Moving Out of Our Crib

You really should have done it sooner, but you have to just make the move and don't go back. You'll have some sleepless nights but put her in her new bed, make it an event the first time only. If she gets out, put her back in. Don't look at her or talk to her. She'll get it in one or two nights.

Yesterday I received a newsletter from www.babycenter.com on this very subject. They had some really good tips. Here are the two links.

http://www.babycenter.com/404_how-and-when-should-i-move-...

http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=bcus...

I think the ceremony idea is great, as is the canopy idea. Both of my boys transfered earlier ( 19 months, and 2 yrs) and "new sheets" or "new bed" were enough. Both times I needed to put a small gate at the door for a few nights until they fell asleep. Do you have a reward chart or system in place already?? You could staying in a new bed to that. Or make up a reward chart just for staying in bed if it's new to her! Good luck :)

M., I would be hesitant to make a ceremony of giving away the crib. A three year old does not normally understand the needs of others and will be unable to comprehend why she has to give away her bed. Doctor's studies have shown that a child cannot even really understand sharing until they are at least four and should not necessarily be forced to share, but just shown that sharing is the nice thing to do. I would keep the crib in the room for a week or two with a toddler bed in there as well. Have her pick out the new sheets and accessories so she will feel like she is part of the decision to move on. Good luck! I remember those days, they were ugly.

About a week ago I moved my almost 2 year old into a big girl bed. We took her to Ikea and let her help us pick it out. It's not quite a twin size, it's long but skinny so she'll be able to use it for many years. We let her help us assemble the bed and even let her play on it before bedtime. We used the same night routine, then tucked her in. She cried for only about 2 minutes, then fell asleep. That was the only trouble we had. She occasionally gets out of bed to grab some books, but takes them back to her bed to play with. In the morning and after naps, she will lay in her bed and call out to us.

I never would have believed that my daughter would transition so easily to a big girl bed. It's hard to know what to expect, but just play up the benefits of the new exciting bed, and include your daughter in the planning and set up. I have a neighbor who told her son that if he got out of his bed, he would have to start sleeping in the crib again. It worked and he stayed in his bed.

Good luck!

We moved our daughter to a bed when she was about 2. I was nervous for the same reasons you have stated. What I did was made a big deal about how exciting it was going to be. I took her with me to the store and let her pick out which sheets she wanted. Then we went home and she helped me was the sheets and put them on the bed. The whole time I kept talking up how fun it was going to be for her to sleep in her new princess sheets (She chose the Disney Princess set). That night, we put her to bed. She got back up about 15 times. Every time, we would pick her up and put her back to bed. NO eye contact, NO talking, nothing. Just simply put her back to bed. It took about a week, but she learned pretty fast that if she got up, she did not get attention and was simply put back to bed. Naptime was a little harder and took longer, but she got the hang of it. One other thing I did, too was to buy a guard for the side of the bed that wasn't against the wall. She really loved to sleep right against the bumper of the crib, and I found the guard gave her a little of the same comfort. Good luck!

Both of my kiddos did well moving from crib to big bed. We skipped the toddler bed and used rails. I just tucked them in like normal and read them books right before bed. We really made a "YEAH" deal out of it and it seemed to work well. The only suggestion that I have is to have a gate at the door that your 3 year old cannot get out of. This will secure them from walking around the house at night:O and allow you to sleep with peace!
Many Blessings, J.;)

Hi M.,

I moved my son out of his bed at around 20 months, but when I did, he was the same way. He never tried to get out, loved being in there but I was going to have another baby by the time he was two and I did not want to have to handle both a baby and changing him to a big boy bed. This is what we did. We bought a twin mattress and put it straight to the floor so he would not fall off. Then, we bought a cheap bedspread set with baseballs, basketballs..etc...thing that he was really into. Then, we made the bed fun. We would sit there and read books or just talk or sing songs and then I would put him in his crib. After a few days of that, I would ask him which bed did he want to sleep in and for the first few times, he picked the crib but then for naps during the day he would pick the bed. I think he loved that he got to choose for himself. Seriously within a week and half or so, he was always sleeping in his big bed and never cared about the crib again. Hope this helps!! She will be ok!! :)

well with my kids i just put them in a toddler bed and they loved try putting her in one and sit with her tell she falls asleep.that worked with my son my daughter loved the toddler bed so it was not a problem for her.
R. m
www.workathomeunited.com/momof3forever

We had the same fears when our 3 yr old moved out of her crib and the novelty of getting out of bed and coming downstairs when she should have been in bed wore off after about three months of turning the corner and seeing her downstairs way past her bedtime. It helped that after about three months in the big girl bed (which she was really excited about--she didn't miss her crib at all--the hype helped) she gave up her daily nap. Now she goes to sleep right away and doesn't get out of bed until morning. My advice--keep up the hype. Get her in the bed and then just ride it out and eventually she'll stay in there.

It sounds to me that you have all the right idea's going on!! Make the biggest deal about how she's getting a new "Big Girl" bed! And also giving the old crib to a baby is teaching her to give, which is also wonderful and you can never start that too early! If you unveil the new bed at the Birthday party too, the excitement of her friends might help fuel her enthusiasm as well! Good job!

You have great ideas. Unfortunately, no amount of advice is going to guarantee that anything will work. Every child is really different!! You truly won't know till you try it. If it were me, I would just make the change, and yes you may have some inconvenience for a few nights, but she'll adjust! She really will! They all do!

You can also use a reward system of sorts, such as giving her a sticker the next morning if she does a good job of staying in bed.

Our almost-3 year old started in her toddler bed before 2 because she kept climbing out and it was too dangerous. She will still get out of bed and it can be a hassle sometimes. But what works for us is for me to lie down next to her for a little while, read to her, and wait till she's really settled down, if not asleep, before I leave. Not my first choice, but that's what's working for now.

Good luck, and don't worry! It will work out.

M.-

We just recently went through the same transition in our home due to a move to a new house. Our daughter was 2yrs. 4 months when we went from the crib to the toddler bed. She did just fine. She took to sleeping in her "big girl bed" right away. We purchased a toddler bed that could also be converted to a twin size bed. We went ahead and purchased the twin-sized mattress so that she would have plenty of room to move around (she is a very active sleeper) and there haven't been any real problems. She has fallen out of bed once but since it is so close to the ground she was not hurt. You mentioned something about space issues for the bed. There are so many toddler beds that are cute and fun and just use a standard crib mattress. Maybe you can let her help pick out her new bed or help set up her new sleeping space. Each child is different, as I'm sure you know, so you know what best puts your daughter at ease when there is a change. So just do what you think is best to make the transition from crib to toddler bed as easy on everyone as possible.

We set up a twin bed in our sons room in advance while he still slept in the crib. We would read books there. I switched him to the bed when he was 2 to get the crib ready for our new baby. The transition was no big deal for him. Sometimes we expect things to be a bigger deal than they really are. Also I had read that keeping your child in the crib as long as you can is actually safe and good for them. Especially if she's not climbing out. I only switched because we needed the crib. TRy making her new bed special, but don't make too big of a deal out of it, unless that is what your child responds too. good luck!

that sounds awesome. Maybe get a bed with railings to give her extra comfort.

I agree with all the other responses that planning this in advance with your daughter's assistance is the best approach, with her choice of sheets etc. My daughter started sleeping in a railed toddler bed at three also, and we found it worked best to let her sleep in it for naps at first (she slept in our bed at night, though, not a crib) and after a week, she graduated to sleeping in it for naps and at night.

take care, S.

I did this transition with my daughter when she was 2 1/2 or so. I jsut talked about how fun a big girl bed was. I let her pick her sheets, she chose Dora! She was there with us when we took down her crib and put up her bed. She never climbed out of her crib, and I worried about her getting out of bed. Advice I recieved was don't mention getting out to her. I didn't say, "now don't get out of bed", I didn't want to put the idea in her head. I told her it would be fun to sleep all night in her bed and to wake up in her new Dora bed! We did our night time routine exactly how we have always done it and we never had a problem with her getting out. Even on nights when she was stalling she woudln't get out. She just yelled from her bed what she "needed" that night (ie drink...). In fact, we had to teach her it was ok to get out of bed in the morning when she woke up. She would just sit up and yell for us to come and tell her she could get up.
Good luck!

Hi M.,

We moved all of our kids (3) out of the crib with no tears or trouble. None of them ever climbed out before hand. My advise is to down play getting rid of the crib and up sell the NEW BIG GIRL BED. We moved our kids right to twin beds and new sheets made it even more fun. I am a scrapbooker and took pictures of them in the new bed their first night. Good luck.

My youngest will be 2 on April 4th and I recently transitioned him from crib to a twin size bed.I didn't have any problems with him climbing out of his crib or anything like that. I have a niece who is expecting so I gave the crib to her. My son is doing great in his new bed. I would consider buying a twin or full size if possible since your daughter is turning 3. She will most likely grow out of her toddler bed quickly. My oldest son went to a full size bed when he was 2 1/2 years old now he is almost 6. I think that was one of the best decisions / and investments my husband and I made.Its a great place for my kids to hang out and sleep comfortable. I also wanted to mention that making a ceremony isn't a bad idea. When I transitioned my youngest I let him and his brothers be involved. We talked about moving into a big boy bed,choosing a pattern, and picking out paint colors for the wall. They went with me to buy the paint and bed. They were with me when I delivered and set up the crib at my nieces home and they enjoyed being apart of the entire process. Best Wishes to you and your daughter!

i say skip the toddler bed,they grow outof them super fast. we just bought a twin bed and put the box spring and matresson the floor. however you plan thr transition is up to you and what you think will work bes t with your child. we opted for a more gradual approach, but your idea sounds fun. but be prepared when a kid is in a big bed they can and most will get out of it at times that aren't so convenient. like really early in the am and maybe a few times in the evening before falling asleep and ofcourse from time to time in the middle of the night. all of this is part of learning to stay in bed. you will loose some sleep most likely but how much depends on your child and your plan to teach her to stay in her bed. best of luck!! you seem to have lot of great ideas.

Put the "big girl" bed into the room near the crib. Put the side down. During her nap time, tell her sweet dreams and lay down on HER bed. Sometimes using reverse psychology works wonders. If she thinks that you are comfy and cozy on the bed, she may want to try it herself. Or, put the bed up, but the mattress on the floor. Then, if she chooses to sleep on it, she will not fall far. Once she sleeps on the bed/mattress for a few days, put the crib side back up and chances are she won't try to climb back in. Then you can remove it after she loses interest. Hope this helps!

A party sounds great, especially if she can meet the kid who is going to get her crib, or at leaast meet the family. The canopy sounds great, too, since it seems the crib is kind of her private area, the canopy would make the bed feel more private.

My daughter was only about 18 months when we moved her out of her crib, so its hard to say if this will work for your 3-year-old, but we made a big deal about the big girl bed and gave her a pillow that she could only have in the big girl bed and that made all the difference. She sleeps great in the toddler bed. We also let her pick out the bedding for her new bed so that it was something she was excited about. Good luck!

Maybe you could make her a part of the choosing process. Telling her it's time for a big girl bed and would she like to pick out one.Tell her ahead of time that you have to agree too, but for the most part it is for her.
Also maybe a more secure type toddler bed would work for her and make her transition to a reg bed easier.Like one of the ones with rails or such.
Or maybe letting her pick out all new bedding to put on a bed that you pick.