DS1 was 25 months old when DS2 was born. I thought alot about whether to move him into a bed on not before the bub arrived and like you if i was going to do it i wanted it done a good few months prior to the birth. In the end i decided to keep DS in a cot he was happy and just incase i had two awake at night i didn't want him to be able to come and go as he pleased. Luckily i was able to borrow a cot and i understand that this isn't an option for everyone.

A few months or so after DS2 had arrived we began to leave the cot side down so DS was able to climb in and out. Even in the beginning he would call out to us to come when he woke and we even had to show him how to climb out when he woke up. We never had any issues with him prolonging bedtime by getting out of bed all the time. By about 30 months i think he was finally in a bed and there was no transition, one day he was in a cot the next he was in a bed. DS has always been so easy and things never phased him, gradual transitions were never necessary for him.

DS2 is 18 months old and i'm starting to think he could be completely different, i just moved him into DS1's bedroom (still in a cot) as we are expecting again and it took a few days for him to get used to it even with his brother in the room. I was thinking to myself that i maybe should have made it more gradual for him and not assumed he'd be just like DS1. We're ok now and when the time comes we'll probably do simiarl to what we did with DS1 to get him into a bed but who knows how it will all go!?!?!