Should We Transistion Our Daughter to a Toddler Bed Yet?

N.,
You are absolutely right. If it's not broken, don't fix it! Buy another crib if you must. Your daughter has a HUGE transition ahead of her already. She will need as much continuity and stability as possible in the coming months. Do not change any sleeping arrangements now.
Amy

1 mom found this helpful

I think you should invest in a pack n play w/bassinett. It was by far the best investment. We still use ours for when our twins sleep over at grandma and grandpa's house.

Using the pack n play, you can keep the baby in your room for several months...or you can use it like a regular crib in their room. I know you can buy a regular mattress for them. And then once you are ready to transition, you can just fold up the pack n play

Congrats on the new baby!! We transitioned our daughter, then 18 months, when we were expecting. the transition went very well as she was very excited about her "new" bed. It was funny because she slept very well, still falling asleep on her own and slept through the night, however in the morning did not get out of her bed until we came in the room. We were so happy that we made the transition before the baby as she was able to start feeling like a big girl in preparing for a new baby. Good Luck!!!!

My son's early years were a bit turbulent and at one point I had left our home with not much more than our clothes and some toys/diapers - leaving my son's crib behind. At 15 months, my son started sleeping in a toddler bed - the first few nights he didn't want to go to bed and was fascinated by being able to get himself out of bed - I put a gate in his doorway and just ignored him after I had put him to bed. After a few nights of being bored, he just went to bed without a fuss. I am lucky because now, at almost 6 (on Jan 9), he still doesn't give me any fuss about bed (except for once in a RARE while).

You might find it easier to get your daughter adjusted to the sleep change now, before the baby is born, and everything else changes.

Congrats on #2 and good luck with whatever you choose to do.

i had my son when my daughter was about 15-16 months. i was in the same boat you are, good sleeper, no climbing,etc. when the baby came i need her crib and we put her into a big girl bed and she loved it. i actually have a harder time putting her to bed now than i did back then. she is now 4(5 in jan) and my boy is 3 1/2. he was my climber and always getting out of the crib but he was the one attached to it. i waited til he was about 2 1/2- 3 before i bought a gig boy bed. although i wasn't rushing because i'm done. test the waters and see how well she resonds to the big bed. it is really all up to her at this point. stress is not needed at this point for any of you. good luck and best wishes

That is funny... I have a son who will be 2 on Jan. 4th and I am due w/ my second on March 23rd. I have been going back and forth w/ the same issue. I found a relative who has a crib and I am going to borrow her crib until the time comes where my son starts crawling out. He loves his crib, and is a great sleeper. So, my advice.. is to do what is best for you and your family. I agree w/ those who would rather get them transitioned into a big bed before the baby comes and those who think not to. I am obvoiously doing the don't fix it if it isn't broken theory =). Good luck w/ everything.

We moved our 18 month old (now 27 mos)into a big girl bed when I was pregnant with my son (now 8 mos). My situation was a little different since my daughter could climb out of her crib then, but most of the time stayed in her crib and played when she woke up in the am. I think I would have made the same choice regardless. The transition was not easy getting her to stay in bed at first, but once she got to sleep she did not wake up during the night, and now she loves her big girl bed and colorful comforter. I'm glad we made the transition when we did because I think I would be too tired to make the transition now that there are two!!

Hi N.~ I am in the EXACT same boat. My daughter will be 2 on Jan. 7th and I am due March 2. We put up the big girl bed in a new room. She loves it, but wants nothing to do with sleeping in it. She also sleeps 12 hours at night and is a great nap taker also. We tried a nap at first and she screamed for about an hour. I went in and we fell asleep together (not a habit I want to start)As soon as I got to the door, she woke up and screamed. I got lots of good advice from people on here about this, but I think she just might not be ready. I figure that we have it done and we will continue to play in there and try to nap and see what happens. I also figure the baby will be with me till at least June, so that goves some extra time. If you find something that works, go for it. If you can keep her in the same room, I would suggest that. I think for mine, it is the room, not the bed. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

Take care!

Jenni

I had the same issue with my first son, I transitioned him out of his crib just shy of two and he like your daughter is a great sleeper. Nothing changed for us as far as his sleeping habits are concerned. The new baby came and went into the crib and the older one was fine with it. I really think you'll do fine, have faith in your daughter and you'll do great!

Talk soon,

N.

When I was pregnant with my second, we moved my daughter into a full size bed at 18 months. She slept better actually, but she wasn't in love with her crib. I am due in two weeks with my third, and we moved my second into his big boy, full size bed back in October. He liked the crib much better than my daughter, but he still sleeps well in his bed. Now, with him I wasn't pushing anything, because I knew I was going to be keeping my newborn in the bassinet in our room for a while, but my son actually wanted to sleep in his new bed, full time, about a week after it had been set up. I don't think that your daughter is too young to be moved, but there will be a lot of changes in her life once your son comes, and her sleep may be broken by the baby anyway. My thing is why try to move them in the 3-4 months that you have with the baby in the bassinet, during which you are going to be up with a newborn anyway. If you move your daughter now, and let her get used to the new bed, at least you have a chance that she will like it quickly, and sleep well by the time the baby is born, and then you won't have two children up during the night. Plus, honestly, in a few months, your sleep will be broken by all the potty trips in the middle of the night anyway :).

Good luck and congratulations!
J.

You still have some time before you really need to move her. You can put the baby in a bassinet until he or she is at least three months. My secod baby was born two years after my first. We did keep her in the crib and borrowed a second crib from a friend. You can usually buy a nice crib on Criagslist for under $100. On the other side. We just moved our 22 month old in a bed. It is a little more difficult to put her to bed, but it has not changed the amount of time she sleeps during night time or nap time. Good luck!

I too would think that it is too early if your daughter is happy in the crib. A bassinett for your newborn should work for atleast 3-4 months, so that will give you a little more time. Maybe then you can open the conversation to your 2 year old about having the baby move in the crib and she may just give it up herself.

Congrats on your upcoming baby! I am due early February on my 3rd child :-).

:-) M.
Mommy blog: http://wantsugar.blogspot.com

N.,

I have a 26 month old and 4 month old, so we too had to decide when to move our oldest to a new bed to make room in the crib for the baby. If your newborn will go straight to a crib, then why not use this as an opportunity to make the transition now for your older child? If the newborn will be in a bassinet or co-sleeper in your room for a few months, then you can time things differently. We found that our good sleeper is a good sleeper whether in his crib or his new "big boy" bed. We started the transition before needing the crib for the baby and it has worked well in that if my son thinks that he can just ignore bedtime and get up after we put him to bed, then we can tell him that it is bedtime and he can either lay down in his bed or he will have to sleep in the crib. Since we bought his favorite character-themed bedding for his new bed, he would rather sleep there and will go back to bed easily.