When did you go from cot to toddler/single bed?

We've been wondering since she turned one, when do you change them over?

Obviously each child is different, but how do you know they're ready?

How did you know that your DD/DS was ready to go from a cot to a toddler/single?
Or - WAS your toddler ready to go from cot to toddler/single? Or did you HAVE to do it because of a new baby?

Did you go toddler bed or single bed?

Did it make bed time easier or harder?

Do they get out of bed if they stir at night?

Has you bub ever fallen out, even with a bed rail/guard? (I think this is what is stopping me the most as Jazz is a sleep crawler and I'm worried of her going stright off the bed in her sleep)


I don't know if I'm leaving it 'later' because I'm a bit precious about my baby girl (:lol:). We did only just move her out of our bed (and room) and into a cot in her own room at 13-14 months, but a lot of family thought that was very late... (but I know on BB its pretty normal ;)).

We are getting a bed rail this week because they are on sale & we will be trying from this weekend. She doesnt sleep in her cot anyway she co-sleeps with me, but I dont want her in the bed with me now Im PG because I have to get up to pee 3 or 4 times a night & don't want to wake her. Also if she's in a single bed, I can get in with her & feed her to sleep or whatever & then sneak out once she's asleep

we just put DD into her Big Girl Bed last week!!! she is 2 years and 3 months old...

we decided to keep her in the cot for a bit longer than i would have initially thought simply because she is a mover and a shaker when she sleeps and before that i wasnt too sure how she would of coped with falling out (not that it is a big drop...). also, i kinda liked the fact that she couldnt go off running about the room and playing LOL!

Also, i waited until we had moved house (we were busy finding places for about 8 months) and she was settled.

I just did it on a whim on afternoon when DD was completey exhausted and begging to go to bed (rare occurence ROFL!) so i thought with her sooo tired and more likely to just crash asleep i gave it a go and we havent looked back!

in fact, i actually think she sleeps more soundly in her *knowlege* that she can get up and out when she wants rather than having to ask...we get about an extra 1/2 hour each morning now.

They generally say when your bub can climb out of his/her cot, then they are ready to be put in a bed.
DD hasn't done this yet, so she is still in her cot at 19 months, but we will hopefully be getting her into a toddler bed before the next bub arrives.
We will get her a toddler bed, that has the half way rails attached already, and will maybe even put a matress on the floor so if she *does* fall out, then it wont be such a hard fall.

There are also women out there that start their babies on just a matress for a few weeks, then move the matress onto the bed.

DD1 was about...um..lol i think she was about 2ish
she went into a toddler bed that had side rails and she never fell out, and if she did it was quite low to the ground and she wouldnthave hurt herself too bad.
We got her out of the cot because she was climbing out and we didnt want her hurting herself too bad.
when we made the shift we took the cot completely out of her room so she didnt want to get into that instead of her new bed.
we did the same thing when we moved her to a single bed. we moved house and just put the single straight in her room, she had no issues transitioning

We converted DS's cot into the toddler bed about a month ago, so he was 17 months. We did that first to get him used to sleeping in a 'bed' and we'll be buying him a single bed (his room isn't big enough for a double) in the next couple of weeks.

He's been great sleeping in the bed, hasn't fallen out once. I've even put him to bed in his sleeping bag and he can still get out of bed if he wants to. He is a big sleep crawler too so I think a single bed would be better than the toddler bed because he'll have more room to move around. When he wakes during the night, he just cries out, hasn't tried climbing out yet. But he will get out of bed himself in the mornings and when he's woken up from his daytime nap.

For the first couple of weeks we left the sound and movement sensor pads on, so if he ever fell out the alarm would go off and we'd know but it never happened so we just have the sound on now.

We wanted to get him into a bed before the new baby comes so he is used to it and so we can then use the cot for the new baby.

We put ds1 onto a matress on the floor at 18months 1week lol and when his bed was deliverd 1week later he went into the bed with the rail, he has never fallen out and he never got out either, well until the last few months, he gets out now occasionally but he is a cheeky 2.5yr old!

Also it was because I was due with ds2 mid april so we gave it extra time so the baby wasn't stealing his bed iykwim? I would look for things like climbing, if you think she could climb out I would put her in a bed or if she physically was too big etc

Nina was 15 months, and Emily was 18 months.
We did it this early as we felt they were ready. They'd wake themselves up at night as the cot was getting too small.
If I had of left it until they could climb out, then Nina would still be in a cot :rolleyes: My girls aren't climbers.
We have never had a problem of the girls climbing out of bed and playing or wanting to leave their room.

Funny, I was thinking this just yesterday!

We moved Alexzander when he was 22 months, he went straight into a big bed (king single) and we put the cot mattress on the floor in case he fell out (only did 4-5 times). Essentially he was starting to try & climb out of the cot so it became too dangerous for him to sleep in there. It was quite funny, it took him about 8 months to figure out that he could get out of bed!! He would call out in the morning & lay there until I told him he could get up!! I doubt Juliette would be like that though LOL!

Juliette feels like so much more of a baby & I can't imagine her being ready anytime soon. That said she is a climber & has figured out how to climb in so maybe it won't be too long before we have to get her a big girl bed. If it's not before, we'll do it for her second birthday I think.

DS went into a double futon mattress on the floor at 12 months - he refused to be in his cot and would wake screaming blue murder every time he rolled into the sides. He'd also try to climb out and would get his leg stuck between the bars. Once he was out of the cot his sleep improved dramatically.

When we moved house we got him a single bed and a bed rail, he can get in and out as he pleases but can't roll out. When he wakes (whether it is for a feed or in the morning) he just comes to find us.

We put DD into her toddler bed when she was about 20 months because she was climbing out of the cot.

It DID make bedtime harder as she kept getting in and out of her toddler bed but I eventually figured out that I would keep the routine the same. Read a story or two, regardless of whether she was in or out of bed and then leave (after giving plenty of warning ie. "mummy read this book then mama go" times about 50).

We also have a single bed in her room and she's just started sleeping in that (she's now 2 years 3 months). Was her decision really - we don't have any rails on it but the floor is carpeted so I'm not TOO concerned about her falling out.

Bedtime is still a bit of a shambles compared to the easy days of a cot but no, she doesn't play up during the night. We have found her on the floor when we check on her just before we go to bed so I think sometimes that's where she falls asleep (rather than falling out of bed) as she's a long, long way from the bed. We just put her back into bed when that happens and she barely stirs.

We got to the point where DD would actually climb out of the cot, when it was set up at its lowest possible level, and that stressed me out imagining her landing on her head / neck.

So for us it was a safety first thing. She was about 18mths, but she's a real dare devil and loves to climb.

We started with a rail and placed one of those fold ot lounges under just in case. Then after a few days we got rid of the rail. It actually makes bedtime easier now as I can sit next to her while she is in bed and I read aloud to her!

We put Jett in to his toddler bed on Sunday night!! So far so good!

The reasons we did this was because we are trying to get him used to the idea of sleeping in his own bed by the time the new baby arrives. We couldn't cope with 4 in the bed!!

And the reason we chose the toddler bed rather than the cot was because he is such a sound sleeper, barely rolls over in the night, let alone rolling enough to fall out of bed and they are no longer sleeping in cots at childcare. But I think if he was a night crawler I would be more reluctant at this age. I would probably see how he was in another few months and just keep reassessing.

And we have kept his bed in our room for the moment too. That way I can attend to him at a moments notice.

So far he hasn't rolled out, but I keep a big pillow beside his bed to land on if he does. He does get himself out of bed though to go wandering around the house if he isn't asleep properly when we leave him, and he did it in the wee hours of this morning but then he came straight back to our bed and DH pulled him in to bed with us. But he only seems to wander, he doesn't seem to get distracted and stop to play but just checks the house out before going back to bed!! So if you don't want Jazz wandering the house at weird hours, or you think she could get up to mischief then I would put it off!!

If we had put Jett in a cot right from the start I think I would be looking to put him in a bed at around 2. That to me seems an appropriate age as they are far more aware of their bodies and their surroundings and you are far more able to communicate/negotiate the terms of sleeping in a big bed. Just my thoughts!!

Haven't read the other replys but when Darcy was 16months old she told us in no uncertain terms one day that she was never getting in that cot again!! It took me about a wwek to figure out why she wouldn't get in there. I borrowed a fold out bed and voila! Sleeping soundly again.
She went straight into a single ensemble. We didn't have a toddler bed and since they mainly use the cot mattress, Darcy was already nearly too long for that.
We have never used a bed rail - slack really but she hasn't ever fallen out except when she was mucking around (awake) on it.
No it didn't make bedtime harder, but she wanted to be in the bed - it wasn't me wanting her to be in it. She's never been a get out of bed and wander around kid. SHe is a night walker though, but we're adapted to that.

We were also unsure of when it would be best to do this for our DS1 -26 months old when DS2 was born. I went backwards and forwards about doing it before #2 arrived but in the end i decided to keep him in his cot (i was able to borrow one).

A short time after DS2 had arrived we started leaving the cot side down for DS1, expecting him to come and go as he pleased but it took a while still for him to even get in or out himself. Eventually after us showing him a number of times that he was able to get in and out himself he started to do so.

There have been a few occasions (i can't remember if it was when he was in the cot or his bed) when he has gotten out of bed and hopped in our bed (before we were in it) or decided to start playing with his toys again. It has been very rare though. We don't have issues with him continuing to hope out once we put him in bed.

DS1 would also move around in his cot a lot which made me wonder how he'd go in a bed but he has been fine. He is in a King Single and we don't use a bed rail. He's fallen out once and when we ran to check on him he was curled up on the ground alseep. It didn't wake him :lol:

There was a time when he'd wake up and come and hop in our bed, it was a nightly thing at one stage but i never made an issue of it, let him have a few minutes hug then took him back to bed. I didn't want to make him feel like he couldn't come to us so i always allowed him to have a quick hug. He doesn't really stir that much anymore but if he calls me i go.

So to wrap it up DS1 was in a 'big boys bed' at about 2.5yrs and it was a really smooth transition. Much easier than i thought it would be. Hope you have a similar experience.

I was just coming into BB tonight to ask this very question! Thanks Leasha.

DD is 22months and has been in her cot since 7months. It's a portacot and there is no way she could ever climb out of it. We've had her single bed in the room since she was born, so I could lay on it if having a bad night so she's use to seeing it there.

This week I bought some more linen, washed everything, got a beautiful mozzie net and her special blanket all made up. I talked to her about it all day. She was very excited about her "big girl's bed" with the rail but refuses to sleep in it. She thinks she wants to but then she demands to go to the cot. When in the cot she wants the big bed. It's really frustrating!!!! I lay on it with her inthe mornings to get her familiar and she's had a pillow in her cot for a week or so now to get the feel too. She show's visitors and told my mum about it too.

I wonder if I should just pack the cot up and then she wont have a choice?
Maybe I should ditch the quilt and go with a blanket like she's used to.

I dont want it to become a massive deal and then she flat out refuses for a long time!

Leash, Oskar was 2 1/2 and made the decision on his own to go into the big boys bed and into his own room all in one go!! He was in our room, in his cot, next to my side of the bed up until then. The only time he ever got out was when he said he wanted to sleep in there one night earlier than that but then decided he actually didn't want to be in the new bed but his old bed. Once HE made the decision he's actually never got up and out. *touch wood* As for falling out, I'm not sure if he fell or tried to get out one night - middle of the night. He was sitting on the floor lol crying out mummy mummy. The bed he has is from Ikea and it's a full size single BUT it can be adjusted in length to make is shorter so it has like a rail inbuilt then. We have it at it's shortest length still and have a pillow in the gap JIC lol.

sazza, my personal opinion on that is to let her adjust and transition on her own. Make the bed up and have it all nice etc and she might just decide she wants to sleep in her new bed. We also told Oskar he was too big for the old bed. We didn't need it straight away for Elijah but it was getting close so I'm glad he got to decide, it's worked really well.

Ds1, we put into a single bed at 2 1/2. Was getting way to big for the cot
Did you go toddler bed or single bed?
Single bed

Did it make bed time easier or harder?
He slept like poopsydoo anyways so it made no difference :lol:

Do they get out of bed if they stir at night?
for a bout 2 weeks he was up and out alot but we kept putting back and eventually he just stayed there. We put a gate at the door so he couldn't leave his room over night

Ds2. Bed at 16 months. We were having baby number 3 and thought well may as well do it now
Did you go toddler bed or single bed?
Single bed
Did it make bed time easier or harder?
Great sleeper.. change made no difference to him

Do they get out of bed if they stir at night?
I swear not even once

Ds3. 21 months. was 10 weeks pg with DD so same thing as above.. Just decided to see how he would go
Did you go toddler bed or single bed?
Bought a toddler bed this time (best buy ever)
Did it make bed time easier or harder?
He also was a great sleeper so no issues here either

Do they get out of bed if they stir at night?
A little on and off for the first week but he soon got tired of it

DD *sigh* Been in a bed now for a few weeks (maybe a couple months now)
Did you go toddler bed or single bed?
Toddler bed
Did it make bed time easier or harder?
She originally went down really well but now she wakes at 9:45 everynight and gets into our bed.. She woke at 10 tonight and is now asleep crashed on a matress in the lounge. (nightly routine apparently

Do they get out of bed if they stir at night?
she never goes to bed awake. Is always held to go to sleep.. wakes continuously through the night unless we let her co sleep..

So as you can see all 4 of my kids have been different

What I did was do day sleeps on a bed to begin with to see how they would go and if that went well then I moved to the big bed