How to Transfer 19 Month Old to Toddler Bed

My second was also born 21 months after my first. We put the toddler bed in her room with the crib and let her play on it and get used to the bed. The two kids also had to share a room so the crib was going to be in the same room with her anyway. One day around 18-19 months she wanted to sleep in the bed and I just never put her in the crib again. I was waiting for her to ask and she never did. This way she made the choice and never felt like the baby took her bed. I like to have them in the new bed at least a month before the baby comes so they don't have that feeling of baby taking their bed. We had to do the same with my second and third children as they are 22 months apart. My son was harder to get to stay in bed during nap time mostly. We did a lot of sitting on the floor in his room refusing to talk to him while he went to sleep. Slowly we moved to the doorway and so on. It was a bit frustrating but worth it in the end as we did not want to buy another crib.

R.,

This is just me, but when my second was born my first was 20 months and I bought a second crib. My older son had not been a good sleeper, and was just starting to consistently sleep through the night and I did NOT want to screw that up! SO, I bought a used crib for $50 and it was totally worth it. My first stayed in this crib till he was nearly 3!

Good luck to you,
J.

I would suggest when you transfer him that you take down the baby bed or put it where he cannot see it. I transferred my oldest when she was 18 months cause we were expecting our 2nd and put the crib away until after the new baby was born. Both my kids slept in the bassenett for about 8 weeks. My oldest had a hard time staying out of the crib after we put it back up and I once found her in bed with the baby, SCARY!! I would tell your little one what is going to happen about 2 weeks before it is going to actually happen so he can get used to the idea of a "big boy bed" and keep reminding him when it's getting closer so he is prepared too. Hope this helps and good luck to you:-)

I had the same issue as we were expecting twins, however our son started crawling out. I got some great advice- and we opted to upgrade to the twin bed instead of using the crib tent. I like the idea of taking the crib down so he associates it with the baby when it comes- in our case, we changed rooms around and made his nursery the guest bedroom, so the crib was moved into the former guest bedroom.... and he moved into a totally different room with a twin bed pushed against the wall with a bed rail on the opposite side. I started by sitting outside the room with the door open, but it took an hour plus and after a week wasn't getting better, and I found it hard to be consistent as he'd bring me books, etc and give me that look like, 'Just one more before bed?" I knew once the twins came I wouldn't be able to spend an hour after reading books and prayers, so ended up saying "goodnight" and shutting the door (as we did when he was in the crib). He still cries for a minute or two (as he always has) but then settles in. He's now 23 months and that's just how he goes to sleep- we also have a video monitor and a safety knob over the door knob so he can't get out until we get him. He LOVES his big bed... when It's nap time, I just tell him he needs to rest and read some books and have some quiet time- and he always falls asleep... but he can now get in and out of bed, grab books, etc. We haven't looked back since!

Good luck!

R.,

Please consider that there are plenty of adjustments for your little guy to except when the new baby comes. Taking away a crib where he completely loves may be a little too much for him. Maybe consider borrowing a crib or using a pack n play that has a bassinet attachment for a while. This may give your son a little time to adjust to being a big brother before switching him.

Congrats and good luck! A growing family is such a blessing!
K.

We moved our first not because we were expecting but because we were afraid he was going to ruin the crib with all the bouncing he did. We set up a bed in the guest room (the nursery would stay a nursery, since we were trying to get pregnant at the time) and started him on naps in that room. Then we moved some toys...and he kinda had two rooms for a while. It was a very easy transition, esp since he was the only one and could spend time in both his former nursery and his new, big boy room.

I first put a twin mattress on the floor because we had not gotten the furniture delivered yet. This worked for us but naptime was especially difficult. She kept getting off the mattress and coming out. When we got her furniture we put it up against the wall and a bedrail on the other side. We also put a baby gate in her doorway so she couldn't leave her room. We have a 2-story and I worried about her falling down the stairs at night. She eventually learned but it did take patience so it's good you are doing it before the baby comes. Good luck!

We found a Graco Crib at Target for $150.00 Not a bad price and we really like it. It is convertible so we can use it as a toddler bed too.
Otherwise use the bed without the frame, so it is low to the floor. DO NOT put pillows on the floor for him to fall on. I heard an aweful story about an 18 month old baby suffocating when their parents did that (I don't want to scare you, but i think it is need to know information to keep your child safe)

Hi R.. I don't know if you are planning on taking the crib completely apart or not.
This is what we did with our son. We had him help take his crib apart and told him that he was not a baby anymore. We had him help put his toddler bed together and said now you are a big boy and you get to be in a big boy bed. We never had any problems of him getting out of bed or anything.
Also if you have a regular bedtime routine continue to use that because it would help in the transition too. I hope this is a little helpful and let me now how it goes.

try getting a twin or toddlers bed and make it a big deal, new sheets and bedspread that he helps pick out. My oldest was 17 months when my daughter was born and I put the boxsprings and mattress on the floor first so if he fell out of bed, he wouldn't be hurt. When he turned 2 and had been sleeping good on the bed, I bought a bed for him for the mattress to go on. I never had much trouble with the kids switching from cribs to big boy beds or big girl beds because they love being concidered big. My granddaughter who will be 2 a the end of this month started to sleep on the little dora couch she has that pulls out into a bed. She has a toddler bed but will sleep better on the little couch so they let her.

Hi R.,

We have three kids who are all 2 years apart and a few days. We had the same question that you did. We actually ended up buying another crib, one that wasn't so expensive. Our girls LOVED their cribs and never tried to climb out so we decided to leave them in there. We are so happy that we did. It gave us peace of mind knowing that they were safe in their beds while we were taking care of the baby. And seeing as how they loved their cribs so much we decided why take a good thing away. It was enough of a change for them bringing a new baby into the house again. When it was time to make the transfer out, we just put their mattresses on the floor so that they weren't so high up off the ground. And then once they got used to the big girl beds, we put their beds together.

Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do. It will all work out!

And CONGRATULATIONS on another baby, you guys are going to have SO much fun!!

R.,
I have to agree with what other moms have mentioned about waiting. Has he expressed any interest in a big boy bed? I think that we as parents tend to plan too much and perhaps need to slow down and takes cues from our children. My children are 20 months apart. The baby slept in a co-sleeper in my room for a while.
With my daughter, the oldest, I asked her if she wanted a big girl bed. We set up the bed in her room and she still slept in her crib for at least one month. We went to IKEA and she played on the big girl beds. I asked her if she wanted a big girl bed, she said yes, and we talked it up for a couple of weeks. We even had a party with balloons and invited Papa and Nana over.
When we made the transition, she was up in the middle of the night playing, out of bed during naps, etc. It took a while for her to get over the excitement. These are all natural things.
You need to know if your son is ready. If he is ready, take the transition slowly. Enjoy the transition that he is making, he is becoming a big boy!

my son was a little over 2 when we switched beds for him. It was horrible. He used to be a great sleeper, but we really struggled once we took the crib down. His toddler bed had been up for a few months before switching him. When he would wake up in the middle of the night he would just get up instead of just going back to sleep. Naps were horrib for awhile. It's been a year since the switch and there are times I still see what a mistake it was to switch so early. And even though he'd been in his toddler bed for over 6 months before I put the crib back up, he still reclaimed the crib as his own. He slept in it for about a week before going back to his bed.

This isn't meant to frighten you, most kids do just fine. I just want you to know that we followed advice from a trusted person who's done childcare for 27+years. She told us he'd resent the baby for taking his crib so we had to take it completely apart. One of the parents agreed with her, so I figured I should do that. For our son, it was the worst advice we followed.

If you decide to switch beds I hope it goes well for you.

We had a similar issue since our first boy was 21 months old when our second boy was born. There was no way that our 1st boy was ready to leave his crib and we were worried he would jump (or fall) out of bed at night. We ended up using a bassinet or small crib in our room for the baby during the first few months. It worked pretty nicely... You could do the same in the nursery also. Then your son wouldn't need to move out of his bed before he's ready and the baby will still have a bed of her own. Good luck!

Purchase a big boy bed. with character sheets. Change the crib different bedding etc. Remove your son from the crib now Take it down. Put it back up when the new baby comes that way he will have that break which will gives him distance he needs to accept the new baby as well as the new bed Nice book Peters Chair by Keats

We have 4 kids, and all of them are between 18-26 months apart. We started using a pack-n-play for the baby, sleeping in the basinette part. That gained us several months of continuing to use the crib for the older child. We did also have a toddler bed that we used for the 3rd baby after the basinette, once he outgrew the pack-n-play. We were a able to keep him in there until we thought he may become mobile! Then, we switched the beds for the 2 youngest. By having the toddler bed visible to the older one, she gained interest, and was excited to sleep in the "baby's bed". Good luck!

R.,

We transferred our daughter to a big bed at 18 mo because we were expecting too. My son was born when she was only 21 mo. We had just moved to MN when she was 18 mo so we wanted to start her in the new house in "her" room which meant a big girl bed.

She actually has a queen size bed (our old bed) and we just set it up on the floor with a rail on one side and up against the wall on the other. We placed a couple of pillows onthe floor at the bottom of the bed as well. She only fell out a couple of times and was fine. She was already used to sleeping on a cot for nap time at daycare so the transition was pretty easy.

Since your son doesn't go to daycare, maybe you could start the transition by having him nap in the bed during the day to get used to it. Once he gets used to it during the day, try it at night. Let him know he will have his same favorite (blankie or bear, etc.) but that it is in a big boy bed now.

He may get out of bed a couple of times but just walk him back to bed and let him know he needs to stay in bed. No matter what age you do the transition, they will probably do this. Actually when we transitioned my son to a big bed (at 2 years and 3 mo), he didn't get out of bed at all. It wasn't until recently (3 mo later) that he realized he can get up and come out of the room. He sometimes gets out of bed (usually 1-2 times) right before bed but stays in his bed all night because once he falls asleep he is out cold.

Good luck. It isn't completely unheard of to move them that early just not as common.

Make a big deal about what a big boy he is and how would he like to have a new big boy bed. Then plan a big shoopping day with him to pick out the bed, if you don't already have one,and bedding. If the new baby has his/her own room I would move the crib in there so your son doesn't have to see it in his room. Let him help get it ready for the new baby- time on this would depend on how he does with the big boy bed. Explain that, since he's such a big boy now and doesn't need the crib, let's get it ready for the baby. I have 5 kids- 3 boys- 6,4,&2, 2 girls- 12 & 8 months- they loved being refered to as a big kid and had no problem giving the crib to the baby. I let them be as much a part of preparing for the new one as they wanted, ie- bedding in the crib, folding and putting away clothes, stacking diapers, etc. One other thing that may help is to let him take a bit of the crib with him. We had the bedding sets with the little comforter, and each of my kids took that with them into their big beds. In fact, my 12 year old still has hers on the foot of her bed because she thinks it's cute:) Most impotrtant is to not make him feel like he's being replaced. Instead of "you have to have a big boy bed because we need this for the baby" make it "since your such a big boy now and have your big boy bed (obviously do his new bed 1st before the new crib set up) how about if we let the baby use the crib? Isn't that a good idea?" Good luck!

I have to tell you that I am in the EXACT same situation as you. My son is just a tiny bit older. He will be 2 Oct 5 and we are expecting the first of December. We were given a toddler bed by a co-worker so do not want to buy another crib. About 3 weeks ago we switched him to the toddler bed. At 1st we left the crib in the room and he was sleeping in the toddler bed fine. Last week we took the crib out of his room and it was like we took his security blanket. Now he acts like he is terrified of the toddler bed. We called the Dr. just yesterday (he has been amazing with advice this far) He just told us keep putting him back into the bed and if he won't stay in bed put him in time out and then back to bed. The other option was since I put a baby gate outside his door so that I can sleep and not worry about him going outside or something. He said just like in a crib, let him stand at the gate and cry it out. Last night was a long night of putting him back in bed. He woke up in the middle of the night and came to the gate crying. We let him cry at the gate, and that worked MUCH better than trying to keep putting him back in bed. He cried for a few minutes and went back to bed. It took us 2 hours to get him to go to sleep with the put him back to bed method. And did I mention that in the crib we NEVER had a problem. We just put him in there and he went to sleep. I guess it's like having a new baby all over again. (actually I think last night was worse than any night we've had with him) I hope this helps you.

Do you have a bassinet? I had my newborn in the bassinet for the first several months myself (to have baby close-by for breastfeeding at all hours!)which would free up the crib a little longer. I would hold off on the toddler bed unless you want to have a little one getting out of bed constantly! Then you would have everything in the nursery ready, just room for the crib when big brother outgrows it. And start talking about a big boy bed...maybe find a book at the library or bookstore about it.
Best of luck to you! I've been there too!

I would of loved it if my kids stayed in their cribs longer! Once they knew how to get out I couldnt keep them in. Feel blessed that he stays in bed. Good luck with the new baby!

I just did this last week! I put my 14 month old in a toddler bed and it was a piece of cake. I just went 'cold turkey' on the crib. He played on the bed the first day and he was fine at bedtime. He tried to climb out once and I was firm with him to lay down and he did. We haven't had an issue since. Might just be his mellow personality and desire to be like his big brother. When I first put my 2 1/2 year old in a bed he had to be scolded a few times to stay in bed but then got the hang of it. He was about 19 months when we moved him. Good luck! I say just go for it and make him think it is super cool!

Keep him in the crib. My daughter slept in hers till she was a little over 3. I'm not saying you should wait that long, but if he is sleeping well, don't move him. My daughter was 18m when my son was born. He slept in the bassinet of the pack-n-play for a few months and then in the bottom of the pack-n-play till he was 1. We got him his own crib during that time. We didn't give him my daughter's because it converted into a toddler bed and then a full size - eventually.

a bassinette for the baby might buy you some time...then you can either get a small toddler bed for your son or use a pack and play for a while too. If you do it right now, you will still have the crib as a back up for a few months before and after the baby is born.

I think if it working don't change it. Leave him in the crib as long as possible. Plan to use a bassinet with the new baby in another room for the first 5-6 months. You can always use a porta crib after that if he is still doing great in the crib. I think he all ready has to deal with the change in the family with the new baby so just keep everything else the same if you can. My kids are 15 months apart. We kept our youngest in our room in a bassinet, and then they were both in two seperate cribs(my mom gave us the one she kept at her house) in the same room for another 6 months, and then when he turned two he slept in his big brothers room in a toddler bed. Now that he is four he is in the bottom bunk and our daughter the youngest(3) is in their original room in a twin bed. She used the trundle under the twin bed for about a year and a half instead of the toddler bed. I have been told and totally agree that if they are not climbing out of the crib leave them in there. Congrats on your new addition and good luck!

You know your son the best. There have been many great suggestions for you already. Some wouldn't have applied to myself as my kids were born rather big (both were about 9 lbs and about 21-22inches long), and wouldn't fit in ANY bassinet.

I put my kids in toddler beds at 12 months - because they were starting to try to climb out. When we first changed to a toddler bed, we put extra pillows around the safety bar things at the top because my kids like to roll around and would hit their head on the bars.

Also, I used a baby gate in the bedroom door - left the door open, but had the gate up so they couldn't run around the house while I still slept. Usually, they would come to the gate, and holler for me! It was cute!! :)

Anyways, in the end, the decision is yours. Make sure to talk with your husband about it - BUT in the same point, make sure that YOU are comfortable with it since you are the one staying home with the babies.

Good Luck!
M.

We moved our second daughter to a twin bed at 18 months, we were expecting #3 around her 2nd. birthday and wanted a few months to make the transition. Like your son, my daughter loved her crib, didn't try climbing out and slept wonderfully in it. We didn't want to purchase another crib so we bought her a bedroom set and used double bed rails on each side so she wouldn't fall out. She has had next to zero issues and it's been a year since the switch. The only issue we had was she'd get up really early when she should be sleeping longer, so we put a child-proof doorknob on for at night so she knows she can't come out of her room. We have a video monitor in there so we know she's okay. Good luck and enjoy your new baby!

Is there any reason why you can't use 2 cribs?? If he sleeps great where he is, I'd leave him alone and get another crib. Mine stayed in his crib until he was well over 3 years old. That was his little "nest". He had no idea how to get out of it and I never showed him! I guess he just wasn't a climber.

Go for a twin bed, put it against the wall, and buy a side rail to go on the other side. We have a convertible crib so we changed ours into a toddler bed for a few months when our daughter started trying to crawl over the side, then we went to a twin bed. If yours converts, try that, if not, he'll probably transition just fine- the same as he would if you took the railing off the crib. The hardest thing for them is to learn that they can't get out of bed. We used a safety knob on the inside of her door until she got old enough that I didn't have to worry about her getting up in the middle of the night/early morning (and until she figured out how to get it off!). That gave us peace of mind, knowing that she couldn't fall down the steps or startle the dog, or get into things downstairs while we were sleeping.

I sat outside her door and had to keep putting her back to bed and reminding her that this was her bed and she needed to stay in her bed, etc. for about a week or so. Eventually, she quit getting up and we no longer had to sit outside her door. Now she is old enough that if she comes out of her room after we've put her to bed it's because she needs something.

We use a soft foam wedge type side rail that I bought online. I had a Safety First side rail(pretty sure that is the brand- it was blue mesh with white rails) and it popped up and wouldn't stay in place. It scared her half to death. We use the foam one now- got from gobedbug.com- and it works so well! Inexpensive, soft, you can use regular sheets with it, you can cut it to any size, and it really does the job well. No parts to pop up or get in the way. Also works on toddler beds/crib conversions. It goes under the sheet and on top of the mattress. I was skeptical because my daughter rolls all over the bed, but it works for her.

Best wishes with the new baby! I know this all seems traumatic, but he'll adjust quicker than you think.

C.

Hi R.,
If I were you I would by a port-a-crib or a bassinet to put your newborn in for the first three months and let your 19 month old stay in his crib until he is 5 months older. Then he has a few months to get use to his new baby sister and is a little older for the toddler bed. Then when you do transfer him make a big deal out of it take him shopping for the sheets..etc. Have him tell his new little sister that he is a big boy now and he gets this special new big boy bed. The crib is now for babies like his new sister. Let him help you pick out all the new pink bedding (or girl theme bedding.)
Best of luck!