My 2 yr old currently sleeps in a pack-n-play by choice! She started out there at 4 months old as we were living sonmewhere temporarily without a lot of space for a crib. Once we moved into our new house and offered her a crib, she wanted nothing to do with it. She has had a twin bed in her room for over a year now and still has no interest in anything but jumping on it. This week she has woken up crying that she wants to sleep in the bed, but once I put her in there, she immediately wants back to her pack-n-play. Just wondering if anyone has any tips on how to make the transition smoother or the transition at all. I have put up the bedrail so she won't fall out as well. She is fine in the pack-n-play, but soon will be too long for it. I appreciate any suggestions!
My son stayed in a crib until a month after his 3rd birthday. I let it be his decision and he and his dad used tools to take apart the crib together. If she's fine in the pack and play right now I'd let it lie.
I have learned that their bed is much of a security to them. I started my oldest in the crib and then he went to the toddler bed (which uses a crib matress), still a challenge. With my youngest we moved across the country, and so he transitioned to the pack-n-play. Here's the tricky part. Keeping her IN the bed. I would start with the pack-n-play up against the bed (that's what I did) and then just sit with her. Start with a bedtime routine, so she knows that if she is in the "big girl" bed she will get special time with mommy (and or daddy). I usually do bath, brush teeth, story and songs. Then she will have to learn her boundaries. This has been a struggle for me, because my little almost 2yr. old kept getting out of bed. I would suggest trying different things, like laying down with her so that she feels supported and comforted, then sit at the foot of the bed, then at the door, then outside the door. This could take some time. Mine took several weeks before he will now only open the door about 5 times, see me there and go back to bed for good. Another thing...sorry this is so long...is that you could shop with her to pick out her favorite character in bed sheets and comforter (you can even get this at the thrift store if money is tight) so that she picks out the "dressings" of her new bed. FYI, I put the bed up against the wall, and the pack and play on the other side of the bed so my little one wouldn't fall out. Well, I hope that helps! All the best!
My 3 1/2 yr-old son still sleeps in his crib and has no interest in the awesome "big boy bed" in his room, complete with Thomas the Tank Engine pillowcases handmade by Grandma and a Thomas blanket. He never tries to climb out. He will hang out in it until he goes to sleep at night. We were complaining to a friend about trying to move him to the bed, and our friend asked what we were complaining about. He said to enjoy it while we can, since our son doesn't climb into bed with us every night! We're just going to wait until he's ready. I'm sure at some point he'll get uncomfortable, b/c he is big for his age. Don't force anything is my advice.
I had the same problem with my 2 year old, it went on for months and got worse because she would wake up in the middle of the night and want to go from the crib to the bed or from the bed to the crib sometimes she would do this 2 or 3 times, then I just realized the only way to do it is just get rid of the crib "it's broken" and take it away. It took 2 days of her asking wher it is but now she is quite content with big girl bed
if she's going to outgrow it soon, i see no reason to rush it, tho kids are able to sleep in the craziest positions so she may still want to sleep in it regardless.
i would wait until she's read to get out of it, unless it's causing you trouble when you travel or something. it's a harmless habit that she'll outgrow eventually. if you really want to get rid of it, i would do something like what they do for getting rid of pacifiers/bottles. do the pack n play fairy or say it needs to go to a baby who needs it and then send it off. better to have it out of sight.
or maybe she would respond to taking off the cover as someone else posted. there really is no way of knowing what will happen until you try. i was very nervous about taking away my daughters pacifier but she actually took it really well. we don't give them enough credit sometimes.
good luck!
We have been lucky in the transition department - and it seems I was always more concerned about how my son would react than necessary. He did fine switching to milk, no bottle, bed, no diapers, no pacifier...I was amazed. I think that one of the things that helped is that we prepared him (pacifier was the most recent - we told him that when he turned 3 we were not going to use it anymore). He has never even asked for it since his birthday. We talk to him very matter of factly - have you tried to simply tell her that she is too big for the pack and play? I would also take it out of her room - with her help, and put it away so it isn't there to taunt her. Explain that big girls sleep in a big bed, and that is where she is going to sleep from now on...Good luck!
You might want to get some of those rails you can attach to the bed to keep from rolling off of the bed. She might likes the sense of enclosure from the pack'n'play and feels safe and secure. Just a thought.
You could just remove the play n pack, remove the covers of the play n pack, or wait for her to out grow it. All are natural consequences. None are harsh.
Kids transition at all different ages. Some are ready early some like to wait. Sometimes the transition is driven by the child other times by the parent. She is still very young, so no worries. It will all work out in the end. I do have a couple of suggestions though.
1. Try having her take naps in the big girl bed. It is a shorter time period, the room is usually brighter. It gives her chance to get more comfortable in the new bed. This would great for our oldest (now 11) after a few naps she was asking to sleep in the big at night.
2. Since the pack-n-play is lower to the ground try putting the twin mattress (or mattress and box) on the floor. This will lower the bed to a height that may be more comfortable or familiar for her. We used a futon on a really low (few inches off the ground) frame for transitioning another child. Worked like a charm! After a little while in the low bed, she was ready for a big girl bed.
Good Luck!!
My 2 yr old daughter didn't want to sleep in her "big girl" toddler bed either.I even went out and bought a nice Dora set that came with a shelf/buckets for toys and a table with 2 lil chairs.lol
I was tired of having to lift her outta bed every morning.I'm short and by all means very strong for my size but my back couldn't take the lifting in/out all the time so I made the choice for her.I took the crib apart and said it was going to a new baby and she said ok.Of course it was different when it came to going to bed that night...she cried a bit and asked to sleep in our bed (living in one bedroom then) so we let her go to bed where she wanted and then moved her when we went to bed.We had to do this for about a week, and the first couple days she wasn't thrilled about being moved and would wiggle back in our bed but by the 3-4th night she wanted to go to bed in her Dora bed.
You may just have to take the pack-n-play away. Two is really too big for them, and the sooner it happens the quicker you can get it over with.
If you want a transition perhaps keep it short. Maybe make a reward chart for sleeping in her new bed with stickers as rewards (get her a big book of stickers so she can pick one each morning). I had to go through this with sippy cups - my hubby finally told me a better security item was a doll and that toughing it out would be hard but be better in the long run.
Whatever you decide to do best of luck and I hope it goes smoothly!
I have always found the gradual approach worked really well for both of my children, and they are very different personalities. Does your pak n play have the removable pad in the bottom of it? If it does you could take that and put it in between her sheets. Then put it under the sheets. Eventually she will give it up on her own time. Maybe it is the difference in the firmness of the bed. I would also try some of the attachable rails for the bed. The Pak n Play has sides to it that are more like a box, where as the crib is a little more open. She might feel to exposed in the bed. What if you used one of those bed tents that they have.
I hope this helps her transition!
Stef
Honestly, the only thing that worked with our son was to take everything out of his room except his bed. Seriously everything! he had his bed, bedding, pillow, and a stuffed animal of his choice.
He cried for a total of 2 minutes, then he played for a bit, and then he went to sleep in his bed!
You can't really give then the choice..
