what age to switch to big girl bed

[emmababy]

More questions for experienced mommies. We will be having our second baby in August. Our dd will be 2. We will have the new baby in the bassinet at first, but will need to use the crib. Have any switched to a big bed at 2-2.5? How did it go? Did you go straight to a big bed or did you use a toddler bed?

I hate to buy a toddler bed because of the expense but will if it makes a difference. Thanks!!

 

[doulacandice]

I know people that have.. I moved my dd to a twin bed at 3 and she had no problems.. She had coslept with us up until that point.. My 2 yr old now sleeps in a toddler bed but I'm finding she would rather sleep with her sister in the twin bed!! I'm even thinking about getting her a twin bed soon..

I would make a big deal of it. Let her pick out the sheets and even the bed if you let her.. Then throw a big party! It's the big girl party!! Only big girls sleep in these beds, type of thing.. You can tell her that since she is a big girl she has to give the new baby the crib because that's the baby.. It worked well for my dd when we moved her to the toddler bed.. She picked her own sheets and knows the crib is now for babies.. Now our next adventure is.... potty training!!!

Good luck!!

 

[chrisxtwo]

My DD was not quite 18 months when we moved her into a twin bed. She took a day or two to get used to it but then she was fine. I would suggest a little time between getting her out of the crib and putting your other child in the crib. Our two are 13 months apart and the crib sat in our spare room for two weeks before our DS went in it. It helped DD adjust and she was happy to see her brother in it once she had time to get used to her bed.

 

[katiesmom2]

DD was 3 when she moved into her "big bed". She was climbing out of her crib, so it became necessary. DS moved at 2 and a few months because we had a trip planned and he no longer fit in the playpen, so we wanted to get him used to a bed.

Both times, the transition was painless. We never used a toddler bed. We moved our kids to regular twin beds with a bed rail in each side (or, if you can push the bed next to the wall, you can get away with a single rail). Like the PP said, get your daughter excited about it. Tell her she is a big girl! Our kids particularly liked having a sheet and blanket for the first time (we never put top sheets or blankets in their crib). If you switch her over in the winter, that might be a good selling point ('see how comfy-cozy you are going to be?').

Definitely use a gate to keep them from getting out of the room when you are asleep and be sure the room is child-proof.

Another tip - try to have her make the transition a few months before the new baby arrives. The new baby will be something she will need to adjust to, and throwing in a change of bed might be too much for her.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes. I'm sure it will be easier than you think. Our DS who just turned 3 loves, loves, loves his bed. Every night he says "I love my cozy bed".

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

We switched my daughter to a big girl bed afetr the first time she crawled out of the crib which was a little less than 2 years old. Once she learned to do it, she never stayed in the crib again. .We did try a toddler bed, but that didn't work out and it actually was uncomfortable. We bought her a full bed and she has been happy ever since.

One thing you might want to think about is moving her way before your new baby comes. She will already have to share you with a new baby, she might not want to give up her bed to a new baby too.

One thing we did is get a gate, well 2 gates actually because my baby crawled up like spiderman.

 

[foltzy]

my daughter was 1 when she went to a toddler bed, she started crawling out of her crib. At 2.5 she went to a twin bed, she was getting to big for the toddler bed and kept falling out. We left her help choose the bed and the bedding (princess and tinkerbell) she even chose a new pillow it's pink for the princesses (at the moment she's trying to convince us she needs a purple one for the tink bedding).

 

[CarolinesMom]

We moved our DD to a double bed with bedrails when she was 2. We made it a big deal, almost like a rite of passageto becoming a "big girl". I think if you wait until after the baby, your DD will feel she is being kicked out of her bed because of the baby not because she was a big girl and ready for it, if that makes sense.

 

[guelde96]

I agree with the pp. I would make sure she is moved before the baby. My oldest son crawled/fell out of his bed shortly after turning 1. We were also getting ready to have our second child. So we decided it was a great time to move him. Since he was so young and I was concerned he would get out and about the house with out me knowing. We decided to put a gate at his bedroom door. This worked for us. He would stand at the gate and yell for me when he woke. My daughter and my youngest son both got out of the crib about 2 1/2.

 

[jessica52877]

DS was 14 months when I took the front off his crib making it a toddler bed. Had we had his real bed at the time I would have just done that, at 25 months we got his twin bed and moved him into that. There were no rails on either so at first I put pillows on the floor in case he fell out (couch pillows), never did though. I think the earlier the better, to me, at a younger age, they listen better and aren't as daring.

I also made sure there was nothing in his room that he could get into (including no night light) and put a gate across his door, or closed it so he couldn't get out. Several reasons for that and one was IF there was a fire I knew right where he was. He couldn't wander somewhere.

 

[GoinToDisney]

We switched my dd at 2 years, 3 months because she hated her crib so much. She never tried to climb out, she would just cry in there. She stays in her bed and only got out a time or 2. We had no one else waiting for the crib, so we were able to tell her that if she wanted to sleep in a big girl bed, she needed to stay in bed. If not, she would have to go back to the crib. It actually worked, probably because she really did not like that crib. We used a twin bed with railings and just put the box spring and mattress on the floor without a frame to make it closer to the ground. We also double-checked our baby-proofing in her room.

ETA: I would switch her a couple of months before you need the baby to sleep in the crib to avoid jealousy.

 

[MaryKLady]

My poor kid is gonna hate me. DD 4 is still in a toddler bed. We wanted to get her a loft bed for her tiny room and all the warnings on them say they're not for kids under 6. Maybee next year?

 

[lighttech]

DS is 2.5, and we haven't switched him yet, but only b/c he is totally comfortable in his crib still, and not yet fully potty-trained, so the crib mattress is easier to clean. But, we do plan on switching him soon. He'll also be changing rooms to a bigger one down the hall instead of the smaller "nursery" that is right next to our room.

I definitely agree w/ pps about doing it before the new baby arrives though (congrats BTW!).

Also, if you are debating btw toddler and twin, I think I've seen a few convertible beds that go from a toddler bed to a twin, so you'd only have to buy new sheets and mattress, not a whole new frame. If I remember correctly, IKEA carries some.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My dd4 moved from a crib to the bottom bunk of bunkbeds at 17 months. We had no issues at all and only used the safety rail for the first couple of months. The daycare she was at was transitioning her from crib to cot and I figured it would be easier on her if we did away with the crib and kept things consistent (did away with the sippy cups at that time too). She moved to the top bunk just after her 3rd birthday (big brother is afraid of heights) where she has been happily sleeping since.

T.

 

[memobrien]

right before my dd 2nd birthday she started to have sleep issues. She had never given us a problem at bedtime. so this was really weird. Finally we were able to figure out she felt her crib was too hard and small (she has always been erally tall). So we got a twin mattress. I was worried about her being up so high with a twin. So we put the mattress and box spring on the floor at first. We did put bed rails too. Not really for safety becuase she was so low to the ground. But more becacuse it gave her that barrier so she wouldn't get right out of bed. Also I got her use to them for when we put her mattress on the bed instead of the floor.

She was THRILLED and loved the idea of her big girl bed. The first night we moved her all her sleep issues stopped.

Maura

 

[Disneylush]

DS moved to a twin daybed (rails on 3 sides) with a net rail on the open side when he was about 15 months. We would work on his big boy / buzz lightyear room when he was asleep then once it was done we had a big new bedroom party night. We never had any problems, in fact he put himself to bed (and still does) because he loves his room.

We used the daybed because we already had it (my old bed) and because I felt better having him safe from rolling out.

 

[2cutekidz]

I would suggest switching a few months before the baby comes. That way your DD won't feel like the new baby is "taking" her crib. Also if there are any problems transitioning, you can use the threat of going back in the crib if she won't stay in her new Big Girl Bed at night. Friends of mine left the crib in the room and if their son kept getting out of bed, it was back into the crib he went. He didn't like that and after a night or two, he'd stay in his new bed. HTH, Good Luck!

ETA - I was just wondering myelf when to move DS2. He doesn't mind his crib, sleeps GOOD in it, hasn't climbed out, and is a restless sleeper - he's all over the crib! We probably won't be moving him any time soon.

 

[megthewonderful]

I put both of my kids into twin sized beds around 18 months, with bed one side against the wall and the other side with a bed rail. They both loved switching from their crib to a big bed. We made a big deal out of it by letting them pick out their own comforter and sheets at the store and I think that helped.

 

[blana]

We're plannign on moving DS to his big boy bed sometime soon. By the time he's 2.5 at the latest so that he doesn't associate the baby with taking all of his stuff. My nephew moved before he turned 2, fairly successfully. No toddler beds required.

 

[SmallWorld71]

My poor kid is gonna hate me. DD 4 is still in a toddler bed. We wanted to get her a loft bed for her tiny room and all the warnings on them say they're not for kids under 6. Maybee next year?

LOL - My DD4 is still in a toddler bed because her room is very small and a twin would leave a lot less room for her toys. Hopefully, we will move pretty soon and the poor kid can have a real bed. If not, the loft bed idea is great.

To the OP - Both my boys were in twin beds before they were 2. DS12 was a climber and DS8's crib broke. I did put bed rails on DS8's bed as he moves a lot in his sleep. He actually needed them for several years.

Just as a warning, when we switched DD4 to a bed, she took that as an open invitation to come to our bed in the middle of the night and sleep with us.

 

[tmonferdini]

My twins are now 9, but we HAD to go to the big kid beds earlier than I would have liked. My son was a little monkey. He would balance himself on the rail (that went up & down) and would teeter back and forth. One day, he fell and sprained his ankle. Time for the big kid beds for both. I believe he was around 18-20 mos.