Tuesday, February 9, 2010
From crib to bed
So I love blogs so I can get advice. For all those moms who have already done this...what is the best method you have found for transitioning a toddler from her crib to a bed? How long does this usually take? I have been hoping that I could avoid it until after this baby was born, but I just watched Brielle climb out of her crib in about 5 seconds and I don't think I can wait much longer. Can I get your advice on what works and what doesn't work? I would really appreciate it!
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9 comments:
A few months before my son was born, we bought my daughter a new "big girl bed" - just a twin mattress, on a box spring. If we had bought a frame, it would have been too tall! We took her to JC Penny and let her pick out two sets of sheets that she really liked...and I put a child-proof handle on the INSIDE of her door so she couldn't wander around during the night. It only took us one night...but my daughter's always been like that - weaning took one night, new bed took one night...she likes "big girl" changes. Good luck!!!!!
While they LOVED the actual beds, my kids took a while to adapt to the freedom, and it took about a week of putting them back to bed repeatedly (like 8-10 times per nap!) before they finally adjusted.
I love the idea of a child-proof handle on the inside! We weren't nearly so clever... I wedged a doorstop under the open door and we put a spring-loaded baby gate in the doorway so I could see what was going on but no one could escape and roam. :)
(When Alex was tiny, he'd get off his bed and then couldn't climb back up, so he'd play for a while and fall asleep on the floor, right in front of the door. When I'd open it to check on him, I'd always smash him, which is why we went with the whole door-open thing.)
AJ was a nightmare. We took AJ out and put Jakob in the crib. Than AJ just had the big girl bed. She stopped taking naps, she would crawl out at night... NIGHTMARE. Jakob we put the big boy bed up next to his crib. Let him get used to it there. Sleep in the crib at naps, bed at night... eventually he just wanted to sleep in the bed. Hope this helps.
I actually don't transition my kids to beds until they are three. That way they are old enough to understand a little more. In your case though I understand that you need a the crib. Because of Brielle's disposition to want to be grown up I think that the "big Girl bed" saying will work well for you. If she is very attached to her crib then you will want her out for as long as possible before you put the baby in. That will give her time to adjust and not be jealous of the baby when she gets the crib.
I have to say I welcome you and pity you into this stage of parenting. It's a battle from here on out to keep them in their beds. It goes in stages though so it's not bad all the time. Good luck and Love you.
What worked for us was advice from our pediatrician. She told us to put up a baby gate and make her entire room the crib. She said that eventually she will fall asleep in her bed but for the first few days she may cry herself to sleep at the door. We put up the new bed and kept telling her it was her big girl bed and we put princess sheets on it and then tried the gate at the door she did really well!
I was like you...a baby on the way...and Ethan needed to switch rooms. We actually just got him a twin bed and put safety gates on the side and a stool to get out, so he can keep the bed for a long time. I got his room and bed all ready before the baby came and let him get used to it so he didn't feel like his crib was taken away by the baby. He loved the idea that it was a bed for 'BIG BOYS.' He adjusted just fine. He didn't nap as well and he would wander out of bed a lot, but we didn't make a big deal of it...just kept the lights off and let him get bored and just climb back into bed. Good luck! These changes are always tricky and you know Brielle better than anyone, so trust your instincts. :)
We got her a big girl bed with princess bedding and she was ready to climb into bed!!! She then decided that maybe it was a little scary so I made her a chart and if she slept in her bed all night she would get a sticker as soon as she got up in the morning. Once her chart was filled she had two options- pick a price or sleep with us on sat night. Guess wich one she picked! In two weeks she had no problems at all!!! I also dont make her room or bed time a time out/punishment. Something i learned from a friend who did that and now her kids hate their room and bed time. Make it fun and exciting. Miya recently just wanted to sleep in our room so I put stars on her ceiling and she loves it!! Haven't had problems since! Get creative and make it a fun experience!!!
All I can say is that it may be crazy for awhile, but like everything else, it's just a phase, and it will end! I hope it's not too crazy with the new baby. I'd say try and get it done before the baby comes, if you haven't already.
Although I didn't try them myself, I'm wondering if holding her down in her big girl bed with bungie cords might work. What do you think?
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