 9 the next morning.

Just go with the flow and be prepared that there might be some nervousness involved with the new bed. If she's excited about it though it might be easier than you think.

 

[the why bird]

We had no trouble at all, she was excited! I did let her pick some fun bed sheets and we talked about it for about a week before.

 

[MrsPear]

It was no trouble for us, we did it at 2 years 3 months. I have absolutely no idea if any of these following things helped or if we were just lucky, but this is what we did...

We talked about it for a while beforehand (like you have) and so she seemed very prepared/excited.

We put the bed up a couple of nights before she went in it so she saw exactly where she would be sleeping (it was in a different bedroom too), and let her sit on it in the day.

We took her to Dunelm to pick a duvet cover (honestly that was a waste of time though, she was so grumpy and I ended up picking it myself).

I told her that the bed is just like the cot- once you are in it, you are in it for the night. I let her make requests for books, a magazine and some cuddly toys and I put them at the bottom (it's a full single so plenty of room) and told her she can play on the bed, but not get out.

First night we waited until she was really tired, let her stop up late. She was still excited though so couldn't sleep. She climbed out after about an hour and was traipsing about upstairs. I just put her back in each time and kissed her and reminded her that if she wants to play, she has to do it on the bed (she nearly always takes a while to sleep unless she's particularly tired).

After a couple of nights, she was absolutely fine. She gets out sometimes before sleeping, but usually only to retrieve a book or a cuddly toy from the floor. She sleeps just as well if not better than in the cot. In the mornings we hear her wake up in a really good mood so I know she slept well.

Twice she has cried out once and then when I looked on the video monitor (which we had anyway didn't buy it specially or anything) she was just climbing back in. Don't know if she fell out or what, but she was straight back asleep.

Good luck. I think you have to prepare for a few nights where it is a bit of a novelty, but your LO is pretty much same age as mine and they do have a good understanding of what is happening which made it a really smooth transition for us. x

 

[sherylb]

I agree with the others. My daughter was a good sleeper in her crib. She transitioned to toddler bed converted crib at 18 months and at the exact age your DD is we transitioned her to a queen size bed we had in our guest room. She loved to jump on her bed and I hated it when she was in her toddler bed. She's done great though. I did put a doorknob cover on the inside of her door and a bell on the outside of her door b/c I was worried about her running around the house on her own.

 

[Jaxvipe]

Thanks for the advice ladies! I'm excited and nervous for the transition lol but I'm sure she will do great she is definitely ready

 

[Larkspur]

We had no trouble with the transition.

We put the bed up in his room alongside the cot and just let him get used to it for a week or so. He started by having his day nap in the bed, then his night sleeps too.

He has never tried getting out and coming to the door once he's in bed. We have told him that once he's in, he stays in till morning. If he calls out, we pop in and resettle him quickly and quietly. That only happens rarely.... He has never been left to cry and knows we will come if he needs us, so he doesn't feel the need to get up.