Our 2.5 year old son has wanted to fall asleep on the floor outside of his crib for the past week or so. He's been really happy in the crib and never tried to crawl out - knock on wood. We were avoiding switching him over because no. 2 is due in April & we didn't want to rock the boat. Baby will be sleeping in a co-sleeper, not the crib.
Now wondering if this desire to fall asleep on floor means time for a change. Unfortunately, it's not a crib we can just take one side off. He does generally stay put where we put a blanket on the floor for him, so not right now an issue of wanting to be up and around, just not in crib. May be worth noting that he does try many other stall tactics before sleep, so we do have our battles...
Thoughts?
Thanks!
I would try pulling the mattress out of the crib and putting it on the floor. This will help get him used to a bed, and the 'no sides' practice so if he falls off it's not harmful. If he likes it, it's time to transition.
good luck!
Place a big boy bed or mattress in the room with the crib. Put him to sleep in the big boy bed and see how it goes. If he sleeps in it with no problem, get the crib out asap! Seize this moment now! No sense in waiting until after the baby is born when he might feel a little jealousy! Good luck with your son and new baby!
We had a similar situation - just put the crib mattress on the floor and arranged room and stuffed animals to looked like a big boy bed - but with only a few inches to floor. I think we used one of those bed rail/guard things up against the wall to look a little like a side ways headboard - then he was used to it and wanted when he moved into a regular bed. We just moved it to the outside edge like it should be.
Go for it! We were able to take the side off, so that was nice. We did it at 26 months, and switched to (very tall) twin bed at 34 months. If he's already 2.5, go ahead and switch right to whatever you want to keep him in for a while. If we hadn't had the option of removing the side of the crib, we would have gone right to a twin.
Just make sure you make rules and stick wtih them. Our rules were....no jumping, no standing, and no getting out. they worked for a while, then she did start getting out during naps, but we kept enforcing the rules, so she would get out, grab a book or something and get back in, and eventually go to sleep. It all depends on your son's attitude about going to bed anyway, so you'll have to decide if he's ready...but he's not too young!
Are you not putting him IN the crib when he's tired? I don't understand why he's falling asleep on the floor (but my kids used to fall asleep in weird places, so I kind of understand too). If #2 is on the way, I would definately take this as a window of opporunity and put him in a toddler bed if you are putting the new baby in his crib. So he's not feeling a sense of loss, let him help pick out his bed and bedding set, and let him help prepare the crib for the new baby. He would be so proud of himself! And that's important for his self esteem. You know your child better than anyone maturity-wise, you know if he's ready for a big bed or not. My 1st daughter was in a toddler bed by 9 MONTHS because she was CRAZY climber/spider monkey/kamakazee child. My second daughter was in a toddler bed by 10 months because my first daughter would climb in the crib and push her sister up and out!! So kids way younger than 2 1/2 have survived in a toddler bed... and I did too ;) Best wishes!
Sounds like he is ready. I suggest a regular twin bed over a toddler bed. Just put side rails up. My kids hated toddler beds and did much better in real ones.
I agree to seize this moment! If he's ready and it sounds like he is, I would do it before the baby comes. First this will get him out of the crib before baby needs it (my doc said my daugther would mostly 'forget' about the crib being hers after about 8 weeks) so there won't be a jealously issue. If you're not ready to buy a bed or want to make the transition slower you can put a mattress, regular or air, on the floor and use that as his bed for a while. Or just go all out and move the crib and change his room into a big boy room. I think going Big Boy is a nice idea before the baby comes.
Both my kids, at about that age, liked to sleep on the floor.
No biggie.
It is temporary.
They got sleep that way.
I let them sleep there.
My daughter, would as she called it "make her nest" getting blankets and her lovies, to sleep with on the floor next to her bed.
Fine.
This age, they fluctuate a lot.
You can just have a mattress on the floor with him, and that can transition him too.
With my son, that is what we did.
Hi M.,
After my second daughter was born last June, we got my then 21 month old a toddler air mattress (knowing we would need the crib for the second in a couple months). We kept the air mattress on the floor in her room with the crib for two months. Then we got her a twin mattress on the floor in her new room. (She moved to another room and the new baby got the nursery room.) She loved it! She only fell out of the mattress once, and we recently added the box spring to it now. She is still on the floor, but loves her big girl bed.
We still have our battles, but she doesn't get out of her bed that often. She knows there are consequences if she gets out of bed.
The nice thing about the toddler air mattress is we can take it with us when we travel, and she knows it's her bed.
Good luck!
Yep!!! sounds like he is ready for his big boy bed....
I've seen a lot of kids use those little foam chairs that look like a junior version of an easy chair but the seat part unfolds sort of like a convertible couch. They aren't expensive and come in various patterns including cartoon characters. Some kids in my family used those to avoid the crib but still get a nap. The arms of the chair keep them kind of aligned in the bed part and they don't roll out.
Go ahead if it means he will sleep!
Sometimes they have an urge for greater independence, so it's okay to take that into account. (That's what the stalling tactics are, probably.) It might be worth putting the mattress on the floor to see if he likes it - then you can put it right into a toddler bed. Or, if you are expecting to put baby #2 in that crib in 6 months, put a new toddler bed in the room now and see if your son goes for it with just a bed rail added.
