Putting DD into a Big bed

[*Nikki*]

We have just bought our 22 month old DD a big bed... and im just after some tips and pointers on how to go from the cot to the single bed

ATM the routine is. bed at 6pm but she gets half an hour of reading time with the lamp on the we turn out the light and put away her books then she falls asleep by herself usually between 10 mins to 2 hours??? ... i cant see my DD staying in her bed if she knows she can get out of it..

Should we keep the same routine?

Thanks in advance

[Leemar]

Hi Nikki,

My boys have been in single beds for a couple of months now and I felt the same as you. I just keep putting them back in the bed when they come out and they usually only come out a couple of times.

[MantaRay]

Nikki, she might surprise you! Our DS did! We moved him into a big bed at about 16 months due to the impending arrival of DS2. We actually moved Jack into a different room at the same time, but I think the theory would be the same. Here is what we did:

Firstly, we let Jack pick his own linen (and stickers for the walls). Then we set the room all up and made the bed with the linen he had picked. We moved Jack's toy box into the new bedroom and for two days we spent lots of time in his new room playing with him. We kept talking about the "big boy bed". We made a big deal of how exciting it was, how great the linen was etc, and told him that it was for big boys to sleep in. Then we started doing his night time routine (story etc) in his new room, sitting on his new bed. Each night after the story, we asked Jack did he want to sleep in the big boy bed or his cot. I was planning to do this for a week and then just tell him he was now ready to sleep in the big bed. The first two nights he said cot, so we took him into his old room and put him in his cot. On the third night, he said bed, so we put him down in his bed. Amazingly he stayed in it and went to sleep, then slept through the night. This lasted for the first week, then he started getting out of the bed after we'd put him down. He only did it a few times and he only did it for 2 nights, then went back to staying put. We recently had a spell of 3 or 4 weeks where he wouldn't stay in his bed for day sleeps, but that too has passed. And that really has been the only hitch (and probably related to moving house as well).

I wish you luck. It can be easier than you expect. I think the key is in the preparation.

[*Nikki*]

Thanks ladies... i keep saying to my DP that DD very well may surprise us and be fine in her big bed..... the only problem is we dont have to room in our house to keep up the cot if she doesnt want to sleep in her big bed (we are getting the single bed on friday)... so im deffinatly she doesnt get scared or whatever