From cot to bed - when??

[Charlyfrog]

Hi! Not sure if this is the right place to post but thought I'd ask the qu:

We have been thinking about the whole 'big bed' moment for our almost 2yr old DD. She is a wonderful sleeper (loves snuggling blankets!!) but OMG!! Can she be a wriggler!!

I have been keeping an eye on her when I go in to make sure she's tucked in and for awhile there thought that the move could happen sooner than later - but lately! I am finding her all over the place!! LOL!! We have had to check on her at least twice thru the night to make sure she's tucked in so she doesn't get cold (we have a gas heater on minimum so simply keep her room at a temp to avoid her freezing! But not too high so she cooks when she's tucked in - oh what a balancing act!! ) I am currently trying to teach her to tuck herself in because she will cry out if she gets out.

I guess what I am wondering is - if we put her in a big bed with mattresses on the floor to the side and at the end, PLUS a side rail - is it simply a case of her subconscious relearning that it is no longer safe to roll all over the place whilst in deep sleep?? So a couple of soft landing falls and she'll settle??

Or is it too early??

Sorry! Long post I know, but would love to hear thoughts and tips!

[mbear]

Hi,

WE moved our DD#1 into her own bed at 2.5 years old......i dont think i would have done it any earlier. SHe found the transition no problems.
I think its a case of do and see......maybe bunk up the floor for the first few nights just incase.....
Our DD was a bit of a wriggler too, in the winter we put her in those all in one jumpsuits you can get for older kids.....she was always cosy warm in the mornings - blankets or no blankets.

[christy]

Matilda has been in a big bed since she was 16 months due to her climbing in & out of the cot at will. I still have a cot mattress on the floor next to her bed & a bumper. She is all over the place & yet has only twice fallen out of bed in the past 11 months. If you were to put a mattress on the ground she would wind up on the ground, but with the bumper it pretty much keeps her in place

[wardygirl]

My DD was 2.5 when she went into a bed. She slept for about a month before that with the side off her cot so it was like a bed. Worked well for transition as we put her doona in the cot with her.

Once she was in the bed, she only ever fell out twice (never woke up either time!) We had a mattress on the floor for the first time as it was fairly soon after the move, but the second she went straight onto the carpet! Didn't bother her though.

[Ambah]

Does she sleep with a pillow yet? I found it interesting that as soon as we gave our 2 year old a junior pillow in his cot, he started sleeping in one spot, instead of being all over the place - it was amazing LOL!
He is nearly 2.5 now, but we are yet to transition him to a big bed. There hasnt been a need as he is not really into climbing and is very happy where he is. I was thinking about doing it for Christmas, but now that its looming close, I'm considering putting it off for even a bit longer.

[mooshie]

we put our first dd into a bed at 18mths (as # 2 was nearly here) it was hard on all of us, omg i still remember jumping out of my skin and nearly going into labour when dd suddenly appeared beside my bed at least a dozen times a night lol, in the end we put a gate on her bedroom door so she used to stand there and call out lol.

we waited till ds was around 3yrs and 3mths before he went into a bed and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOO much easier, he used to stay in his bed in the morning and call out mummy i am awake come and get me lol.

with #3 she is 2yrs and still in the cot and will be for at least another year (even if we are blessed with another child before then) i just find it easier on all of us.

does your dd sleep in a sleeping bag, my dd is a wriggler but she wears a sleeping bag at night (a light weight short sleeved one) with her pj's underneath, she has her blankets but most often wriggles out of them but she is still warm enough.

good luck in the transition

[Charlyfrog]

Thanks so much for all these ideas and tips!!!!!!

Love the idea of taking the side off the cot - DD's cot does convert to a bed with side rails so might take off one side and put the rail on!!

Also using the safety gate to keep her in there!!!

Is there a norm for when a pillow should be introduced????

Mooshie - how cute that your littl'n would call out!!!

We did do the sleeping bags when she was smaller - but as the weather is getting warmer, may not worry about that for #1 - but fab thought for future bubbykins!!!
QU: Re sleeping bags tho - is it possible for littl'ns to get all twisted and knotted up as they are bigger and more mobile????? Also falling over if they try to stand up???

You girls are sensational! Thanks again!!!

[Ambah]

Is there a norm for when a pillow should be introduced????

I think they say after 12 months is fine, but I didnt feel comfortable giving Aidyn one until he was 2...

RE sleeping bags... Aidyn is still in his Grobag, but during the hot summer months he just sleeps in a t-shirt style pajamas... no blankets or bag or aything. Mind you its boiling hot here in Qld summer.
You can get really light tog sleeping bags (such as 0.5) which are good for summer.
I'd wonder about givin them a sleeping bag whilst in a bed though, because they can get out of bed I would worry about them tripping and falling over. Whilst Aidyn is still in the cot he is fine, and can usually stand with it on, but when he moves to a big bed he will not be having a sleeping bag.

[renee84]

hi we put our daughter into her big bed at 18 months, we just moved again and bought our house so i wanted to set her room up for her lol she never tried to climb out of her cot though but her first night was suprisingly no different than if she was in her cot i havent had any problems with it.

[Fi]

Jenna has been in her big bed since about 16m cause she was battling the cot every night, it was just awful.
We have the end up the cot up against the bed, and we have her right at the top of the bed, and she's pretty good at staying put. She doesn't like the blankets on her, and tends to kick them off and move further up the bed, so often we hear her banging her head on the wall when she is sleeping.
She does the same thing in our bed though, so it must just be her thing.

She has only fallen out of bed once, but in saying that she has gone back to sleeping in her cot during the day. Its just easier at the moment cause she will talk for ages before she goes to sleep, and I was putting her back to bed about 4 times each day. Now I can just leave her and she settles eventually.
We gave Jenna a pillow at about 14m cause she loved the ones in our bed so much.

[jaffa]

I converted Charli's (DD#1) cot to a junior bed with one side rail and the other side of the bed against the wall when she was 18 months. We had no problems with her falling out, but the first few nights we did check on her alot!!! When Charli was about 20 months we bought a single bed, however, it is slightly lower than the average single bed so that if she did fall out she wouldn't have far to fall. I also put her fold out couch next to the side of the bed in case she fell out.

I was a bit worried about how she would go in the big bed as she wriggles alot during the night, but she has not had any problems. I just make sure that she wears warm pj's so that when she does wriggle out of the blankets she is not cold.

[nikbrad]

Mackenzie went to a bed at 22 months. We have a side rail and she has fallen out once. I went rushing in and she was still asleep on the floor (LOL). I also bought a 2 pack of pillows from K-mart for about $8 as they were really flat. She sleeps on one and is fine. When she was in the cot she always kicked the blankets off but in the bed she's been great with a doona and also pulls it up during the night if she does kick it off as she has never woken up cold.

[skorpy]

My Daughter is 3 this month,and we wat to move her into a bed,but we cant.We have 3 children in a 2 bedroom house and my Daughter is sharing with her 12 year old brother and I really think its unfair on him and inappropriate.There is no room too place a bed in the small room she shares with him.Kai is in a moses basket and will want the cot in a month.

We really need to be moved to s 3 bedroom house before we can put her in a bed.

[Pietta]

We decided it was time to put Ryley in a bed when he strolled into our room one day and we hadnt even heard him get out of his cot- we called him stealth boy!

My friend has her 2.5 year old still in cot coz she is small and loves her cot- i figure why change if you dont need to? Ryley made our decision for us

[Lucy]

Having had huge issues with transitioning Olivia from cot to bed, I am wishing we had left it for another year!!

She is tiny and never climbed out of the cot. WHY DID WE GO THE BIG GIRL BED??? Arrrrgggghhhhh!

She is a night wanderer, and it drives me mad.........

[christy]

Lucy do you have a baby gate on their room? Or can you put one on for nights just to contain her in the room at least? We had to use a lock because Matilda thinks child gates are fun to climb over, but we lock her door after she's fallen asleep & sometimes we find her asleep on the floor later, but most of the time she calls out if she wants us. Bit easier on the brain than keeping an ear out for them wandering the house.

[mooshie]

hugs lucy, sounds so much like my first dd hence the reason we decided to leave ds in his until he was almost grown out of the cot lol, and as i said lani is the same she will be in it for at least another year.

[*Rae*]

Gee i'm gonna have this dilema too as Ella will only be 22months when bub #2 arrives. I refuse to buy another cot - and am not prepared to do the bassinette thing again (this next bub is going straight in the cot) so i will have no choice but to put her in a big bed. I really hope she's gonna be ok. I wanted to make the transition a few months before bub arrives so she is used to it but that's gonna mean she'll only be 18-19 months!????