Transfer from Crib to Toddler Bed - Lexington,NC

When we transitioned our daughter, we let her pick her sheets, etc. like a previous poster suggested. We also got a bit of advice from a friend to make a big deal out of her new big girl bed and that cribs are for little babies. The first night was a little bit of a struggle, but she's always been a great sleeper and that night was no different (once she got to sleep). In the morning, we praised her, especially because she didn't get out of bed. From then on, she never wanted to sleep in her crib and never looked back.

Good luck!

My son is 21 months and has been climbing out of his crib for some time now. He's got a convertible bed so I just took the rail off the side to turn it into a toddler bed. For him all I did is baby proof his room and put a gate up in the doorway. His is directly across from mine so I just left our doors open and when he is ready to get up in the morning he just yells across the hall for me. The only problem at first was the fact that he's use to stretching out so he kept falling out of bed.

We just kinda did it. It's still hard getting him to sleep in it. He's only 19 months though and has had it since he was about 14 months. He's a fighter when it comes to sleep. It wasn't easy getting him down in the crib either.

Now we have to go in his room with him, turn off the light and just wait for him to lay down and sleep. If not it becomes a huge production.

When he does wake up in the middle of the night, he gets out of bed and comes straight to us.

We put our son in a toddler bed when he was 14 months old and at first we put a gate in his doorway so he couldn't get out and get into things, then we finally just took the gate down and kept his door shut. The door being shut worked better because he couldn't see or hear anything that we were doing. And every night he gets out of his bed. Sometime he just goes to the crack at the bottom of the door and lays where he can see light or calls for us, or kicks the door(that's what he does most) and sometimes he gets up and plays with his toys. I just made sure that everything he could get hurt on was out of his reach. We normally have to put him his bed at least 3 times before we go to sleep, he usually winds up sleeping at his door most of the night, so we just dress him in warm clothes. I believe it is very common for them to sleep at the door. My son will be 2 in a month and I am going to put him in a twin bed soon, so I think you would save money to go ahead and get a twin bed instead of a toddler bed at this age.

Hey J.!

Although we did not care for the toddler bed, when my twins did sleep in them the transition went well. I would do the following:

1) Let him choose his sheets and a special favorite pillow case. This is a big boy bed! Make it special.

2) Next, don't get rid of the crib right away...make the transition smooth. I would start out sleeping there at night and then gradually put him there for naps as well. (Or toddler bed during the day, crib during the night.)

3) When you put him in it, stay for a few minutes. Make sure he is tired and has everything he needs. (Stuffed animals, a sippy cup of water on the night stand, favorite blanket, etc. Gradually go to the door. Wait a couple minutes. Then ease your way out the door as he is drifting to sleep.

4) I would also put up a baby gate in the doorway of his room. This will help you keep him contained, or at least hear him if he tries to get out! I always said, child proofing never worked on my kids, it just delayed them long enough for me to get to them before they got into anything! LOL

Lastly, I wish you luck. It is never easy making these "big boy" steps! E-mail me with any questions! I'm happy to help!

~Lee

we just did it like pulling a band aid off. We took the crib down the same day we put her day bed up and she had no trouble. most children don't get up and get into things at night, but some do and you will just have to wait and see which one he is going to be. I know when our daughter gets up that she come directly to our room, and has never gotten into things or gotten hurt. If you are worried he may fall down stairs just get a secure gate so that if he does wander he will not fall and get hurt, other than that he will probably be just fine and you will be able to use the crib for your little girl coming in Feb. Good luck.

We never had a problem with the intial transition from crib to toddler bed. However,he hated the toddler bed because it was too small for him. (He rolls around alot) We went ahead and moved a queen bed into his room and one side is tight against the wall and the other side has a railing on it. He loves the idea of a big big boy bed. He sleeps great. As far as safety in the room, we put a gate up at the door and baby or toddler proofed the whole room. Good Luck!

Like Sarah I made the transition all in oneday.(but I had to I also had a baby on the way, twins to be exact)..I was so worried about how he would do, but he did fantastic..we actually didn't get a toddler bed we just went ahead and got a twin bed so it has rails on it..and we put a gate at his door, only because he is upstairs..I could not have asked him to do any better..Oh and he was about 17 months when we did this..Hope this helps..

We actually switched my daughter very early. We also skipped the toddler bed and went straight to a twin. We moved when she was 13 months and decided we didn't want to take her crib since we all ready had the twin bed. We did put up a gate at her door until she was 2. When the gate came down she would just play in her room or come get us when she woke up. She was about 4 when she stopped coming in our room but by then we were pretty confident theat she would be ok playing or watching cartoons on her own for before we got up. It does help though that she was never the type to really try to get into anything.

He will get up in the night and get into things. He will come in your room. He might try unlocking the door and going outside. Just stay vigilant. Make sure everything is childproofed. Or try to keep him in the crib for a few more months, catch up on your sleep and then start this in another two months.
It will be nights of exhaustion. Even if you lock the bedroom door, he will still bang on it.
Get your sleep now!

I don't know about everyone else but I had no problem transfering my daughter to a toddler bed. When she did wake up she just came into our room or called for me. If your worried about him getting out of the house go buy some locks that go up around the top of the door so he can't reach them. Also they have these alarm things that are mostly for when babies start crawling and they open cabniets or something like that these alarms to stick on them will go off when opened. You could put some of these alarms on the doors and then if they are opened the alarm will go off and you will know, I'm sure you can call Home Depot and ask them about them. Also if you don't want to spend the money just put a bell on the door. We had a bell on our doorknob and if you just touched the door we would hear the bell. If you have a gate you can put a gate at the kitchen opening that way he doesn't get in the kitchen at night. I really don't think this should be a problem though. My daughters did really well with sleeping in a toddler bed. If they got up they would come to our room. Just make sure to show him where your room is before he goes to bed and tell him if he gets up to come in there. If he wakes up I'm sure you'll hear him. As a mom I hear every peep now in the night so if one of mine get up I know. Well, I hope this helps a little bit. I'm sure he'll love being in a big boy bed.

With both of my girls i put the bed in thier room while they were still in the crib. They made the switch on their own. I went to put them in their crib and they said they wanted to sleep in the big bed. We actually did a big bed so we could have rails since they both sleep crazy, but they both were so intrigued by the idea of the new bed that they switched themselves. The older one did get up, but her room was childproofed and I closed the door and put a doorknob cover on it so she couldn't open it. There were a few nights when I went to check on her that i found her in the floor asleep since she got up to play, but she was safe. If you don't want to close the door I agree with the other ladies just get a gate. As long as the room is safe he will be fine.