Cot to Toddler Bed

Hi All,

just need some advice on changing my DS from his cot to a toddler bed..he is 13 months odl and i'm 7 mth preg with no.2. All the books i've read say to get him into his new bed before bub arrives if hes over 12 mths(even though she'll be in a bassinet for a few mths anyway)so that he can get used to it and forget about the cot by the time it comes out again for her use(a few mths after shes born).. but he's so young and i'm not really sure how to do this..he's a great sleeper but rolls all over the cot, the toddler bed we have has side rails but they aren't very high..am just not sure what to do and how to go about it..

any advice or tips would be much appreciated as i'm really stressed out!!!

Firstly, is he starts to fight going into the bed, don't force him, as he will only hate it more kwim? I have heard of people using travel cots to make do in the mean time.

Try to make it fun for him, take him shopping for linen and let him pick his favourite characters out and make if fun when it comes time to make up his bed.

Start a special routine for his 'big bed' like special stories etc.

Also, when my three started in a big bed, we didn't have rails, but I tucked a pillow under the edge of the matress to stop them rolling out, because they had to roll uphill kwim?

Good luck with it Christie, and I'm sure he will be fine with it.

I think that 15 months is about the minimum for a toddler to go into a toddler bed....I seem to recall reading that somewhere.

We got a toddler bed for Jacob when we were expecting Ruby and he is like Owen in that he rolled around the cot a lot. As a result, the toddler bed just wasn't for him as he ended up on the floor in the middle of the night! He wasn't upset at all about going into it - he thought it was exciting as it had Pooh Bear on it! Mind you, he was somewhat older at the time. Anyway, we ended up ditching the toddler bed and putting him into a single bed with a bed rail on it - this has proven to be MUCH better for him, as he still rolls and throws himself about in his sleep a lot! We have a bed that is quite low too.

Sorry, not much help on the toddler bed transition issue but my son will be 22m when our next bub is due and he just doesn't seem ready to move to a bed so we're keeping him in his cot (he's all over the cot at night too!). The baby will go in a bassinette to start with and then we'll get him a cot that converts to a single bed. We figure doing it that way will be the least amount of stress for all of us :)

Hi Christie

I had the same dilemma as you, except my girls are only 13 months apart and everything I read said to move them into a big bed before bub arrives as it will be easier. I can tell you thats a big lie!LOL Gemma is still in a cot(portable cot) as she is still not ready. She's pretty close I reckon as she understands alot more now, and we've only just moved her back into her own room as she didn't like being on her own before. That was easy as I could explain it all to her and she helped me move her cot into her room and was really excited. Corey and I made such a big deal about it. I guess what I'm getting at is, if hes not ready then hes not ready, no drama. Maybe wait till he understands things a bit better and can get excited about a big bed. We tried Gem in a big bed and she was just so lost in it. OR you could just try him in a big bed, you never know he might take to it!!