My son is 21 months old and we have another one on the way, due in June (about 6 months away). At this point our son does not seem ready at all for a toddler bed but I would love to get him into a bed before the next one comes. Is this possible? He really likes his crib and sleep really well so I worry about messing that up. Also, my husband and I can't decide if we should keep him in his room that he is already in or if we should move him into the other room (which is bigger). The room he is in is closer to our room so my husband feels that will be nice for when I am getting up to nurse in the middle of the night (which I agree). My concern though is that the transition to bed and to another room might be even harder on him. Not sure but those are just my thoughts. Any suggestions on any of this?
We had a very tough transition with my son when he was 27 months old. It's now been 7 months and there are still many many times I regret my decision to move him to big boy bed. We rushed the decision too fast and don't think prepared him enough. So I would recommend waitinig until crib isn't going well and/or he is showing signs of being ready for bed. Then talk it up a lot to help prepare for the transition. Good luck.
i think if it's not broke don't fix it:) 6 months is a long time in the life of a toddler. so many things change so quickly. i would wait until he seems ready and maybe is outgrowing the crib. you may not even need to use the crib with your newborn for a couple months so you have plenty of time to see how it goes. good luck and congratulations!
It might be difficult but you won't really know until you do it. I would wait until your LOs 2nd bday maybe? And maybe you can explain to your little boy that he is getting a bigger room and a big kid bed because he is going to be a big brother and since he had such a great time living in that room as a baby then you all want the new baby to have as much fun..? Pretty much...make it a fun transition that makes your LO can feel special about. Here is some more info about the big kid bed transition you might be interested to check out:
http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/big+kid+bed?utm_camp...
If you and your husband do decide to move your son to a different room and bed, make it about your son growing bigger. Since he is the 1st born, he can have the bigger room, no longer needs the crib (babies sleep in cribs), and let him pick out his own bedding. Make it a big deal for him. It is not about what he is giving up, but the new things he is gaining from this. Transitions can be tough on anyone so you may want to give him a little more cuddling or another book at bedtime. Another thought may be to put a toddler or twin bed in the other room and have your son sleep in it during naps. This will help him adjust to the room at a more leisurely pace. Since baby is not due until June you can ease your son (and yourself) into the new transition. It will all work out. Good luck and congratulations.
D.
mine skipped the toddler bed and went straight to big brothers bed. :)
We moved our 26 month old to his new "big boy" room a month before our next son arrived. We converted his room from an office so he had time to see the changes (painting, new furniture, etc.) and get used to it before moving in. He immediately wanted to try out his big boy bed (we started with a twin. Just a mattress, no box spring so he can get in it...and not fall too far to the ground). Initially we had him sleep with his same blanket from his crib instead of his new comforter and no pillow just to make him feel at ease. He did great. The baby did not move into the nursery until he was 3 months (he was in the bassinet in our room) so our son had time to get used to having the baby around.
I think a new room for the older one is best because it's something new and exciting and it's all about them instead of the baby. My older son is now 31 months and he still asks everyone who comes over, "Want to see my big boy room?" even if they've seen it before.
We were in a similar predicament when I was pregnant with my daughter. We wound up setting up the larger room for him. Making a big deal about the big boy bed. We skipped the toddler bed and just bought the twin we wanted. We assembled it in his room and left it ready to go for about a week...getting him pumped up about the idea. He slept in the big boy bed at night. With it being totally dark, there were very few issues with him getting out of bed at first. I used the couch cushions to keep him from falling off. Nap time was a little harder. So we let him take naps in his crib for several weeks before we started encouraging nap time in the big bed as well. It worked out well. Very well...I wish I had a similar set up for my daughter, her transition is not going nearly as well.
it could be easy, but might not go so well. We moved my daughter when she turned 2 only because she kept hanging over the edge of her crib. When i put her to bed, she would get out and scream and cry. We had a gate on her door so she couldn't get out of her room. I started having to sit in her room to make her stay in bed til she slept. It got to be quite the battle. Now like 5 months later, she stays in her bed for the most part but it took me a long time til i stopped regretting moving her to a bed. I bought a crib tent for her younger brother so i can use the crib as long as possible.
If you decide to go for the toddler bed, i think it might be a bit much to switch rooms as well. i'd do one, wait til he is comfortable and then do the other one. good luck
We had the exact same situation when my son was approaching two years old and his sister was on the way. He was in the "nursery" in his crib and we wanted to switch his room and change him to the toddler bed so the new arrival to have the nursery/crib. Here's what we did: before the baby came, we moved him to the new room in his crib. We put the toddler bed in the new room, but didn't have him sleep in it. He just used to it being in there, was able to play in it, etc. Then after a couple of weeks, we started putting him down to sleep in the toddler bed. The crib was still in the room. After the baby was born, we had her sleep in the nursery in a bassinet for a couple weeks. Then we dismantled the crib and moved it out of my sons room and into the nursery. He never seemed disturbed at this transition, after the baby arrived I think it made sense to him that the crib should be in her room. So anyway, we did it in a few steps. A little tip, though: If you are calm and matter of fact through these transitions, chances are better that your son will be too. He will be able to pick up on your moods and stress levels and he will react accordingly. Good luck!
We had a similar situation. We moved my son (just over 2) to his toddler bed and got him used to that in his old room. Then talked about his "big boy" room that he could use when he proved what a big boy he was. It didn't take him long to be so excited about moving to the big boy room and it went great! It was probably about 1-2 months between using the toddler bed, and then moving that toddler bed over to the other room. Then we didn't have to move the crib and everything, just kept it in the "nursery" for his new baby brother!
Good luck!
Keep the crib, get another. Or you can do what I did and get the younger one a pack and play so you get dual use. They have plenty of room in the pack and play and theyre fine in it. Just remember w a toddler bed, you cant contain em
I transitioned all four of my kids out of their cribs before 2 and they did just fine. The only thing we noticed was that they would wake up earlier every morning (where I think before they would wake up in their crib and just go back to sleep, they would now wake up and get out of bed and be awake for the day).
