Seeking Advice on How to Transition Toddler from Crib to Toddler Bed

I would find a cheap second crib. I believe a crib should stand empty for at least a few months before a new baby takes it over.

A bed is a very personal thing, and just forcing him out of his bed, and handing it over to the new baby is hard to take.

You need him to get good sleep at night. Now is not the time to be chasing him around the house to get him to stay in bed. Keep him in the crib until he's ready.

He is already feeling the effects of a new brother, you don't want to provoke additional resentment.

We ended up buying a second crib -- our kids are 15.5 months apart. We had been planning to transition our daughter at 17-18 mos while the baby was still in the bassinet but it quickly became apparent she was not interested nor ready.

I disagree with another poster about starting with naptime depending on how your kid naps or goes to bed. Our now 26 mo old daughter goes down for sleep EASILY and we wanted to start with bed as she knows it is bed time and our bed time routine. We transitioned her about 2 weeks ago. I would start being solid about whichever one he most easily goes to sleep. Move the crib and put his new toddler bed in the exact same spot his crib was. We stressed how we were letting her be a big girl and giving her a bed like mommy and daddy but she has to stay in it for night sleep time and naps. We will always come back to get her when she wakes.

Maybe we got lucky. Good luck! Tough with a new little one too...that is why we put it off till now (we are currently potty-training so we had to transition).

If he was safe in his crib and wasn't climbing out, I say keep him in it until he's ready to move out. My son slept great in his crib.... then transitioned and it took some time. I suggest keeping him in his crib until he's ready and until your "newborn" isn't a newborn anymore... keep it easy for yourself. There's no rules about when the pacifier and crib needs to be done. Whatever works for your family!

Was he having problems in the crib? Was he climbing out? Or...is the only reason you're wanting to change is because you need the crib for the baby?

If he's doing fine in the crib, leave things the way they are. Let's see: you just brought home another child, your first child used to be the absolute center of your universe and now he has to share the spotlight, you mention he has been regressing a bit...and now you want to take away his bed and give it to the baby - his perceived 'source' of all this change? That's a lot of change and stress for a 2 1/2 year old!

If you are going to insist on this move (you're a brave woman; I can't imagine doing this with a newborn and being all sleep-deprived!) then you will definitely want to employ a very easy (but potentially very trying) technique.

Switch to the bed. Tell him he is to stay in bed all night. Go through your normal routine and then put him to bed. Put a chair outside the door (this is for you to sit in when he gets out of bed fifty million times). When he gets out of bed, calmly and without talking or making eye contact, put him back into bed. No talking, no emotion, no justification, no begging, no pleading, no punishing - these only cause your child to get more and more wound up and awake and more likely to continue the pattern of behavior. He might get up over a hundred times the first night. Take shifts with your husband and be painstakingly consistent - your son needs to know that getting out of bed is not worth the effort (nothing fun is going on and it is all boring) and that every time he gets out of bed, he will be sent back to bed (thus he learns that the behavior isn't worth his effort because he's only going to go back). You can try a baby gate, but we tried it once and our son jumped over it with ease. Other people have used protective door covers so the kid couldn't get out of the room; we didn't try that and hoped to achieve success without trapping him in the room.

This may take some time - for us it took about a week and a half, and we also learned that he stayed in bed better for daddy than he did for me. We also did a sticker/reward system. For every night he stayed in bed he got a sticker. Once he got to five stickers we put Thomas sheets on his bed (he was so excited). Now after about a month of this, the novelty of the sticker has worn off but not the responsibility of staying in bed!

Here is what we did with our daughter (who was about the same age as your son) and it worked well for us.

We put the toddler bed together with her in the morning and made a big deal about how she was a big girl now and how exciting it was. Then when nap time came around that day she "slept" in her new bed. Of course, she didn't sleep at all - but it wasn't scairy b/c it was day time.

You just have to resign yourself to drawers being emptied for a while (she had to help clean it up). Just make sure everything is child proofed (large furniture anchored to the wall, no toxic hazards etc). My daughter didn't fall asleep in her actual bed for a while (she used to fall asleep under it). But I just went in there and put her in bed after she fell asleep on the floor.

Also, we put a bed rail on the open side of her toddler bed. This made it feel more secure and like a crib - which it sounds like your son may benefit from also.

Eventually the novelty of having so much freedom in their bedroom wears off and they realize the bed is in fact more comfortable than the floor. Good luck.

I read somewhere that you should let them nap in the toddler bed for a few weeks before putting them in it at night.

My second is due in 11 weeks, so my plan is to transition my now 18 month old into a toddler bed so the baby can use the crib. I'm going to do this before the baby comes, hopefully preventing a major regression.

I did read, though, that you should let them try out the new bed during the day first. I'm going to make a big deal out of it, letting her pick out sheets, etc. No clue if that will help, but maybe you could give it a try? Wait a week, take him to target, let him pick out sheets and then put him down for a nap. I've also heard to have a baby gate to prevent them from leaving the room. It should take a few days for him to adjust, and possibly some fussing. It's always hard to develop a new habit.

Good luck!

Hi T.,
My son is 26 mos. old and I thought he looked cramped in the crib so a couple of weeks ago I opened up the futon and layed him down. The crib and the futon are both in his room. For a few days especially the first two he kept moving from futon to crib and back. So for nap times I laid him on the futon. He didn't mind it during the day. The first day he only wanted to sleep in his crib though. So I let him choose where he wanted to sleep. It took not even a week for him to get used to the futon. He doesn't even look at his crib anymore. So I've decided to sell it. Maybe your baby can sleep in a bassinet for a while until your son is ready. My son is in diapers too and he still gets his bedtime bottle of milk (that's the only way I could get him to drink milk), plus I guess the sucking comforts him. I'll deal with that soon too. But one thing at a time. I get a lot of advise but I do what's best for me and my family. Because that's the bottome line, isn't it? All the best to you.
Bernie

Why rush it? My son is 2-1/2 and still in his crib and will probably be for a long time. I have an infant daughter too, we got another crib from a friend for her. He is safer in the crib and it gives you a little more control. He is also not potty trained and not ready for it, again why rush it, he will be out of his crib and potty trained by the time he leaves for college, so no problem!

You have a seven week old - cut yourself some slack and your 27 month old too. Get another crib - if you don't want to buy one, why don't you ask if a girlfriend can lend one to you until he is ready to move into the toddler bed. I have four children now and I remember VERY vividly moving my 23 month old (my first) into a toddler bed when I had a 6 week old baby. This was NOT by choice! It was really awful for quite a while. My pediatrician said she usually doesn't even recommend trying to move a child out of their crib until at least 2 1/2. If they are climbing out or have some other reason they can't be safe in the crib anymore, that is different. Enjoy some sleep for yourself and less change for your two year old. He will transition to that toddler bed when he is ready for it. BTW, my fourth is 10 weeks old right now and my third is 19 months old so I know exactly where you are at with the sleep situation.

My Sister in law had a similar issue. Although her new baby wasn't born yet, her daughter saw the crib in the baby's room and wanted to sleep in it. So she took it down for a little bit and hid it away and then had no problem getting her to sleep in the toddler bed. I don't think she mentioned it again after that.

Just an idea-good luck and congratulations on the new baby!