From cot to bed BEFORE age 2?

My 16 month old DD keeps waking up at night when she hits the top of the cot (there's a bumper, but she ends up squished up against it).

A few people suggested to move her to a bed. Most 'official' info I've found says toddlers generally move to a bed at age 2 at the earliest.
But I've also found a lot of anecdotal evidence from mums whose bubs moved to a bed much earlier, even younger than my DD.

I'm just not sure how she will go in a bed - with her head at the top, near the wall.
At what age are they allowed to use a pillow?
Should I go with a toddler bed, or a single bed with a rail to stop her falling out?

Not sure whether to give this a go...

What do you feel comfortable with? I dont think its wise to use a pillow yet? What about a small toddler bed with a rail? and maybe some cushions incase she falls out?

Sorry I am not much help we co sleep so the boys have all the room :P
x

We've moved both our DD's before they were 15 months old. DD1 didn't get a pillow straight away though, and DD2 is 15 months at the moment and doesn't have a pillow. We think she would be fine with a toddler pillow though, just haven't gotten around to getting one yet.

DS1 was in a single bed by the time DS2 was born when DS1 was 19 months old. I think he'd been there from about 16 months. We used a bed rail to stop him falling out and he was fine. He didn't get a pillow until later though. I think every child is different and you know your child better than any book!

I gave up on the cot by around 8 months, but DS slept on a mattress on the floor till he was around 22 months when we moved him to a bed (we just waited till he was comfortable sleeping alone most of the time).
Maybe try a mattress then go to a bed if that seems to work well...? 16 months would be fine for pillows, I think. I'd go to a single, just to avoid having to get another later. We never used rails - he fell out once or twice, but quickly learnt not to thrash around so much after that.

Thanks all.

Oh, I didn't think of just a mattress! A single bed mattress, you mean?.. Maybe I could put her cot mattress on the floor....

With my first two boys there is only 19mths between them so we kinda needed DS1 out of the cot :D
We started at about 17mths I think and just did day sleeps at first to get him used to it. Then we moved onto the night sleeps. It did take a good few weeks to completely transition him and there was times when I thought it was too soon.
Be prepared for lots of getting in and out of the bed (great new game just cause they can now) lots of stories and I also spent many nights falling asleep next to him in his bed.

Definately go for the bed rail. All of my kids are huge rollers and movers in their sleep so although they may start out up the right way on the pillow that is never where they end up. :lol:
Rail on one side and wall on the other, we used a thin pillow and also used bedding from his cot just to make it as smooth as possible.

Good luck in your decision

Yeah, that might be ok if she doesn't move around too much. DS was on a queen size (with me for much of the time, I got a tiny sliver of bed and he took the rest)

I'm one of 4 kids, and all of us were given a bed for our 1st birthday, and we were moved into it that night as part of our "big kid" prezzie.

It wasn't a big deal, and we're all fine :)

This is what we're planning on doing with DS.

My DS2 was 13 months when he moved to a big boy bed. I never had a rail. If they fell out, they fell out. Only did it once or twice each...

We moved DD into her bed a few months back, she'll be two at the end of this month. She started with one of those flat toddler pillows, but she now falls asleep with a normal pillow, but always ends up in with us anyway. The change was incredible. She went from being tense and unhappy, even in sleep, when we tried to put her to bed, to her willingly going into her own bed. climbing in, pulling the blankets up and waiting for her story. Best thing we did at the time. I was also concerned, she was so little, everything I had read said wait until two, but as I've learned on here - trust your instincts! And she has never fallen out either. I had her fold out couch beside it for a few weeks, but she never fell out.

Hmm she does move a lot, now that I think of it... sometimes she's upside-down in her cot!

I actually don't know if she'll 'notice' that it's not her cot, firstly because of her age, and secondly because she only sleeps there at night. (Day naps are on my lap while being breastfed.)
At night we breastfeed to sleep in the dark, and then put in the cot when she's 99% asleep.

I guess I will find out pretty quickly whether she 'notices' or not!

If it's a bigger mattress you can maybe lie down next to her to get her to sleep. Might even work for day sleeps, who knows?
DS was all over the place when he was on the mattress, but moves much less now - I think they learn to (or else fall out). Mind you, he's still upside down or sideways hanging over the edge sometimes.

DD went into a bed at 16months. She didn't have a rail but she sleeps like a log and I just never got around to it.

DS is just 2 but has never slept in a cot only ever in a bed with a rail.

Thanks, yeah maybe one day she will be able to sleep without a breastfeed!.... If she does I will collapse in shock :)
I think maybe when she's old enough to reason with, she might do it. I'd be very happy to take naps with her in our bed every day, but she just doesn't know how to sleep without the boob. Feeding her while lying on the bed doesn't seem to work, for some reason...
She has fallen asleep in the car TWICE in 16 months, and only because she missed her nap.

She's always been one of those babies who fights sleep. I remember when she was just born and we were still in hospital, and I'd read that newborns couldn't stay awake for more than 1 hour, tops.
Our beady eyed little one was awake for 5 hours straight on the day we left hospital!

Thanks again everyone, you've given me some great ideas.

Great thread, I'm getting loads of info to. We plan on ttc again soon which means ds will be in a bed at around 18 months if not before if all goes to plan with getting pg. Good luck with your decision, just do whatever your comfortable with

DS went into a bed at 18 months. We got him the Malm single bed from Ikea as it's low to the ground but still a normal single size bed. No rail, just gave him my body pillow and then some more cushions on the floor. He has a toddler pillow. Tontine make them and they're called My First Pillow or something like that. He fell out a few times over the first couple of months and then was fine.

we moved DS to a bed (at floor level) at 20 months as he used to roll around and smack his head on the cot and wake himself, he is on a single sized mattress as the cot mattress was too small (he'd roll off it), still rolls of the single actually but as its at floor level it doesnt matter :)

I have to say that his sleeping improved out of sight!!

When DD1 was about 16 months or so I think, can't remember, we just took the side off her cot.
Easy. No need to buy a toddler bed ;) So she had a 3 sided cot and just slept on that. (DH had to lower the base of it further when she was 1 as she was too tall for it, so it was quite low to the ground anyway)

Anyway, worked well til we gave her the king single about 6 months ago or so. She has fallen out 2 times, once from the bed, once from the cot, never hurt herself and we never bothered with a rail. I used to put pillows on the fall beside the cot for about the first month.

HTH :)

I moved DD to a bed at around 15mo.

DD 15m, we moves house, I did put her cot up, then decided she can sleep in her toddler bed, I got it as a freebie, we tried one night with the cot still up, and she screamed and wouldnt settle so put her back in the cot, the next day we put the mattress back on the toddler bed and her and her sister played in it and that night I put her to bed and she fell asleep and hasn't been in a cot ever since.
With DD1 I think she was 18m and we took the side off the cot, she was about 2 when we put her straight to a king single bed, with a rail.

It wasn't much of a transition for both girls. They both went pretty easily into settling into their big girls beds.


Love MN ;-)

My DD went in at 15 mths, we had the bed set up in her room because of DS' impending arrival, and she chose to go in there earlier than when he arrived. It was low to the ground but you will probably find that she will sleep better in the bed. As long as you have things set up it will be fine. We also have our DS on a mattress on the floor now - we haven't bought his new bed which is coming next next week but it worked well because it is a bed sized mattress and low to the floor.

DD1 moved into the toddler bed when DD2 arrived (she was almost 19 months) and she was fine. DD2 hated the rails in the cot and was getting increasingly harder to get her to sleep so we converted her cot to a toddler bed (with side rails) and she is great. She was about 15 months old. DD1 really wanted a pillow so we got her a really flat cot pillow and DD2 has only started using a pillow and she is 20 months old.

pretty much the same as madB (it was actually on her suggestion that we tried it :lol:) - DS was on a king single mattress on the floor from about 9 months. he's pretty much always shared a bed with me, so there wasn't much time in his cot! but a mattress made it easy to feed (he used to feed to sleep) & settle him. it also meant i could sleep with him overnight when needed (ok, most nights). we've just put the base on the bed at 20 months. we have the cot matress alongside the bed in case he falls off (he's only done it once).

A friend of mine moved her 15 month old to a bed after he tried to wriggle out of her cot. She got both her legs stuck and my friend had to call her brother (her DH does FIFO) over so he could saw the cot apart to free her little legs :o
She has adjusted to a bed fine. It's a normal single bed and she has just attached a rail to one side (one of those mesh ones) and the other is pushed against a wall.

DD was a shocking sleeper in her cot - I think she is like me and doesn't like small spaces...
At 15mths we were given a toddler bed so we took her cot out of the room and put her bed in. All day she played on it and that night she went down like a dream and has never slept better!!!
She does get up occasionally in the early hours of the morning but she just comes into bed with us - this happened maybe 1 out of 30 nights and is usually when she is sick...

thanks for this thread - i've been following it with interest ;)

We moved DS (23 months) to a toddler bed a month ago, as he was able to climb out of his cot :o:wall::doh: and it was dangerous.... although we didn't feel completely ready (or that he was). It was good timing for the family in some ways, as we have another little one on the way soon, not sure if bubs will go straight to the cot though.

we have had mixed success with the toddler bed - he comes into our bed nightly at 2-4am when he wakes.... sigh.... and i find myself putting him to bed really tired, as him getting up after his bottle (yes, we still settle him with a bottle!) is 1) a bad habit (the bottle) and 2) really frustrating when he gets up

so i still don't think we've cracked it. i've had a few weeks of really bad sleep, no doubt due to being pg, but i'm a little worried about how we're going to juggle 2 kids and no sleep, so i think we'll be calling tweedle (or going to sleep school) asap.

If you want to know if she is ready you can try a bed for day sleeps?

I have moved all 4 of my kids at various ages from cot to bed and only one was 2 the next 3 werre all under 2. DS2 was 16 months when we moved him.. not really sure why but we did and he slept so well

My DD was doing the same thing your DD was doing so we started her on a bed for day sleeps and then took her cot down one morning and went from there.. You will have moments when they run out of the room ect but they eventually get used to it and realize its bed time

Oh and I never had any interest in a toddler bed until we got one for DS3, now I would recommend them as we had no issues moving our kids from toddler bed to bed

Dd2 moved to a toddler bed at 16 months by accident. She was going to be sharing with Ds when he was born and we set up the toddler bed in her room just to see if it would fit and she hopped straight in for a nap and never looked back. She put herself down for naps when she was ready.

What type of blankets do you use for a little person (12 months old) on a single mattress/bed?

Is a doona appropriate or not cos of potential wiggling?

Do you put the child at the head end or more towards the foot end (like in a cot)?

Ta

bilby went into a single bed before two (with rail and HEAPS of pillows UNDER the sheets to build up the sides, so she was sleeping in the recess. but no pillow for her head, above the sheets, to sleep on at that age. As long as she got her breastfeed to sleep, she was fine. But sometime during the night, i would hear a pad pad pad down the corridor, and there she would be, sleepily, coming to find me for a breastfeed. Like a homing pigeon. LOL.

i agree, you know when YOUR child is ready for a bed. the mattress on the floor sounds a great idea.

Does she have a cot, Kate? At 12 months, you may do better to just take the drop side off the cot altogether, so you essentially have a sitter bed. This way they will not feel so caged in, there is nothing to climb out over, but the bedspace itself is still comfortingly smaller.
Then you can continue to do exactly as you do now, just with the side off.

This is the first night with the side off at our place when we went in to check on her. She is still sound asleep in this pic, and did not wake when we moved her back into the bed... :rofl: Alexis Photos | Facebook

So she was on a pillow, a very flat one, and we put a second pillow lengthways down the outside of the cot. We have never used a cot rail or anything. And she has a cot doona.

HTH :)

DS is getting a big boy bed for his 1st birthday. No pillow for a while, though.

Sheets, blanket, and probably a light doona until we figure out if he takes after DH (a hot bot) or me (freezes overnight!)

But we're wondering about how Josh will cope with the transition from sleeping bags to pure sheets and blankets ... we don't use a sleeping bag for his daytime naps, so hopefully will go ok.

Good luck for your transition too!

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Does she have a cot, Kate? At 12 months, you may do better to just take the drop side off the cot altogether, so you essentially have a sitter bed. This way they will not feel so caged in, there is nothing to climb out over, but the bedspace itself is still comfortingly smaller.

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Cute pic! We have a cot but DD doesn't sleep in it much. She is mainly in our bed. It is much nicer for her and me to get her to sleep on our bed, this is why i am considering ditching the cot altogether. She slept in a hammock and in our bed up to 6 months. The transition to cot has been a long process and never really worked.

The cot we have has a side that goes down, but doesn't even go low enough to be able to use it as a proper side car. I don't think i can take the side off because the sides hold the 2 ends in place.

DH is on night shift the next 2 nights but we are going to give it a go the following night. wish us luck!

kate DD2 has never been a blanket fan, when she went into a bed at 23 months she was still in a sleepsuit, though i made the bed as per normal with sheets and a doona so she got used to them, its been a slow transition (harder now too seeing as she wont wear the sleepsuit). i highly recommend the sleepsuit though

i moved DS into a king single bed with a side thing when he was about 15 months, he slept so much better!

i forgot to put this yesterday. Was recommended to "short sheet" the bed. e.g not make the bed up, as you would normally, but make the sheeting, shorter, and no pillow. for safety. i think it might have been the community worker at playgroup who advised that. being a 1st timer, it would have never occurred to me.