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Hi - I have an 18 month old boy and another baby due later this year. When should I introduce the 'big' bed and how is best to do this?
Campbell sleeps really well in the cot although he moves around heaps (I hear him rolling into the sides quite often) so I am worried about him falling out of a bed.
Thanks Elizabeth
We introduced Alex to the "big boy bed" about ten days ago. The biggest issue we have had is falling out.
He fell out twice the first night, once the second night, didn't at all the third night, and at least once each night since. Mind you, this might also have something to do with the fact that he's getting four teeth this week..
We've also had an issue (last night) with sleepwalking?!?!?
Apart from that, he now WON'T sleep in his cot. He will in a portacot at a friend's place, but at home it's ONLY the big boy bed. He cries for hours in the cot.
Best of luck!
We were able to take a side of Kimberley's cot. She is now in a big bed and has only fallen out once so far.
We got the big bed Easter weekend. can't remember when we took the side off the cot.
when my dd was around 18mths old we needed to introduce the big bed as i had number two on the way - we just set the bed up in her room with her cot and let her choose where she wanted to sleep at first she always said the cot then one day my dh got in there and dismantled the cot and dd watched and she said cot broken that night she slept in her bed and we never had a problem - she never fell out - what we did with the bed was as follows:
we only got a mattress and base to start with and had that against one wall then i had a rolled up towel between the mattress and base to raise it a little so it was harder to fall out - being careful not to make it to steep so she would roll towards the wall and get stuck between - we then grabbed her cot mattress and put it on the floor next to the bed so if she did fall out there was not far to go - by the time ds needed his cot she was used to the big bed.
with ds he did not move from cot to bed till he was 3 1/2 and he still used to lay in bed in the morning and yell out that he was awake - took him around 6mths to figure out that he could get out of his bed and room lmao.
good luck i think the trick is to take it easy and gradually introduce it and make it fun get them to choose a special toy to take to bed and maybe even a special doona cover or blanket.
hth
I was thinking the same thing about the cot mattress on the floor next to the bed - that way if they fall out they at least have a soft landing!
Mason was in bed for his 2nd birthday, the exact age is a bit fuzzy.
We got him some flash Thomas linen and he loved it, though he did cry a bit the first night he didn't fall out. I put some pillows on the floor just in case.
BTW the cot went straight into his baby brothers room and he slept in it first time that night too. There was no dramas with cot ownership!
We have never had dramas introducing beds.
My frist went form cot to bed when 2 and a half, no dramas, never fell out.
I usually wait until they are climbing out of the cot before I get them in a bed. The 2nd was the same, 2 1nd a half, but the third was climbing out at 19mths and cos we had the 1 mth old too, we brought the bed, but also brought a safety rail and put the bed against a wall. No probs at all with falling out, and also no worries about asleeping in ity, except for the realisation for the first few nights that she could come out even after I put her to bed. The trick is to persevere and keep returning them to the bed even if they cry- just like super nanny the other night. I wasn't worried about rushing her into a bed though, I would have left her there until she was older, we had 18 mths between the 3rd and 4th, but the baby was in a bassinette in my room until 4 mths and we had borrowed a cot off someone. In the end we didn't need it.
Hope you work out a good plan. We also took the cot down, so there was no going back.
Cheers Michelle
I moved DD into a bed at 22 months. And that was because she was a restless sleeper and would constantly wake herself by banging the side of the cot.
We made her go cold turkey, just put her in and let her swim, lol. She hasnt slept better since. I found tucking in the quilt on either side made it more cosier for her and when she has fallen out, (which i think has been 3 times) she doesnt fall hard because the quilt slows her down. IYKWIM.
She loves her bed. We just said to her that its her special groovy bed and she thinks thats great. Lol. Really nice bedding helps to.
We bought her a King Single to so that it lasts her quiet some time. We got really good deal from 'Forty Winks'. We got the bed and bedding plus two pillows and a really good mattress for $600. I thought that was a bargain.
Good Luck with it all. Kids are adaptable dont forget.
We moved DD out of her cot into her bed at 17mths to prepare for the impending arrival of DS.
I invested in a portable bed side from KMart which has two fork-lift type prongs which slide under the mattress, and a mesh bed side which sticks up about 30 cms and stops toddlers from rolling out.
It packs away really small, so it's easy to take away with us (DS now uses it when we go away).
Best $20 I ever spent.
We also bought a safety rail for the bed and found it to be fantastic. It just took away the worry of DS falling out of her new bed at night. Even though we only used it for a month it was a fab investment.
I think it might have offered a bit of comfort as well, it isn't a high side like a cot, but maybe made DS feel a bit more secure. By the time we stopped using the rail, Chloe was so used to her new big bed that we have never had a problem since.
Good luck with it all!