Transition to a Toddler Bed - Cortlandt Manor,NY

J C,
My MIL is a mother of five and always suggested leaving the kids in their cribs until they started to climb out or protested going into their cribs. I did this with both my children and found the transition to be minimal. My girls made the choice of going into bigger beds. It was not a forced situation therefore it went very easily. The biggest difference I found was getting them used to the idea that once they were in bed they were not allowed out of bed. They thought it was OK to play with a few toys once I left the room! A few days of correcting them each time they got out of bed did the trick. I sometimes give them a flashlight and books if they are having trouble getting to sleep. Other than that it was a piece of cake.
Hope this helps & good luck!
Jen

As long as she's not already climbing out and you don't need the crib for another baby, leave her in there. She seems very happy & the routine works for you. I have a 2 1/2 year old son & won't be transitioning him until absolutely necessary. Good luck!

Hi JC,

I would not mess with the good routine you have right now. if she is not climbing out of her crib and is sleeping well... and you do not have another baby on the way yet. leave her in the crib. you may get to a point where she is asking for her big girl furniture, but until then I would hold off. I know many kids who stay in their crib until 2 1/2 or even 3 years old.

both of my boys ( now 5 and 7) were climbers and were climbing out of the crib around 2 years so I had no choice but to move them for safety reasons.

good luck with your decision.

W. K

I'd leave her in her crib as long as possible. The worst thing I did with my first was moving her into a toddler bed. She had just gotten to point where I would let her cry herself out and fall asleep in the crib. With toddler bed, there is noway to keep them in bed.

I would leave her in her crib for a while longer if she's happy sleeping there. Right now she can't climb out but if you put her in a big girl bed she probably will. Then you are going to have a whole set of different problems, including less sleep!

One thing to keep in mind....before you do switch her to a big girl bed....will she be able to get out of her room by herself in the middle of the night or early in the morning? If yes, then be sure to take anything out of her room you don't want her to get into and make sure you have a gate to put in the doorway or (if you have them) at the top of the stairs.

I say keep her in the crib till she is ready to drive... seriously!! We are big sleepers too and it sounds like your system is working for all of you right now.. If it ain't broke don't fix it!! My son is 3 3/4 and is still in his crib (with the zip top as he did climb out one time... just the one time that is) He is only now asking to have a bed "without a roof" (ha ha) so we are going to get him a toddler bed. I'm 7 1/2 mo's pregnant and this new one will need the room and the crib at some point. We are moving at a snails pace with this transition, but I really don't anticipate any problems, he is very easy going. Every kid is different and I realize this system may not work for everyone.. Anyway.. keep her in the crib till she tells you otherwise!
Good luck,
M.

JC, there is no right answer. It is whatever you think will work best for you. You know your daughter best, so ask yourself these questions: Is she old enough to understand that she can't get in and out of bed once you put her in? Or is she still a bit young to know that you can't come out of your room until Mommy and Daddy get up? My oldest daughter did not get a Dora bed until she was three. My husband and I just didn't think she could understand that she had to stay in bed except for emergencies (sick, scared, etc). She also was a afraid of falling off big beds and was really into Dora, so it was a treat for her. Then she got a big bed at age 4...she was outgrowing the toddler bed and I was having a baby and wanted her in her new room with new furniture. Some people say to skip the toddler bed, but we knew for our daughter that it was needed, and she transitioned beautifully to the toddler and big girl bed...no problems at all (I think b/c we talked it up and made it special). If you are worried about losing sleep because she may get up, maybe you should consider holding off until she's a little older. Do what you feel is best for her and it will go well. Good luck!

Maybe you should leave her in the crib with the new bed in the same room. let her choose when to make the transition. When this happens possibly she'll go to the living room and watch TV there so you can sleep. Does she have toys in her room with which to play until you awaken? I would suggest keeping her out of the kitchen so she doesn't try to prepare her own breakfast.

JMO, but I would leave her right where she is...why mess with a routine that seems to be working for you. A big kid bed is great - but it does invite a host of other issues.

Also...skip the toddler bed and go right for what she'll be in til she graduates...I know several moms who got a toddler bed to "transition" and every single one hated it because the kids all had to transition again, from toddler bed to big kid bed.

Best wishes to you!
J.

Hi JC,

I am currently on night three of our transition! It has been amusing. I had the toddler bed set up in her room since January and we sat on it often, but I felt it was definitely time to transition. My daughter hated her crib and has been sleeping in a pack n play. She now climbs out of it often and I didn't want her to get hurt. It was suggested by many that I put a safety gate in her door way and lay her down in her bed with a book. The first night I didn't really think it would work (I was not a believer) and I checked on her 10 minutes later and she was sound asleep in her bed with the blanket on her (of course, she had nothing else on her - LOL). I gently put another diaper on her and she didn't wake up until 7am. Last night she did well and this morning I awake to a very quiet - Mom, Mommy, Mom. It was very cute, I think she was being quiet for her baby brother. :-)

Best wishes!!
S.

Hi JC,
I think you may have answered your own question. I suggest you keep your daughter in her crib until she begins to climb out. By then she will be a little bit older and will be able to understand the boundaries you give her about not waking you up as soon as she gets up. In fact, a basket of morning toys or activities might be good. I used to leave a bowl of dry cereal and a sippy cup of juice and a tiny pitcher of milk in the fridge. Then my kids could have something in their tummies and something to do until I got up. I would then give them the rest of their breakfast a bit later.
Good luck.
M.

Hi, my son is also a little over 2 and I wanted to keep him in his crib as long as possible (he is very happy in the crib and also a great sleeper). I just noticed this morning he is pushing his arms up on the side of the crib and lifting his whole body up, not to climb out just playing around. I was so afraid that he was going to accidently flip out.

Everyone told me to wait until he started climbing out as well, but what if he fell out and hurt himself? Is your daughter tall enough to climb or fall out? I think it is better to be safe then sorry. I'm bringing my sons new bed home tomorrow. I would rather deal with transitioning then an emergency room visit for something I could have prevented.

I also read that if you are worried about your child climbing or falling out you can use a crib tent. I don't know how tall your little girl is but my son is 36 inches and they say to transistion to a bed at this height anyway.

Check out http://pediatrics.about.com/od/toddlertips/a/05_toddler_b...

Hope this helps a little.

I kept my son in a crib until he was almost 3. (34 mos) I felt that he wasn't ready for the freedom of climbing out of a bed at night, he was too immature. I bought a crib tent and it worked great, plus he felt very secure in his crib. It was a hard transition when we finally did put him into a toddler bed. A very sleepless week or so, but he is 3 1/2 now and sleeps great in his bed, finally. Good luck, I hope this helps.
I think I got my crib tent at one step ahead catalog, there are a few choices out there.

In my opinion...I would wait until she starts climbing out of it or if you need the crib for another baby. No need to rush into it if you don't have to. You, your husband and daughter are all comfortable and happy. Don't rush it...it will happen soon enough.

Hi JC! That sounds just like our daughter. We had some people from church give us a toddler bed when she was about 1. It has been in her room ever since. This past month (she's 20 months now) we redecorated her room with a big girl theme which included a toddler bed set. She always did great at going to bed: bath, sippy, story & snuggle, and then would lay down in her crib and fall asleep alone with the door closed and no night light, would sleep all night and then awake around 7-8am. We felt very lucky and hesitated to change over to the bed because we didn't want to mess it up!! (We enjoyed the quiet time at night and sleeping in on the weekends with her!) The day we redecorated her room, we asked her if she wanted to nap in her toddler bed. She was very excited and climbed right in. We kept her up a little later for her nap that day to be sure she was very sleepy (about an extra hour), and she fell right to sleep. She sat up when she woke up and called for us to come get her. That night after bath and snuggles she went in on her own and climbed in her toddler bed. She slept all night and called for us the next morning. It's been almost 4 weeks now and she hasn't hesitated at all. We still haven't taken down the crib, just in case, but figure that step will be here in the next couple weeks. Now, I have a friend who tried the same thing and her daughter did awful with it, so I think a lot of it depends on the temperment of the child! We also started the following day with a special book (her little bible) that we read with her once she's tucked in. You may want to try that as well (a short book or a storybook with lots of short stories) as she knows her bible is special and connected to her snuggling in bed. Just a thought! Good luck and happy sleeping ! :)

I am a mom of 4, the youngest being just over two as well. She has been in a big girl bed for a little over a month now. We have never really had any transition issues. Keep your routine the exact same. Make the "big girl" bed a big deal the first few nights and see how it goes. My kids generally have always stayed in the bed and still yelled for us in the morning or they just come out and go into our room. My 2 yr. old does get up occassionally after we put her to bed and come downstairs. We just firmly tell her it's bed time and take her back up without discussion. She has only come down twice in one night one time. My only other advice would be not to take the crib down for a few weeks and see how it goes. Hope this helps, good luck.