Transitioning to big bed Questions!!

[danni1]

We bought all of Caleb's new furniture the other day, and have set up a new bedroom for him. It looks so funky.. it's a surf/beach theme, and looks very cool 8) . I hate naff boys stuff that is usually all you can buy for little boys, so was very excited when i came across the sheridan boardshorts bedding range. It's fun and bright, without being naff.. iykwim?!!

ANYWAY.. i'm wondering how i go about transitioning him into the single bed. I put him to bed like normal today in his new room, and he started knocking on the door calling out "Mummmmy!!". He then started jumping on the bed and playing (i was standing at the door listening). This went on for about 45mins, until he really cracked it, as he was tired, but i guess he didn't realise that he was supposed to go to sleep. I gave up and we took him out with us, and he promptly fell asleep in the car on the way :roll: .

So.. tonight he went to bed in his cot, as we were still working on his room, but we are going to put him to bed tomorrow night in his new bedroom. Any tips on making this transition smooth???

On another note, you should see how PINK the baby room is getting!!!! I made the baby a new quilt (took ages, but i'm so proud!!! :oops: ) and have been painting/making accessories to match!!! Pink is just SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!! :D

Anyway.. any tips gladly received!!! Thanks girls!!

[bluepencils]

Danni!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D You don't post much on the December board, sorry to hijack your thread here...but I wanted to respond to this as we just went through it w/Molly. :D

I put her twin bed on the floor. She has a toddler rail on it. I put a body lenght pillow at the top of the bed so she couldn't fall out of the space. She played lots and lots and lots before going to sleep that first week of transitioning. Standing on the rail, jumping etc. ... eventually she got the hint and now lucky for me when she is ready for bed each night she grabs her blanky and paci and walks over to the bed and puts herself down. Same with naps!

As w/most toddlers routine is important here too...I close the windows, shades put on some white noise and plug in her night light and let her do the rest usually w/in a half hour she is ready to go to sleep and goes in her room and lays down. If she is really excited I will lay down w/her for a few minutes but usually she wants the bed to herself! I still remove all her blankets but one toddler one and I do have a twin size pillow in there.

Good luck...Caleb is a smart fellow...he will catch on quickly!

[aquagrl]

I don't have any advice about the transition but I'm looking forward to reading the responses that you get so I can learn from them.

I ordered another crib for "the boy" I just don't think Hannah is ready to be out of hers yet and I decided I wanted Cherry furniture for his room. Economical and practical it is not! LOL!

I really want to see pictures of the rooms. I can't wait to see the pink room!!!

[Cakesena]

Hmmm...waiting for other responses too. We'd really like to try and get Madison in a big girl bed so that Ethan can use her crib eventually but to be honest we're just being lazy about it. She's so good about going to sleep in her crib. We're thinking of just putting her twin bed mattress on the floor and see how it goes.

[tinaporter]

I think each child is totally different. We put our son on a mattress on the floor at 13 months since he wouldn't sleep in the crib anyway. He still ended up in our bed each night eventually until around 2 yrs when we did the "back to bed" technique thanks to Super Nanny. Sofia on the other hand loves her crib and sleeps like a charm in there so we're not messing with a good thing.

Good luck.

Tina

[coolmama72]

We put Andrew in a twin mattress on the floor at 17 months. We put the rail on the side and a gate at his door. We did the same routine as before, with books and music. And we snuggled him in the bed (a bad habit, I don't recommend it!). He would usually get out of the bed, but with the gate up, he couldn't leave the room.

Jordan was 22 months old when we moved her into a toddler bed. Again, kept the same routines as before. The bed was in the same room as the crib, so some nights she just asked to be in the crib again and we usually obliged so that she had a good night's sleep. We still had months to go before Natalie arrived, so there was no rush.

A the same time, I know people who have their three year olds in a crib still. While that's something I don't think I'd ever do, it just reminds me that each child is different.

Give Caleb some time to adjust, and keep the routines consistent. Even if he jumps on the bed, eventually he will fall asleep. Of course, it's important to try to get him in a restful state so that he won't want to jump when it's time for bed.

[danni1]

Thanks for all the tips girls!!!

He is a fabulous sleeper in his cot, so it is rather daunting disrupting his routine, but at the same time, i have max 10 weeks left until the baby arrives, and we'd like to have him used to his new bed by then. Madison will be in the basinette for the first 4ish months in our room, so she doesn't "need" the cot, although we don't want to kick Caleb out of his room and cot at that time, as we feel he'd resent her. SO we are doing the transition now.

He adjusts to new things really well, so we are hoping he goes well with this too. At the moment, he LOVES his new room so much, that he gets excited just walking in there. I think thats half our problem. When the excitment dies down a tad, we should be good!!! LOL.

Anyway, his first sleep in his bed should be tonight so wish us luck!!!!!!

I'l try to grab some pics of his new room today, and then the new baby room when it's finished!! :D