Moving from Crib to Big Girl Bed

M.,

I just went through all of this over the summer with our then 16 month old son. He climbed over/fell out of his crib and thankfully wasn't hurt. But we decided not to wait until he did get seriously injured and moved him into a junior size bed (bigger than a toddler bed but smaller than a twin).
The transition took about 6 weeks or so. First we bought a nice gate with a door for his room. That is a must. You basically turn the entire room into a crib. Then for the first few weeks we went back to rocking him to sleep and then putting him to bed in the crib so that he'd have time to get used to it. After 2 weeks, we started taking him to bed awake and staying in the room until he fell asleep. After 2 weeks of that, we just went cold turkey and put him in bed, read books... creating a nice bedtime ruitine for him... and then we'd turn his music on and shut out the light and leave the room. Of course, for probably 3 to 4 nights he cried hysterically at the gate. we use the Ferber method... so we would wait 5 minutes and then put him back in bed...wait 10 minutes and put him back in bed, wait 15 minutes.... eventually he would climb into bed and go to sleep. After a week or so, this whole crying thing was totally minimized. He got used to the bed pretty easily considering he was so little, and it's worked out really well.

good luck!

Both my daughters had rather quick and uneventful transitions, but when they did get out of the toddler bed, the best things that worked for us were...
Rather than trying to reason with a 2/3 year old, we would take them by the hand and lead them back to bed without saying a word. Put them back in bed with a night night kiss and leave. Sometimes it took three times in a row, but eventually they got it. For us, it was less than a week and we still had great nappers and sleepers. We also kept the crib up in their rooms during that time and if they really rebelled about going to bed, we put the mattress back in the crib and they went in...crying most of the time. Usually the "threat" of returning to the crib was enough to keep them in the bed.

Hi M.,
There's no need to be nervous. Going from crib to toddler bed or big girl bed is exciting! When our daughter went to a toddler bed, she didn't miss any naps or get out of bed during bedtime. Don't worry...she'll be just fine!

~M.

We just had a flawless transition into her crib changed as a day bed, I highly recommend this if it is an option for you since she then will not be moving to a new bed all together. I took her to Babies R Us and we picked out some new crib sheets, (just some plain lavander ones) as well as a new really soft blanket that she picked out to put on top and a new bed skirt. We also made sure she had a stool to assist her getting in and out of her bed. Also if her room is not baby proofed now is the time!! We made a HUGE deal of her big girl bed when ever anyone came to visit, and had her show them her new bed, and she would jump right in and show them. For the first nap I had to go in her room for atleast 40 minutes to take the toys away that she got up and took, and tell her to lay down and close her eyes. Besides that she did GREAT. In the mornings (she sleeps with her door closed) she still stays in bed until I come and take her out, or tell her its ok to get up. Just make it a big deal and your little one will do great!!

What I did with my little ones. I camped out the first night next to the big girl bed, moved it next to mine, got her a fisher price lantern, and made her so proud to be on her very own big girl bed, (even pretended she was on a boat, and couldn't get off because of the water, she loved it). It is so much easier than you imagine.... I think it is harder on us, because we rely on the crib to contain them from harm, and now she will be able to come and go freely. But your natural insticts will kick in about it, and it will be perfect! Just make it fun for her, if she likes Dora, get a dora bed set to go with it, they become proud to be like mommy. But I would keep her next to your bed for awhile, and then she'll want to be on her own in her own room if you have one for her, soon enough. Good Luck, and God bless you both through this!

-C.

When it came time for us to move both our children out of their cribs, I was mostly afraid of them falling out of bed. The guard rails didn't work well, because my daughter kept getting stuck in them. So we moved the mattress to the floor! It worked well, I never worried about either of them falling out. We kept telling them that when THEY were ready, we would put the mattress on the big-kids bed, but first they had to prove themselves by staying in bed, not playing around, etc. It worked for us, I'm not sure it would work for everyone, but I'm glad we did it this way. (my kids are teens now!)