Transitioning to Big Boy Bed

What worked for us was to put the crib & big bed in the same room & let our child choose which bed they wanted to sleep in each night. Both of our kids chose the big bed the first night and never went back to the crib. After about two weeks, we took the crib out. No fuss, no muss!

Congrats on the new baby & good luck!!

L.,

Even though it means extra work for you, disassemble the crib and store it, eliminating the sense that baby came and took his bed. Talk with your son about how his body has grown and he needs more sleeping space. Transfer as many familiar items from crib to bed as possible, maintaining a familiar space.

When baby brother grows, re-assembled the crib and tell your older son "baby is growing and needs more room to sleep, just like you did. We are going to put the crib up so he has a bigger, safe place to sleep, too."

Congratulations on your growing family.

C.

What we did with child number 2 was we switched rooms, gave our son the master bedroom and put and bassenet in our room but put the crib up in his room , at his request, that made him really feel like the big brother, he had already been out of the crib and on his crib matress on te floor to get him used to no bars and then at 2 put him in a twin bed, make it an adventure, like a camp out, just get real creative, the key to change for children is to put so much positive in the front of things so they only see the fun and the adventure, in this situation is get him in there has soon before the baby comes as you can, at 2 this is a big change, so be patient, and maybe he can camp out on mommy and daddy's floor for a couple nights, build up the big boy idea, and he should do just fine. Congradulations on your new baby coming. J. L.

Personally, I'd keep him in his bed and let him adjust to the new baby in the house for a couple of months before you disrupt his comfort level. He's going to be feeling displaced as it is. Have his room set up "for later" he may surprise you and make the transition by his own volition. You could start by having him take naps in his own new big boy bed, but prepare yourself for his being happy to stay on his bed for the first day or two and then you'll start the putting him to bed, his getting out, your putting him back , his getting out routine. It takes a lot of patience. I wish I'd kept mine in the crib longer since she was happy and not climbing out. If you're keeping the new baby in your room anyway, this will make the transition a lot easier on him, you and the new baby.

We just transitioned our 2 year old over to her own big bed because of baby #2 coming as well. It has been a very smooth transition, but I don't know if it's because of what we did or if my daughter is easy in the sleeping/adjusting department. But anyway, we took her to pick out her mattress, comforter and pillow. We decorated the bed with her favorite stuffed animals. I started with her naps in the big bed. I always called it "her" bed. Then after a couple of weeks of naps in her big bed, I asked her one night which bed she wanted to sleep in, and she chose her big bed and we never went back. There have been a couple of nights where she hasn't gone down quite as easily as she did in her crib, but overall it's been quite painless.
Good luck with this and with baby #2! I'll be there in a few weeks as well!

Hi L.,

Congrats on the new baby! I only have one child... also a son. He hated his crib from day one. However, when we got him a bed at around 2 1/2 years old, he wanted the crib - so we kept both in his room for a couple of months and he'd go back and forth and wind up sleeping with us too. We finally asked him if we could get rid of the crib. He said yes, but then wanted it again. Eventually he got over it. The problem with the bed is that the kids now have freedom and keep getting up so that will most likely be an issue for the first couple of weeks. My advice is to do the move gradually so your son doesn't feel like he's being replaced by the baby and so he doesn't feel like he's being forced out of his crib and his room.

Good luck.

Make it fun. Put things from his current room in there. Be consistent with sleep routines (bedtime and naptime) before and after the transition. Keep things consistent for the next few weeks before baby and after. Don't keep him up late or do "extra special" things with him when the baby comes. Just keep things consistent and normal. Kids do best when their schedule stays intact, and they get enough sleep...

C., mother of 3, sleep consultant, sleep blog writer www.lullabyluna.com (keep up to date- there is going to be a Bumbleride Queen B give a way coming up to subscribers)

Hi Linsay,

Hey, do you have a family dog? Friends have used the "Rover has been waiting so long to sleep with his best buddy....you! Luckily now you are big enough and your new big boy bed is just big enough for both of you!" routine. Works like a charm! That is if you aren't against the pets and kids sleeping together...I've never been able to stop them anyway!

Don't worry...it'll be just fine....and thanks for being a caring mommy!

Blessings,
Deb

Make sure to make him his room! For example move all his toys decorate it etc etc... And more importantly make sure he knows he's safe to be alone... I started by taking him to his room while he was sleeping.. next thing you know he slepted the whole night..

Hi,
Well, we just transitioned our 2 yr. and 5 month old son into a twin bed in his room about 3 weeks ago. I did it a little differently, in that I did not move him before his new sister came. She was born when my son turned 2 yrs. old. He was still in his crib and the baby was in a basinette in our room until my son moved into his bed. I was worried that he would feel that the baby "took" his crib away, and I was also worried because he was sleeping well in his crib. But to help w/the transition, we took our son shopping for the bed and had him sit on all the mattresses, etc and just made it a fun experience. We played it up, about how he was getting his own big boy bed, etc. and were excited when the bed was delivered. The transition went so smoothly, it was like there was no change at all! He slept so well, almost better than he was in his crib! He loves his bed so much. Maybe if you give your son a choice about which bed he sleeps in for a while, it will make the transition to a new room easier, and he will choose to sleep in his new big boy bed.

Well, I think you have to ask yourself - is he ready? My son is almost 2.5 and still isn't ready for a big boy bed (we have a new baby coming in October). He has never tried to climb out and loves his crib, sleeps well, plays by himself in the crib, etc. How long will you keep the new baby in a bassinet? If it's possible, maybe you can get a smaller inexpensive crib for the baby if your older son isn't ready yet?