Single mom with 2 3/4 year old. It's time to move into her own room and bed (has been in co-sleeper). In addition, we are moving to new home. Any suggestions on how to manage this with least amount of upset?
Once we are moved, we need to start on potty training.
Dang, you want to change everything all at once? How about one thing at a time. Move, stablize, sleep, stablize, then the next.
best, k
NIte lite, and new sheets that child picks out on own is a good start. I found a sound machine helps too, that way no little sound can wake the kid. Supernanny.com has some great techniques for bedtime and other parenting questions. It really helped me keep my daughter stay in her own room instead of crawling into bed with me. When we moved in to a new house we first made sure to wear the kid out and not make a real big deal of sleeping alone. Since we had a good bedtime routine in place she went down pretty well. We still have to have the hallway light on til she falls asleep but that doesnt take too long. I even bought a nite lite that she could carry down the hall since there were no plugs for a nite lite. We do have one in her room and sometimes put on of those lited air freshners in the bathroom along the way to our room.
As far as potty training goes wait a bit after you move so its not so stressfull and pull ups dont help them feel wet. Get the thick panties from walmart or target. Once i switched to those during the day and the nite pullups for bed she got the hang of it quickly. We tried at 2.5 but too much was going on. At 3 we were at a stable home and had alot of help from grandparents. When we moved again to out perment home, there was a week where she poopped her panties, a regression. I told her the favorite mermaid panties were going to the trash everytime she poopped in them. When she saw i wasnt kidding it stopped
Get her excited about the new house where she will have a new big girl bed.
I usually start potty training before I move them off the toddler bed. Why ruin a new mattress.Sounds like an exciting time for you both! Good luck!
Our son was younger when we moved and transitioned at the same time, but what we did was put the crib and the toddler bed in his room and let him make the move to the toddler bed on his own! He did it instantly and the only regret I have is that we set up the crib- but I didn't want to freak him out completely.
As soon as you have moved, put her in her own room on the 1st night. Don't let any bad habits start forming. I did this with my daughter and she was 3 when we moved, She was always in my bed before the move so I decided to go for it and she was great. I was SO surprised, but I think it helped that she had a lovely new bed and her room was so cute. (pink & purple with lots of fairies) :-)
Good Luck.
We just did this and it went far better than I thought it would! I'm lucky though in that my daughter has a big sister and wants to emulate her, so having her own room was something to look forward to.
I would get her excited about decorating the room (doesn't have to cost a fortune- even a new thrift store book shelf painted her favorite color can induce some pride in ownership) and go from there. While I'm a very attached parent, I agree with trying to put her in there the first night.
There were some great books at our library about moving that are geared toward toddlers. I think we had a Mr. Rogers one. Try to get a friend to help you set up her room the same day you move that way the things around her look familiar the first night and there aren't scary shadows with boxes, etc. Which makes me think of something else too- make sure there are adequate window coverings in her room to help block streetlights, etc. so that it is not too bright.
We use a sound machine for white noise too ($12/Walmart or Target) and that was really priceless those first few nights of heavy unpacking so the noise did not wake her.
As far as potty training, it will come. With both my daughters, it was more of any overnight thing. We talked about it, read books, got sticker charts, etc. but the key for both of them was to go straight to panties and have accidents in them a few times (at home- we did pull-ups in public at first!) and then I would just say, "Oops! We have to clean it up! Maybe next time you will tinkle in the potty" and just change them like it was no big deal. They didn't like the interruption though of having to change clothes if they were playing and it only took a few times to figure it out! With my younger, we do a chocolate chip for each pee-pee in the potty and when she finally decided to try pooping in the potty, she got to pick out a new board book.
For public toilets that auto-flush, you can put a post-it note over the sensor so it doesn't go off while she sits on it. Some kids are really scared of those.
Hope this helps! Good luck with your move. I was a single mom for 5 years and I know how hard it can be. Try not to beat yourself up about things too much and know that kids are more flexible than we give them credit for, if we are just giving them the same love and cuddles :) And above all, try to get some rest. Moving is going to wear you out emotionally and physically and single moms can't burn out and then take a vacation, as you well know.
Hugs,
M.
