When to Move to a Big Girl Room

My daughter started climbing out of her crib at nine months. We moved her into a toddler bed until age 2 or 3. As long as you have a monitor she will be fine.

Well if she's climbing out of the crib then it is time for the daybed. If it has a safety rail that is good. I had one that did and one that didn't. The oldest I was three when we took the crib apart and made it into a daybed. But her bed didn't come with a safety rail. I rolled up a blanket into a bed roll and then put it under the sheet. That did the trick and she didn't fall out of her bed anymore.

The second child started climbing out at 2 1/2. Her bed came with a rail. Both started out in their own rooms so I didn't have to switch rooms...so I don't know how they would have handled that. Maybe if you let her help decorate her new room and help pick things out for it, she won't mind. Let her help you take the crib down and put the daybed conversion together. Both of mine loved to pretend to use the allen wrench. And they were so excited to get into their big girl bed that night.

Hi there,
My daughter is 15 months, I can just wait for this new step to come.
Anywhoo, my son was around 20-22 months when the crib started to be an issue. Overall, he was very good sleeping in it. During the day it was a game, climbing out after naps...
We tried a car bed, but he came to prefer laying on the floor with all his blankets. The spring we found out I was pregnant, we got ready to set up his new room, so he would be well transitioned before the fall (due date: Oct.). He was very excited about the new room, decor, etc. After about a year on the floor, I got rid of the car bed. We did put a twin bed in there and he has been on that for many months now.
So, if you think she will transition fine by adjusting her crib to a toddler bed, then do that. Once she is good about sleeping in her changed bed, then maybe you can move her to the next room, once ok with that, try switching her to a big girl bed and special sheets/blanket.
Best of luck, and pre-congratulations.

My son was 18 months old when I moved him to a Big boy room, so your daughter is not too young!! We moved him for the same reason, we were having a baby. I read that it's a good idea not to do too many new things at once, so we moved him a few months before the baby was born. He has done fine! Of course we put bed rails on because he moves all over the place in his sleep, but he absolutely loves his big boy room. To this day, which is now 8 months later, he still brings people that come over up to his room to play. He never did that in his old room. Anyway, I would give it a try, especially if she is already climbing out of the crib.

My daughter was actually close to 3 when we moved her to a big bed. She loved her crib. She was in her big bed at least a yr before her twin sisters were born.

I say move her as soon as you think she is ready.

We just moved my son about 1 month ago when he was 19 or 20 months old. He's done GREAT. We hyped it up - got some flannel sheets with cats on them (he loves our cats) and a blanket with trains on it (also loves trains). Told him what a big boy he was etc. It took about 1.5 weeks of us either sitting with him or standing in the doorway of his room (and me being very firm and consistent) for him to feel comfortable falling asleep by himself in it, but now I kiss him good night and walk out the door. He sleeps a solid 11-11.5 hours straight. If she's climbing, you can probably move her any time. Just make sure her room is kid-proofed and put a gate up at the door.

We moved our daughter (now 6) at age 18 months and she did really well. We used the rails so she wouldn't fall out. Her transition was really easy. With our son we just put him in a big boy bed and he is 2 1/2. For about 3 or 4 months we had him in his daybed. We started that when he climbed out of the crib. So far the big boy bed is a hit. He would get in and out of his day bed at least 10 times before he would finally fall asleep. For the last 3 nights, he only got out of bed 1 time. He loves his big boy bed. Each child is different and you just have to see if they are ready first. Our daughter was obviously more ready than our son was. Hope this helps.

My oldest climbed out of her crib at 14 months...so we put her in toddler bed... back then it looked like a twin, but close to the floor... she was in a twin by the time she was 18 months old... I believe it depends on the child...but if they are climbing out, they do not not need to be in that crib anymore... good luck on your wanting family to grow...

Since she can now get out of the crib, you won't lose much by moving her. If you can have the bed up against a wall, and a bed rail on the other side it's best. Then she won't fall out of bed. Realize that once you do move her to a big bed, she will be able to get up pretty easy on her own. She will no longer have to wait for someone to come and get her in the morning or at nap time. Puts awhole new spin on things.

My son used to love his crib... But we too needed the crib for our baby girl who was going to be born 3 months after my son's second birthday. We got him a toddler bed (did not convert our crib) and moved him to that right after his second birthday. We put the bumper from his crib around the toddler bed (on 3 sides since we put it against the wall) just for him to feel like he was sleeping in a familiar setting. He did GREAT!! Never came out.. slept like a champ. don't rush it if you don't have to. You can wait till she turns 2 or even a few months later. My daughter is 20 months now and she is a whole different person. I know if I move HER to a toddler bed, she's going to be out and running around all the time.

Good luck.
Aarti.

I think we ended up doing it at about 2 years for both of our girls - right around the age when they start climbing out of the crib. We started with a twin mattress directly on the floor, then added a box-spring after a few months, then added a bed frame; that transition eased our fears of "falling out of bed".

As soon as both of my children (Lily is almost 5, Jackson is 3) started climbing out of their cribs, I put them in a toddler bed. The bed I bought had safety rails on both sides and stood only a foot off of the ground. I was very concerned about the children hurting themselves by crawling out of the crib. Both of my children were between 12 and 18 months when we made the transition. We made a big deal out of it, helped them pick out new bedding and everything so they felt like they had some control over the situation. It was very easy for both of them. At around 3 for both we transitioned to an actual twin bed. Both of my kids are very tall, and they were getting to big for the little toddler bed. I hope this helps you some, feel free to write back if you have any questions.

We moved our son @ 15mo into a new room and bed since we had a baby due a few mo later & didn't want to get another crib. We put a full size mattress on the floor and started nap time/playtime there. That way he could get on and off easily. Eventually we did night time, too. There's a lot of waking and putting back to bed stuff that goes on, but you deal with that regardless of age:)

Meagan,

Are you willing to get a toddler bed? Since you are planning on a second child,
it might be worth getting. (He or she will be able to use it too). Then, you can wait until your child is at least three or 4 before putting her into a twin bed. Or, place the twin mattress right on the floor for now, and wait before putting an actual bed together.

My 1st kid I put in a full size bed at 2yrs ( I was expecting and wanted to be able to use the same crib ). But I was a wreck every night, afraid that she'd fall out of bed. And she did, luckily she didn't get hurt. So, I resorted to covering the floor around the bed with pillows and blankets for a soft fall, just incase.

The second kid got a toddler bed. Much easier and less worry!

S. C

My daughter has been in a toddler bed since right before 2, and now she will be 4 in April and she is just now getting her big girl bed.

We moved our daughter into a toddler bed when she was 1.5 and our son into a twin bed when he was 1.5 and both did just fine. I am not sure about the convertible crib, but unless you are planning to buy a new crib for a new baby I would suggest buying a toddler bed or twin bed for your daughter rather than converting the crib and either taking it back for the new baby or having to buy another crib- toddler beds are much cheaper than cribs:)

The "experts" always say to make sure your child is out of the crib for a few months before a new baby begins to sleep in it so they will not feel displaced.

We moved my daughter into her room at 18 months, because her baby brother was coming about 3 months later. We moved my son into her room at 21 months because his baby brother was coming about 3 months later. My youngest is still in his crib now, at 13 months, but I am thinking about moving him into the big kids room at 18 months because we are expecting our 4th about a month after that. I think that they are okay whenever you think they are ready. Falling out of the crib is a good sign that they can move. We got full size beds for our kids because they love to have me lay down with them, and I never wanted to squeeze into a twin, not to mention that I had my twin until I moved out, and I hated it :). We just put the mattress and box spring on the floor, and used a guard rail, and they were fine. Also, for my daughter we gated her room and that prevented her wandering at night. We couldn't with my oldest son because my daughter had to have access to the bathroom. He never wandered though, because once he's asleep, he's out, and he stayed in his room because my daughter was with him.

Anyway, good luck!

If she's climbing out of the bed, then she's ready for a big girl bed. Set up the big girl room, make it a big deal and let her try out the bed. She might surprise you in that she'll want to sleep in it.

We have an 18 month old, one on the way and will be transitioning to the big boy bed in the next month.

I say keep them in there as long as possible! It is a safe place. Our first satyed in there passes 3 and our second is still in there a little passed 2 with no end in sight.

If she seems ready, definately give it a try! She'll need to go into a big girl bed eventually so why not give it a shot! And, if she's been Little Miss Climber lately, I'd really give it a shot! :) Go ahead and do it now...may as well! Especially since we're all cooped up in the house!

We found w/ our first daughter, Morgan, that it was MUCH easier on her to not only change beds but ROOMS than even WE thought it would be for her! She was about 14 mos when we changed her room over (I was pregnant and we wanted the new baby to be in the nursery) and then we changed her bed at about 19 mos. She didn't even blink... it was fun for her!

Our second daughter, Jordyn, is 20 mos old and still in a crib, but we're finishing our basement and need the room to store the crib before we get her toddler bed in there. Right now her toddler bed is burried in the garage since we had to clear the basement! :) Jordyn is more "routine" oriented so I have more worry about her switching than I did Morgan, but...it's going to happen at some point so may as well do it now! :)

GOOD LUCK! Have FUN with it! :)

We moved our daughter right after her second birthday--we would have sooner but the room was not ready. We knew it was time for a big girl bed because she was doing so much on her own and really wanted to get out of bed by herself.

I think every child is different. You'll be able to tell when you think your daughter is ready for a "big girl" bed. My daughter moved into one at the age of 2 1/2. We changed her crib into a day bed. The reason we didn't just buy her a bed right away was because of space issues. We only have two bedrooms, and we didn't want to keep the crib in her room unused and then have her sleep in a twin bed. We thought she might have an issue seeing her old bed in the same room. I was worried that she might want to sleep in it. My daughter did just fine going from her daybed to a big girl bed. My 5 month old slept in the crib right away. There was no issues with that. My older daughter thought it was pretty cool that her baby sister was sleeping in her old bed. She was a proud sister. Again, I think every child is different. Some are ready at an earlier age and some aren't ready till their a little older. You will know as a mom when the time is right.