My 3 year old son is stillsleeping in his crib and he has no problems with it. He never crawls out, he fits in it fine etc. I have a new baby arriving in August and have to make the crib to bed transition but as my little guy is an EXTREME creature of habit, I am wondering when and how the best way to do this would be. I have a few friends that have made a transition to just a mattress on the floor which is a great idea but I worry about making this transition and then the next to a regular bed since he is used to his routines and habits. Any advice?
I agree with Pamela. We decorated his new room and he helped me paint. He went with me to pick out the new bedding and helped me make his new twin bed. He was so excited to move into his new room! We moved him before the baby went to "his" crib, so that it was vacant for a little while. I didn't want him to think his brother was taking his crib from him. It has worked perfectly.
Make the transition NOW so that your son isn't jealous of the new baby sleeping in HIS crib. And really, it will probably be way easier than you think. Start talking to him about a week before the transition; tell him that he's getting a new big boy bed. Don't talk about the new baby needing the crib. Make the new bed sound exciting. Then one day, just switch it out. Hide the crib so he can't see it. Set up the new bed with all of his favorite stuff - blanket, stuffed animal, etc. and do your bedtime routine exactly the same way you always have. Good luck!
Yes! My advice is to just take the crib out one day and surprise him with a big boy room. That is exactly what we had to do with my oldest daughter when I was pregnant with my youngest. She was still in the crib and had no problems staying in. I tell her now (she is 10) that if we did not do the switch, she would still be in her crib! Until about a month ago, she still had the same quilt on her bed she did when she was put into the bed! Something to be said for buying quality! Also, we hid the crib for a couple of months until she got used to her bed. We put the crib up just after the baby was born (since she was in the bassinet) and my daughter never had an issue by then.
Good luck!
Make the new bed a present for Big Brother. Perhaps you could schedule it with some "just Mom" trip time -- go spend the night him and you at a hotel and go to the Children's Museum downtown on the bus, or some other overnight-with-daytime-adventure, just you two. When you return, your husband/family/friends will have moved his crib into baby's area and his new bed with favorite-character-sheets will be ready to party on!:)
Or, you could time it with the birth of baby, so he's a part of moving and sharing while you're in the hospital -- he's The Little Man of the House showing Mommy and his new sibling what he can do.
Anyway you do it, make it a grand adventure and he'll love it.
We just did this last week! My DD is also 3. We spent a couple of weeks hyping the idea up. By the time the bed was delivered, she was so excited that she couldn't wait for them to put it together. Thankfully, it went much smoother than we thought it would, but she does have 3 older brothers, and I think couldn't wait to have a bed like they do.
A few thoughts. I think your instinct about not doing the mattress on the floor is right. Why have to go through one more transition if you don't have to?- besides in a bed he'll still be elevated off the floor which is what he's used to now. We also put a bed rail on each side of her bed, and I think that made it feel somewhat similar to a crib since she still had sides.
We also got her a bedding set that she loves- you could consider a favorite character theme bedding (or a truck or train pattern, if that's what he loves).
I think the sooner you make the switch, the less likely he is to resent the new baby for having "his crib".
Good luck, and congratulations! :)
of course every child is different,but I say, just put him in the bed. if u do the mattress on the floor, you'll be writing again in 2 mths about how to get him from the mattress to the bed. just make a big deal about how nice the 'big boy' bed will be and help him with the "one" transition, not two...hopes this helps.
My son was the same way. He had a convertible crib so we kept the headboard (didn't use the footboard). He went bed shopping with us and we tried lots of bed together. We talked about the new bed and then when it came he was really excited about it. What he liked best was that I could lay with him while he fell asleep. Obviously, I couldn't do that with the crib. I think it will go just fine. Also, my son doesn't "wander around" or do naughty things with the new freedom. If anything, he will come to our bed at night and I just bring him back.
