Moving 18-Month-old into Big Boy Bed?

I am kinda in the same situation as you except mine will be 26 months when my new one is born. My son may be ready for a big boy bed, but he is still not climbing out and I personally want the peace of mind to know he is safe in his crib when the new one arrives. Right now he sleeps so well in his crib and puts himself to sleep, I know if I get him a big boy bed he will not stay in it. Plus my first son used his crib and then toddler bed till he was 3. So we opted for a new crib for baby, and my son will get a big boy set in a year or so. That is what we decided hope it gives you some insight. :) Godd luck witht he new one and congrats!

My kids are a little under two years apart, but my daughter was 18 months when we put her in a big girl bed. She transitioned fine. I didn't make too big deal about it, but made it exciting when I presented the option of sleeping in the big bed. Some kids are more willing to change...others not as much.
She had a couple months in the bed before her new brother got in to the crib. I think it is important that the child doesn't think that they are moving to a new bed...just because the baby is taking theirs. My son slept in a bassinet for a while, just because that was easier for me. Then I put him in the crib when night feedings weren't quite so often.

If your planning on nursing then it was always easier for me to keep the baby in a bassinett in our room...

I agree that what ever you do decide the changes (moving to big bed, setting up a new crib etc...)should be done a bit before baby arrives.
Maybe set up the big bed and let him try it out... Not only will he get used to it, He may also transition himself. Start by putting him in it at nap times. Insist that he stay in it during naps... (by insist I mean keep putting him back in if he gets up.) See how he handles it and judge from there if he wants to stay in it at night.

For my little guy I put some books beside his bed so he could amuse himself while falling asleep.
You will probibly want to take any toys out of the room and make sure there is nothing he can pull over on himself then listen on the monitor for the noises. And keep putting him back in. Around 18 - 20 months is when all 3 of my kids first climbed out of their cribs. That is an Immediate eviction notice for the crib in my book.

We use a toddler sized toddler bed. It uses the same mattress as the cribs do. So I put their crib mattress on it and they still have the same "homey" smell and feel and don't feel like they will be lost in the big bed. :-)

Its one of those six of one or half a dozen of the other situations.
Good luck and congrats...

J.,

I wanted to let you know that I have three boys. Our first 2 we moved to a toddler bed at 2yrs old we always did it on there birthday and made a big deal about being a big boy. They got to pick out new bedding and everything. We just took down the crib and put up the bed and that was that. For our third we switched him at 18 months. We did it for different reason he hated sleeping in the crib but did it the same way and he did just fine. We put up a baby gate so he could only go from our room to his he usually wakes up most nights and comes into sleep with us and still does to this day and he is 3.5. This was much better no screaming and crying to come get him we just taught him if you wake up come into mommy and daddy room and he did it. It is great he just laid down to go back to sleep no more calming him down to settle down to go back to sleep. Like I said he is 3.5 and we don't even use the gate anymore he still comes into our room and goes right back to sleep it's great.. Hope this helps.

Hey J.,

Congratulations!

My boys are 18 months apart too (now 14 months and 32 months). We kept the youngest in our room in a bassinet for 9 weeks, then moved them both to cribs in their own rooms. Today they are still both in cribs, as my oldest has always been a great sleeper, and doesn't seem interested in climbing out (yet!). And they are both in convertible cribs, so we'll transition them someday to toddler/full size beds.

Oh and we ran out of time (somehow that always seems to happen with the 2nd baby! HA!) and didn't end up moving my oldest into the other bedroom until about 3-4 weeks prior to his brother's birth. I thought all the changes would be too much (and I had the same feelings - about him being my baby, nastalgic about moving him from the "nursery", etc), but it went a LOT more smoothly than I thought. Do what works best for you and your son - either making a big deal or not.

Enjoy your babies!

Warmly,
B.

Hi J.. I was expecting our 2nd child and my first son was 2 years old. we just moved him into his own twin bed. We made a big deal of him going to the big boy bed. we did leave the crib up and told him that this was now going to be his brothers bed. It may have been a little easier transition because we actually moved him into another bedroom so everything was new and he felt like he was important. Yes, we did start having him get our of bed but we knew that would happen. Make it a special treat for your 1st child. Let him pick out the sheets, bed spread, and make sure the new area (bed) is his own.

Have you thought about a toddler bed? or maybe one that transitions into a twin bed? Check out Babies R Us and Ikea. We got our daughters bed from Ikea and it has 3 different sizes that you can use, with a mattress that fits all 3. We love it (and so does our daughter).
It may not be a bad idea to try and start switching your son to a big boy bed soon, I can't imagine how hard it would be when your new little one is almost too big for a bassinett and your met with resistance from your son. It might be easier to try it now so it's not like your son is being kicked out of his crib to make room for someone else.
Good luck!

My first 2 were 12 1/2 mos apart and my oldest was an adventurer. I kept the baby in her little infant bed in our room till she tipped it over pulling up on the side (maybe I waited a wee bit oo long!), then I moved the oldest to the twin bed I'd already placed in her room and plunked the baby in the crib. The oldest was already climbing out anyway! Then the younger one climbed out earlier than I'd imagined (boy, was she a climber!) so I left the side down on her bed & she was happy in it for a couple more years till I needed it for #3!

I wouldn't do it. I think it will just give you a headache you don't need. Not knowing if he will get out in the middle of the night, also falling out may happen with as much as they move around. I would suggest buying a used crib from a mom2mom sale or off craigslist. I'm sure you can get one for $30 or something just to get you by until he is closer to 3 and really ready for one. Good luck!!!

buy a second crib.

My kids are 18 months apart.. I put the new baby in my bed for 6 months but then moved him into his own crib.

My 3 year old is still in a crib.. she does not want a big bed...she likes the safety and comfort of her little crib bed.

at 18 months or even 21 months your son is too young to be allowedd to explore without supervision.. Keep him in his crib as long as you can.. even if you have to buy a crib tent to keep him in. he can get into a lot of mischief if he gets out of his bed and you dont happen to notice right away..

J.
My first two children were also 18 months apart and we went through all the same struggles. We decided to give a big girl bed a try first, before going to plan B (bassinet) or plan C (another crib). We did it two months before baby was coming to make sure the events weren't related in our daughter's mind (we didn't want her to think that baby kicked her out). We got a regular twin bed and then put the Step One side rails on each side. The first night she wasn't too sure, so Daddy stayed with her and just kept telling her it was okay until she fell asleep. After that, we never looked back, it was incredible, she loved it. We ended up doing the same thing when our third child was coming and again, no issues. I can't promise it will work for you, but I recommend giving it a try before the baby comes and then if it doesn't work, you can look at the other options.