Sleeping Transition When Moving

Hi M.,
We moved when my son was 2 1/2 and I was 8 mos. pregnant with my daughter. I needed his crib for the new baby. The transition to a big boy bed went smoothly! I got him all excited about his new room and how great it was going to be to have a big boys bed. He went right to it. You may have to lay and read a book or some ritual at night so she gets the hang of laying there for a bit. She may even try to come out of her room a few times at night, but just be consistent about putting her back in the bed. Hope this helps!!! Good luck.
J. G

I'm working one moving my soon to be 2y/o into a big bed. I have her Pack 'n' Play still set up in her room with the big bed. So far I've only been trying to get her to lay down on the big bed for naps. I do the same routine as I've always done with her. She's hasn't slept in the bed yet, but she will lay on it for a little while then climb into the Pack 'n' Play (we have no rail for the bed yet so I push the P/P next to it). I'll keep trying, she's a smart one so she'll get it eventually.

Basically my way, make her crib into the big bed, move the P/P in to her room to give her an option. Get crib for brother. Try Big bed for naps and see how she does. All should be set.

Good luck.

I would not put any type of lock on her bedroom door if there is a fire or tonado she can't get out. SHe will be fine with the transition since you are dong it with a new house really talk up the new house, the new room, the new bed as being part of her transition to a big girl. Expect the first fewnights to be scarey ( it wou.d be even if you didn;thave a new bed) and everything will be fine.

When we transitioned, we had ours help tear down the crib adn put together the new bed it is amazing what ownership in the bed can do for you too

I just went through the same thing with my son. He turned 2 in May. The day after his birthday we moved!! He was in a crib, and I didn't know what to do. I went out and bought a toddler bed, but never took it out of the box. I decided that we would put his twin bed in the new house. From the moment he saw his Big Boy Bed, he LOVED it!! I put it next to a wall and put the safety rails on both sides. I know that a lot of people say that moving is the worse time to transition. But I thought Hey, new house, new bed, lets try it. It worked perfectly for me!! He has always slept through the night and to my surprise, he does not get out of his bed when you wakes in the morning. He justs sits and looks at books until I come and get him.
Any way, We really talked up getting a new house, new room , and big boy bed!! It worked for me. Good Luck!!!

I say let the kids move on & show their "grown up" status! =) I transitioned both of my kids out of cribs & into toddler beds when they were two. Maybe I was lucky, but neither one of them (girl & boy) had a problem. Toddler beds are so low to the ground that I really didn't worry about them falling out. As for the baby in the pack & play...I just didn't feel like they were very supportive once the babies got bigger. I would really recommend transitioning both of them.

Get some special sheets for your daughter in the toddler bed. Make it a special "big girl" event -- she should LOVE it! :) Just teach her that being a big girl means staying in her room when she gets up...or coming to your bedroom...reading books...whatever it is that you expect her to do. She gets a special new bed for being a big girl -- but she has to act like one. For your son, he'll probably transition just fine at his age. He'll probably enjoy the space & comfort of the crib mattress! =) Have fun with it.

My husband really wasn't ready to put our son into a toddler bed. He thought he'd get out of his room & get into things he wasn't supposed to. (Though our house is pretty baby-proof, so I'm not exactly sure what that would have been.) But he didn't. If he wakes up before we do, he usually puts on his baseball cap (funny!) and reads all of is books. Or he's got Lego's in his room that he plays with -- all "safe" toys.

Congrats on the new house. Try to find some help to get you packed!! :)

Hi M.,
I moved from NC to OH last December, and I wanted to do the same thing with my daughter (she was almost 2 at the time). I asked her pediatrician for advice and was told to not make the transition right after we move. She said to set up rooms as similar as possible to our last home so that it will seem familiar. Dr said moving and changing sleeping arrangements at the same time would be too stressful. She suggested I wait at least 3 months after I move to make any adjustments to her sleeping conditions. I don't know if that helps you, but I just wanted to share the info with you. Good luck!

All my best
A.

I just went through a similar thing. We moved and my 2-year-old had to get into a big bed so that our new baby could have the crib.
We just did a mattress on the floor, but I'm sure the toddler bed will work just the same.

We had a hard time at first, and the first couple of nights he wound up back in the crib. But then I started making a big deal about his cousins that sleep in big beds and how cool his new sheets were, etc.

He got the hang of the bed at night time within a week. Naptime took longer because it's light in his room and he can see things to play with.

Just make sure the room is child-proof. You also have to be willing to give up some control. When she's in her room alone, you can't control what she's doing, so you just have to relax ( I had a very hard time with this!). It's like, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink ... You can put the kid in bed and close the door, but you can't make him sleep!

Good luck! No matter what method you choose, the kids will get the hang of the new place and sleeping situations!

I know you want the crib for your new baby but if your daughter likes her crib this may not be the time for change. If she isn't climbing out and stays there until you go and get her why the hurry. YOu have enough on your hands trying to move besides worrying about her staying in bed when you get to the new house. IF everyone is sleeping I would leave them for now, maybe even look for another crib at a garage sale or resale shop. I would put off the bed move until later. toddler beds are over rated keep her put if you can. Our second one loved sleeping in his crib until about 3 1/2 when he started not to fit then we moved him to a twin bed. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

with my son, i took him to the store and told him he was such a big boy now that he got to pick a new bed & all the stuff that went with it, anything kind he wanted. i gave him alot of praise over the sheets, pillows ect & we had such a good time after we got home putting everything together(i let him help), that after we got it all sorted he kicked me out of his room so he could take a nap in his new bed. good luck & God bless.

I just moved too and with a baby coming in Sept. I moved my 2 year old to a toddler bed to free up his crib. His was the first room we put together and we spent time playing in his room as well as napping in his room prior to fully moving in/spending the night! It may just be luck but I have not had any issues with the transition. I sat in his room with him the first couple of weeks while he fell asleep to make sure he wasn't scared...he was actually pretty worked up about the whole thing and wanted to jump around on the bed! (ha ha) He did fall out of the bed the first two nights and woke us up crying but has been great ever since (about 2 months).

You could set up a toddler bed ahead of time in her room of the new house. Have her pack a bag, like she is going to Gma house, with her pillow and blanket, special animal/toy or what ever. And then when you get there tell her this room was made just for you. It even has a big girl bed in it!! You could even get some pics of her fav characters and you both can tape them on the wall (until you get more settled in to do something else). We just moved so I know your dilema, though my children are a bit older. We decorated with toysand posters and then brought the bed into the room when we got the truck.
Good luck!
SZ

Hi M.!!

I have to say that I agree with Elizabeth. If your kids are sleeping well in the current situation, I wouldn't change much either. Everyone sleeping, at the same time,is too much like heaven! :)

We moved to the Cleveland area about 1 year ago from MI. So, it was a big move. It was also #3 move for my 3 year old daughter. What we did was have the kids stay with my in-laws during the "moving" process. I know that it might be hard to have them with some one else depending on your move situation. But it allowed us to be with the movers. It allowed us to first get everything situated in their new rooms as close to possible as they were in their previous rooms. Their furniture, their toys, etc. It wasn't that hard, as I had labeled everything specifically from their rooms, so I would know exactly what boxes I would need.

Their transition seemed to go very well. A lot better than I had expected. I didn't transition either of my daughters out of their crib until they were waking themselves up from getting caught in the crib or trying to climb out. Then, because my girls are on the tall side and will sleep sideways, we bought them big girl beds, literally. They have queen beds - this was to save on sheets actually. In the beginning, I used bed rails, but as the girls got older and able to get in and out of bed (mattress & box on the floor)on their own, the rails went away.

Good luck with your move and your transition.
K.

I just went through this two weeks ago. I moved my not quite two year old into her regular twin bed. All of her friends were bruising up their faces from tumbling from their cribs and she is a climber, so I figured it was time.

First, I put her bed together and then put her in it a couple of hours later than her bed time. She was tired, so she went to sleep right away. I also kept her door open as I always do, but put a baby gate on her doorway. She knew she could not get out, so she did not try. I had not previously put a gate on her door. I also bought another wooden baby gate that is screwed into the wall, over the steps just in case she escapes her room.

The second and third nights followed my brother's rehersal dinner and wedding so she was tired those nights too and went right to sleep. Only one night was this a problem with her crying.

It has been really smooth since.

Good luck!

With my oldest I sat on her floor next to her bed till she fell asleep once she fell asleep I got up and left the room

It sounds like you have a good hold of the situatin. I would make a big deal of the fact she's a big girl and let her help decorate her room in big girl style. Also let her help arange the furniture. It may help her to accept things better.

I can understand the moving issue too, We had to move recently we lost our house of 20 plus years to foreclosure because of health reasons not credit card debit. We have a kitty and cats do not like change and she has adjusted very well. We take care of this new place and a boxer dog and rent the house for free. Angels come in all sizes and shapes. The dog and the cat get along okay. I was so afraid I would have to find her a new home. She hasn't done the usual things like peeing in the wrong places. The dog does eat her litty litter poo/ pee and all. Crazy dog.
Good luck with your move. I am still physically a wreak from it and major depression now on top of going blind.

My son is 2 1/2 and he is currently in love with opening and shutting doors. (He even tends to lock them). Since his bedroom is upstairs, we placed a lock on the door that leads to and down the stairs. It's a great thing to have so he won't try and go down the steps without assistance. The lock is a sliding one since we have the door handles that you pull down to get in or out. It has a lever that is placed
"under" the door handle that slides. So if he tries to pull down the handle, he can't get out since the lever is preventing him from doing so.
These tips might also help: Have you looked at babies r us?
Websites- leapsandbounds.com
onestepahead.com-this is a amazing magazine. It has a ton of stuff that you can't find in stores. Both of these sites have free subscriptions to their magazines!
I hope this helps!!!!

Why not keep her in a crib? It is safest and then you don't need to worry about locking her in her room (which sound a bit scary to me).

I haven't been through it, but everything I have read both from professionals and from moms on here is that moving homes is NOT the time to change your children's sleep arrangements. Many 2-yr-olds aren't ready for a big kid bed in the first place, and moving can be very stressful and when you combine them, you are just asking for night-waking problems.
I suggest letting her get settled in for a few months and then doing it.

Don't have any advice about the bed transition, but I can maybe save you some money and trouble about the child locks. When we moved into one house, we discovered that the previous owners had turned the doorknobs around on all the kids' bedroom doors. They locked from the outside! It seemed kind of odd to us at the time, but came in really handy as our kids got older. Oldest son was awful about time outs, and we finally took to locking him in. Worked like a charm! Plus, they couldn't lock themselves in, lol. I would have no qualms about locking it if your daughter doesn't stay in her room otherwise, then unlocking it once she's asleep. Then if there's an emergency overnight, or if she needs to go potty, she can. Not possible with child-proof doorknobs.