Crib to Bed Transition for 23 Month Old

My older child was on a twin by 16 months, his younger brother will be switching very soon (he is 22 months and just decided he can climb out of the crib). I would minimize what he can play with in the room.

To switch my older child I started out by snuggling with him until he was asleep and gradually weaning him so I snuggled a few minutes and then sat on the floor stroking his head or holding his hand. Eventually I would snuggle, kiss him, and tell him mommy was watching him and I would sit in a rocking chair until he was asleep. He still sometimes gets up and plays and goofs with his brother (he is 3 1/2) but most nights things aren't too bad. There will always be bad nights. Adults don't get punished if we can't fall asleep, we just find something to do. Try to help him stay quiet and remind him that nighttime is for relaxing. If you have a fan or sound machine, try that. If the room is not safe, he is not safe in it, but if it is safe, relax and put him to bed a little bit earlier so he can get the playing out of his system.

(I should add that my 3 year old still asks mommy to snuggle for a bit and I try to take time for that--he won't want that much longer I'm sure!)

We put rails on the sides of his bunk bed. I believe that the rails helped the transition to go smoother.

My daughter was 2 months away from turning 3 when we moved her. She did well and her age made it easier to negotiate with her to stay in bed for a reward like a sticker or special breakfast... There's no rush really. We also skipped the toddler bed and went right to a full size so that it felt like a whole new exciting bed.

I think 23 months is a fine age to make the switch. From experience and friends experiences 2-3 yrs old is the time to do it. My first made the switch at 22 months to a full bed with rails. She was stubborn and didn't stay in her bed very well. My husband and I took turns putting her back to bed most nights. It took a few months for our stubborn, never tired, little girl but I don't think that's typical. Since she was small we stuck to the same bedtime routine to keep her calm. Bath, teeth, PJs, books, songs, good night. We tried not to talk to her when putting her back to bed because she seemed to think we were playing when we did. Our 2nd child just turned 2 and is about to make the switch to her own full bed. I feel it won't be such an issue with her. This one likes to sleep...all kids are different...not all can be easy all the tiime I guess. Good luck, and if your patience runs thin, try to get your husband to help at bedtime or another relative.

My oldest (3 1/2 now) was put into a toddler bed just before he turned 2. He and #2 were going to be sharing a room after our co-sleeping stint, and I started with just talking about it. "You're getting to be a big boy, and big boys sleep in big boy beds, babies sleep in cribs" And then actually started for naps in the bed, before making the move overnight. I also put up a rail, and it really only gave him about 8 inches at the foot of the bed to try and climb out of, giving him the impression of a crib. We started out as well, by sitting and snuggling until he fell asleep. And he stills wants us to sit and snuggle for a few minutes before nap and bedtime.

It shouldn't take long to teach him that he stays in bed, maybe try putting him down a bit earlier and sitting with him reading stories. If you sit in his room, don't say a word if he gets up, just put him back in bed. At least, I should say, I pray it doesn't take long to train him to stay in his bed! Good luck!

Neither of my girls slept in a crib past 15 months old. They kept waking up all the time; I guess they didn't like the feel of it anymore so we moved both to twin beds by around 15 months. Never had any issues, in fact they slept better.

Both girls could (and unfortunately still do) get out of the bed and come to our room. We had to take them back down to their own beds. A lot of times we were so sleepy that we just picked them up and laid them in the bed with us but the more we did that, the more they expected it.

Once they knew that we'd just take them back to their room, they stopped coming as often.

I put my baby into a big girl bed when she turned 1. People thought/still think we are crazy but it works for us and she does great with it. We have a routine to going to bed. Change diaper, get bottle, go to bed, lay down, mama snuggles till baby falls asleep, the end. It usually only takes about 20 minutes at the most. When she first got the bed I made a huge deal out of it. When she would crawl on it to "explore" what it was, I would clap and jump up and down and tell her she's a big girl and give her a high five. Of course that faded but I still tell her "climb up on your big girl bed" and when she does I tell her she's such a good girl. Good Luck!