tips on switching from crib to bed?

Adrienne - posted on 08/25/2010

maybe start with a toddler bed or let him pick out sheets for the twin bed - he may be excited to sleep in e.g. race car sheets, truck sheets or yo gabba gabba sheets. just an idea, i can't help that much because my daughter refused to sleep in her crib starting at 14 months so i bought her a Dora toddler bed and she thought it was great seeing Dora. she got all excited and slept in it no prob. good luck!

Tiffany - posted on 08/24/2010

Dont make a big deal about it

Honestly, we moved our daughter from a crib to toddler bed at 17 mths
From the first night she never gave us a hassel
She went right to bed and to sleep
Never have had any issues.
So I just suggest putting him in it one night, nice and dark in his room so he doesnt feel like getting out of bed, make sure hes very tired and give it a go.

Michelle - posted on 08/19/2010

Hello, I know what you mean we switched from the crib to a toddler bed, because our son would climb right over the top of his crib. It was scary for me, because I was worried about how long it would take for him to get use to his new bed and what would happen if he woke up and got up in the middle of the night when we were asleep. We have had it set up for about 3 weeks and got rid of the crib. He is still having some issues sleeping in it, but he is doing better. Consistancy is the key. In the middle of the night if he awakes he comes to our room because he is familiar with where we are he doesn't cry. I believe you should get rid of the crib and not switch back and forth. That will only lead to confusion on his part. :-) Good luck!

Chantel - posted on 08/17/2010

its worth a try jessica my daughter is 22 months and has been sleeping with us for a long time but since i set the "big girl bed" up she is happy to sleep in it just as long as one of us lay down with her but as soon as she is asleep we get up and if she wakes in the night she is still happy to stay in her bed but again just aslong as we lay down with her but that is a great improvement for us wish i got her a bed sooner

Jessica - posted on 08/17/2010

i'm curious too just because my daughter sleeps with me because she is still getting up three times a night and i just wondering if maybe putting her in her own big bed would help her sleep through the night

Chantel - posted on 08/17/2010

we didnt have a choce our 22 month old started climbing out of the cot but she never liked it anyway and bed time was always a nightmear for us but since she has been in her big girl bed she has been good just as long as mummy or daddy lays down with her

Betsy - posted on 08/17/2010

My son just turned 22 months and we have been using toddler bed for about a week. We made the switch because we also have a new baby on the way. We switched after a 3 week vacation to visit family out of town. We chose that time because he had been off his regular routine and out of his crib the entire time we were gone. We thought it would be a good time to start a new routine rather than go back to our old routine.

He crawls out of the bed almost constantly at bedtime, but knows he is supposed to stay in it. The first 3 times I put him back in I quietly whisper "It's time to go night-night" and lay him down. After that I make no conversation, no eye contact, etc. I sit on a stool by the door and as soon as he starts to climb out I put him back down without a word then go back to the stool.

Sometimes this takes 15 minutes, sometimes 2 hours. It can be very trying at times. But he's starting to learn because now if he sees me sitting on the stool he'll lay immediately back down without trying to climb out.

That being said, I'm lucky to say he doesn't cry or call for me. He just wants to get up and play. He also gets up in the middle of the night and does the same thing (wants to play) but I do just like I do at bedtime.

He's very motivated by a passifier (unfortunately) but it is reserved for in the bed only. So, he doesn't mind jumping right in bed because he gets his passifier and that is like a reward for him.

It's slow and we're still working on it, but I'm starting to see some progress!

Good luck and please pass along any tips that work out for you!

Meaghan - posted on 08/16/2010

Sorry I don't have any advice but I am in the same boat! I look forward to seeing the responses!