Moving to Toddler/Big Bed: How and When?

We transitioned both of our boys out of the crib when it became a safety issue. Didn't want them getting hurt climbing out. That was about 1.5 yr old for each.We made a big deal about it. Having them help set up the new bed, but kept the crib in the room for a while. We moved all of their bed stuff (animals/pillow) to the big bed to show the transition.The thing that you have to be aware of, they now have freedom. They can get up and go anywhere anytime. You will find them in your bed occassionally (without notice). Naps will be become harder because there are no bars holding them in. Both of our stopped 'naps' when they moved out of the crib. But, we never forced naps unless they were cranky.This is a right of passage. Make a big deal about it. It is a big deal for them and you. They are growing up and not babies anymore.

We too made a big deal about it for the boys. Unfortunately we had to transition 2 boys at the same time in the same room! We got them new "big boy bed" sheets and comforter. Of course they are REALLY into the movie Cars, so everything Cars made it easier. The fact that they still have eash other makes it easier too. We also bought a white noise machine and find that the ocean waves tends to put them in a pretty deep and long sleep. We transitioned back in February, (they were about 2) and still have one or the other wake up in the opposite bed. Many times we have found them together all cuddled up. Sometimes they wake each other up, but they go back to sleep pretty easily. They nap fine as well. We put a baby gate up so that they can come only into our room if they wake up. This way they are not wandering all over the house in the dead of night, but we have only had "visitors" about 5 times.

It was scary for me. I couldn't believe my Bug was big enough to sleep THERE, lol! What we did was buy a toddler bed when she was almost two and put a sheet on it and some of her stuffed animals and then started talking about it. And we talked. And talked. She tried it, didn't like it and that was okay. She ended up staying in her crib until September and at 2 1/2 one day at naptime, after I brought a pretty pillow in the shape of her first initial, she thought she'd like to sleep THERE. I said okay as now, the bed was not a big deal, it was a part of life in her room. And she's slept there ever since. Sleeping in another place where they crib isn't available I think is a good thing. We did what you did, had her sleep in a camper bed, not in the pacnplay while we camped for 10 days in August. It was just a month later when she decided for herself to make the transition.

I moved my 2 y/o to a twin bed from a toddler bed last Friday.....I just made it a big deal about him sleeping in the big boy bed.....I have no trouble with him staying in the bed..I was concerned that the bed was too high for him and that he might fall out, but this has not been the case..he can even get in it by himself without my help..and he loves it because it makes him a BIG BOY The main reason I did it is so I can transition my one year old from the playpen he was sleeping in (which he only allowed to sleep in temporarily due to foster care rules) into the toddler bed.....I put my 1 y/o (13 months) into the toddler bed last night for the first time and I put the playpen in front of it, so he wouldn't fall out...Well he did not do too good in the toddler bed..he could not sleep AT ALL..he kept waking up every hour after he had bumped his head on the headboard (HE MOVES A LOT WHILE HE'S SLEEP)..I ended up putting him back in the playpen after the millionth time of me getting up with him last night because he couldn't sleep..... I may end up having to go buy another crib (((sigh))) I do have one but my 6 m/o sleeps in it.... I'll keep trying him in the bed for the next 2 weeks and hopefully he'll get used to it...

Gosh it was a long time ago (my oldest babies are turning 20, sniffles) but I also remember making the big move when each of my kids started climbing out of their crib. I took them shopping with me and let them pick out "big" kid bedding and they loved it! We also got a nite lite so they could see how to get in and out of the new bed easily. I don't recall their being any problems with them liking the new beds. With Natalie, we are having a new house built and it will be ready...hopefully...when she is around 22 months so I plan to transition her into the toddler bed when we move.

I have 2 experiences for you. We went on vacation to CA with my BIL, SIL, and MIL and 2.5 year old niece. She slept in the hotel beds with my MIL and when we got home from vacation she said "no room in bed". They moved her to a big girl (twin bed). They did use a guard rail also. With our dd, we moved into a different house when she was 23 months and I just told my husband lets do it all at once so we bought her a big girl bed and new Dora sheets. She had very rarely slept all night but when we moved her into her bed she slept all night long. I did lay with her the first night for 10 minutes and after that she didn't want me to. We also used a guard rail on her bed too.

I am going through this too. My daughter is 20 months old and we are 'in the books' again... In discussing setting up a new baby's room, we are torn on buying a whole new crib or buying my daughter a bed........ She has not tried to climb out, and does well in there, although I think if she could get out at night, I think she would..... I also don't want her to feel pushed out of her crib - I mean a new baby will be a hard enough adjustment without feeling pushed out of her cribby..... Thoughts??

Each time, a new baby has essentially forced our kids out of their cribs. But we tried to make it seem like that wasn't the case. When the new baby arrived (our whole process for #2 was 1 month, from our first conversation about maybe adopting again to baby home), we went shopping for new furniture. The two kids were going to have to share a room, and we needed to get a captain's bed - which is farther from the ground than our bed is, for the extra storage. When the furniture arrived, I made up the bed...not even really kiddy, but I bought a Nemo pillow. To this day, that child loves that pillow. Anyway, we planned on not moving our daughter to our son's room till we knew she could sleep through the night (10 weeks), so he had that time to adjust to the baby and adjust to the idea of a new bed, and then we allowed him a few weeks of sleeping in the new bed without the baby in the room, so that the two didn't seem completely connected to him. When he did move to the big boy bed, he was a little afraid at first (he was only 14.5 months old), but we showed him how neat it was to sleep in his big boy bed, put rails up so that he couldn't fall out, and just in case he did, we put cushioning down on the floor. He never did fall. Then, when my third child came (again, short notice...we had been expecting a girl but got a boy, long story), we had to completely rearrange furniture. We had no doubt that our oldest would be fine with the bunkbeds we ordered, but had to do the stepwise thing again for our daughter...same thing, no big deal. And because she was 20 months old, she wasn't even afraid of the new bed.