Help on Upcoming Transitions!

We moved from an apartment to a house with a 16 month old when I was 8 months pregnant.

Wait till after the baby to start potty training. She could probably do it before, but by then you'll be very preggo and it's not worth the hassle - especially if she regresses after the baby is born (I tried and was sorry I did).

Since she's still in the crib I would recommend leaving her there till you move. Talk about her new room a lot. Get her excited. Tell her she'll have a new big girl bed in the new house. Then take down the crib when you move and put it away. Don't get it back out till you're ready to use it for baby. My son was VERY attached to his crib, we didn't want him to associate the baby with "stealing" his crib. By having a few months in the new house, new bed, with no crib in sight he forgot about it by the time his sister needed it.

Good luck!!

Congrats on your pregnancy. Here is what we did to help our transition when we found out our second one was coming.

Prior to potty training, we would check our sons diaper any place other than his room. Then we would tell him he had pee or poop and ask him to bring us a diaper and wipes. Once he got the hang of it he started learning when he had pee or poop and would bring us a diaper and wipes without us asking. When we realized he knew exactly when he needed to be changed we started introducing him to the potty. We would also take him with us to the bathroom every time we went and would tell him what we were doing. He will be 3 in September and we are almost potty trained. He still has some accidents, but that is OK for now. A good rule of thumb is take them to the potty as soon as they wake up. If they are dry in the morning or after a nap then that is a good time to start. We do potty treats when he does go. Stickers for pee and an M&M for poop.

At about 16 months old, we turned his bed into a toddler bed. One because I am a SAHM and it was getting hard for me to lift him up and over and two because we wanted him completely adjusted to it prior to our second being born. We had 4 months to work on it and by the time we had our little girl, our son was great with sleeping in his bed. He fell out twice in the first week and that was it. I did not want 2 in a baby bed and mine are 20 months apart. Also, we wanted to teach him a sense of maturity so that he would know and understand the he is the big brother and a big boy and not act like a baby. In doing this we skipped the terrible 2 with our oldest.

Good Luck!

Hello H.!

DO NOT TRY THE POTTY TRAINING YET!! Too many transistions in your child's life will ultimately wear you both out and w/ a new baby ont he way............not a good thing.

You are moving new home, you want to move her to a toddler bed, you are having a new baby....just naming all of this is stressing me out, can you imagine what it will do to her??

Go slow w/each transition please, you will regret it if you do it quickly. Kids like schedules, boundaries and the same thing done over and over again and changes do affect kids in many different forms. Behavior-wise and emotionally. Some kids do better (depending on their age) when changes are made, but most do not.

I would first start on the bed change, (especially if you need the crib for your new one) leave her baby bed up in the room even if it crowded and get her excited about the new bed and how much of a big girl she is, let her play and lay in it and pretend if she wants. We had to do this for a week, before my son finally hugged his crib and said good-bye to it and felt comfortable in his toddler bed. He wanted back in his crib the first 3 nights, so don't take it apart or down until she has accepted the toddler bed.

On moving, wait at least 4 to 6 weeks before even approaching the subject w/her about having her new room, more space, more exiciting...etc... are you building? If so, it is good to take them w/you when you do this, so they can see the transformation that is taking place in their new house. We are moving this month (been building since September 2006) and again it is tough sometimes and he cries, but we just keep getting so excited about our move.

I would really wait to talk about a new baby until your move and give it again another 4 to 6 weeks, you child may adjust just fine, but give them the time. If you want to start maybe in October about the potty training, maybe, but remember a new baby will be coming in December and they do sometimes revert back to being a baby......give it time and you guys will be fine. It will be tough and I hear girls do better potty-wise, so you just never know.

Sorry so long, but I have seen several of my friends go through HELL transitioning their kids too soon.

Good Luck!

G. B.

I'd do the toddler bed at the new house. Don't even set up the crib there until right before the baby comes.

I wouldn't even approach potty training until she is 2 1/2. In my experience and that of friends, most kids will show interest in the potty around 20 months, but for the most part, they will not consistently have interest or go potty independently much sooner than 2 1/2. With my daughter, even though she had the control to be potty trained at 2 (and she wore underwear then), the accidents and power struggles over it (even wetting herself on purpose because I wouldn't let her have her own way, etc.) didn't end until she was 2 1/2. Literally, it was almost to the day. My friends have similar stories with their kids, regardless of temperament or gender.

Hmm .. I would definitely wait on the potty training .... I tell anyone who asks ... wait until THEY are ready to be potty trained (you'll know). I feel pushing potty training only leads to problems later .... I thought my first son would never be potty trained - so I just waited on him .. so literally one weekend (he was 32 months) he decided he was done with diapers and we never looked bad and never had any accidents. :-)

I think you could do the toddler bed now, if she wants to. Now if she doesn't really 'want' to leave her crib right now ... then I'd wait until the new house (like new house = new big girl bed) But, if she wants to be in a big girl bed .. then I'd say it's fine to start working on that now. :-)

Good luck in your move and congrats on your other baby!!! :-)

Well, it's not worth the hassel of potty training a child when they are not ready.

These are a lot of big transitions in a year, but you have plenty of time.

I wouldn't attempt potty training until after the move. Try moving her to a toddler bed when the move takes place, she can start over all at once (it worked for my friend's little girl to do that) and explain the crib is going to be for her new little sibling. Taking down the crib to move it, and not putting it up again in a new place, may be less tramatic then taking it down and then her sleeping in the same room in a new bed.

If she's ready to potty train by then, start maybe around October, once she has settled in her bed for a good couple of weeks. If she is stressed once the baby comes, she may relapse for a while. So if you want to wait past then, start trying to potty train her in February/March or so, when you are feeling a bit better and can tackle it.

Good Luck!