My daughter is 20 months old and she has been showing signs that she is ready to be switched to a toddler bed. i.e. she has been safely climbing in and out of my bed and seems to sleep better when there isnt something "caging" her in. So I made the switch tonight, and there has been nothing but screaming and crying...and it will soon be on my part too. I am just not sure if there is something else that I should do...if anyone has any ideas that would be great...I have to go rescue my daughter from the bed again. :(
Okay, last night my daughter and I made it through. The reason that I want to put her in the toddler bed is because her father already switched her crib over to it, so since she stays with me the majority of the time over night I made the switch so that she would be used to it when she went to visit him. I put a baby gate up at the end of the hall way so that she could still get into my room if she needed, and I could get to her's without any problems. I also moved a futon mattress to the edge of the bed so that if she rolled off she would land on something soft instead of the floor. I actually went to check on her last night and she had rolled off and hadn't even woken up. She was just curled up on the mattress with her blanket. :) Nap time was a slight struggle today, but the kitty went in there and was playing with her in bed and layed down next to her until they were both asleep. I think that the cat thinks my daughter is hers. :) So, I think that all that needs to be done is some minor adjustments to the bed time routine, and once we get those down we will be good. Thank you guys so much for the wonderful advice!
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We have now made the switch complete! All that I needed to do was hold her while singing to her and then lay her down at the end of the song. She actually likes the fact that mommy can sit next to her on the floor so that she can "caress" my cheek like I do to her. :) Nap times proved a little harder, but her kitty keeps opening her door and curling up in bed with her, which makes my daughter stay in bed. The two of them lay there "talking" until they fall asleep. I peeked in today and my daughter sat up, and the cat actually got up and sat on top of her to get her laying back down. It was the cutest thing cause as soon as my daughter was laying down again the cat got off her and just laid there with her front paws on my daughters chest. I still think that the cat thinks my daughter is actually her kitten. :) Again, thank you all so much for the advise and the encouragement!!!!
I just wanted to say how sweet that cat is! What a good helper, too, heh. I'm glad to hear that the switch is going good, and all three of you (mommy, daughter, and cat) are getting some sleep!
:P
J.
What I did when it came to switching my daughters bed was I asked her if she thought she was a big girl. Once she was fully convinced that she was a big girl and big girls don't sleep in baby beds, there was no problem. She came into my room occasionally, ususally when she came home from visiting her father, but aside from that, she was good. Now the only time she comes to crawl in with me is when she has a nightmare. Good luck with your daughter.
Stick to it. It took my son a little time of putting him back in the bed several times a night and letting him cry himself to sleep (absolutely heart wrenching!!) but he finally made it and it was fine. Good luck to you!! Hang in there. If she is as strong-willed as you say (and as my son is) she is trying to make a liar out of you and show you who is boss. Not funny, I know, but this is my life as well!LOL!
With both of my kids I left both bed and crib in the room and gave them the choice. After about a week of back and forth they opted for the bed!!
When we made our switch about that same age, we started by just putting the mattress on the floor and worked our way up from there, that way my son wasn't scared and didn't tumble out. We also put up the side things on one side and had the other side against the wall so that he wouldn't fall out at night. Sure, we had alot of night wanderings, but I was always able to put him back in his own bed and he went back to sleep. It is all just something new and maybe a little scarey, hang in there!
T.
You said that she gets in and out of your bed just fine. It may help to lay with her until she falls asleep until she gets used to the new bed. If she is in just a regular toddler bed that doesn't have room for you, you could lay next to her bed. Or, you could let her fall asleep in your bed since she is familiar with it and move her to her ownbed after she falls asleep. That worked with my daughter. (However, with some kids, that may get them to become dependant on sleeping with you.) With my son, we let him fall asleep in his crib and then moved him to his toddler bed. We did that for about 3 or 4 nights until he was used to his new bed. It also helps to use nap time as the primary time to get them used to a toddler bed. All kids have different preferences, so experiment until you find out what your daughter prefers.
If your daughter is sleeping well in a crib, not climbing out, then why switch? She'll begin to climb out of bed in the night if she wakes. Do you really want her wandering around the house in the night unattended? Talk about something to worry about? Why rush to a toddler bed? She'll grow up fast enough. Besides if she screams in the new bed, maybe it's a sign.
Hey there K.!
When my daughter was ready for a big girl bed- she was also REALLY into all of the Disney Princess stuff that was so popular. So I bought her some Princess Sheets- and she was begging ME to sleep on them! We later went together and bought more of her favorites (Bratz, Strawberry Shortcake, etc) on sheets, and she gets to choose what type she wants on her bed. Also- my husband and I are completely firm on the idea that is not welcome in our bed until it is daylight outside. Also- I didn't put my daughter in her big girl bed until she was about 3- so don't feel bad if you opt to go back to the crib for a few months!! I was pretty open to whatever would work for my sanity!!!
Sweet Dreams!!!
-B. P
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When I had this problem with my oldest we took one side of the crib off so it was more like a big boy/girl bed. I think it depends on the type of crib you have but it worked like a charm. Good luck!
When my oldest was 17 months old he had great grandma in the same room in another bed holding his hand and he was fine sleeping in a twin sized bed. When we moved to our own apartment in Kentucky after he was about 26 months old, I think we did put the crib up for a while just in case. Nap time was a nightmare because he could get up an climb around the room and at night he wandered. His dad wouldn't let me get a baby gate so we just had to deal with it for the 10 months we lived in that apartment then we moved back to Grandma's and he went back to sleeping holding her hand until his dad took him at age 3 years and 10 months. Whatever trouble he and his parents had was never divulged to me except to say I coddled him too much but I never had trouble getting him to sleep in his own bed when he was at my place for visitation.
With the next boy we had both in his room. He didn't acutally start napping in his toddler bed until I started taking him to work with me and the toddler bed became a permanent fixture at the frame shop. Then one day he was given a big boy race car bed that holds a twin matress. There wasn't enough room for it and the crib so the crib was taken out of there and he's been in a big bed ever since. once we did that he had a baby gate in the door until he needed to get up at night to go pee. Then we started putting the gate up at the end of the hall so he couldn't get out of the sleeping and bathroom area at night.
With the younger one we kept both in his room once he turned 18 months. After one month of sucessful naps in the bed we moved to sleeping in there at night. We put the toddler bed in the cribs place and one of us would sit with him until he fell asleep. We move a body width farther away from him each night and then once we were out the door we put up a baby gate and sat outside it. Moving a body width out of his sight each night until we could put him to bed without him fighting it.
Now with this method you cannot soothe her as she lies in the bed and don't make any noise or let her see more than half of your face. Also don't get into a power struggle over making her stay in the bed. If you don't get calming and staying in the bed willingly after 5 and adding a minute each day up to 20 minutes put her in her crib and move on to your own bed time routine.
If there is any way you could leave the crib up (if it's not transitioned into a bed) and start having her take naps in the toddler bed during the day to get used to it, then gradually change over into the bed at night time. Just an idea.
I'd say she's ready for more room especially if she is long. Hea, maybe she even thinks she's out grown this cage!! (smile).Don't let her be the judge, now taht you have changed the bed, it's time for her to get used to it. don't change up now
Congrats on sticking with it. That is one of the first hurdles of many. =)
Good luck.
