tips for moving to bed from a cot

[anotherBadAvatar]

DD is 2.3, and no 2 is on the way (due May) Ideally, we'd like her settled in a bed as we want to (eventually) use the cot for no 2, and want to do it before the upheaval of a new baby on the scene.

Any advice? She sleeps so well now, I'm relucant to rock the boat!

[Emeralda]

Watching with interest! DS 3 about to move to bed. My friend said to have bed and cot available at the same time for a couple of weeks. We plan to have bed in our room at first so we can keep an eye, but that might be more about my anxiety about the change.

[TooMinty]

Just go for it! We took DS1 to choose his big boy bed from IKEA and bedding to go with it. Kept the rest of his bedtime routine the same and he was fine, fell out a couple of times but didn't even wake up 😄

[carrotcakecupcake]

Another vote here to just go for it. With DS we gave him a pillow and duvet in his cot and when we first moved him into a bed he used the same (small) duvet and cushion and did as PP said and kept his routine as consistent as possible. We have a bed guard though I'm not sure he needs it. We've now transitioned him to a normal sized pillow and duvet and he sleeps really well - if not better now that he's on a proper mattress.

[BikeRunSki]

Just do it. Put the cot mattress on the floor next to the bed in case they roll out. Stair gate on the bedroom door.

[Ilovecaindingle]

Ds was 2 in Sept - needed to rearrange bedroom round to make more space and put ds in the bottom bunk - he has a gate on his door as he has an odd spiral staircase outside his room - first night he climbed in and pulled his own covers over and said goodnight!!
And that was it! Never shouted /cried /woke up for 12 hours!!
He actually asks to do his teeth and go to bed every night after in the night garden!!

[anotherBadAvatar]

We would need to do a bit of childproofing in the room (secure furniture), and I'm not sure due to the shape of the door and an awkward hallway a stairgate would be a possibility, we just leave her
Door ajar and have a stairgate on the actual stairs.

I'm relieved though that lots have said just go for it! Been put off by some horror stories from friends, and their previously good sleepers being up all hours.

I guess we'll never know till we try

[splendide]

I'm watching with interest!

I feel like I may just leave poor DS in his cot until he moves out. I am so terrified to disrupt his sleep!

[JohnLapsleyParlabane]

My DD is 14 months and we moved her to a toddler bed on Christmas eve. We secured all her other furniture and made sure there were no accessible cables. We haven't bothered with a stair gate at her door as we had e one at the top of the stairs. We close her door at bedtime and she isn't quite able to open it yet anyway. She sat with my mum and watched us take the cot apart and build the toddler bed. She spent most of that afternoon climbing in and out of bed and crowing with joy. She sleeps better than she did in the cot.

[TooMinty]

We put the stair gate on the stairs not his bedroom.

If I only had one then I might have left him in the cot longer but I needed it for DS2.

The only issue I had was naps but I think he was on the verge of dropping them anyway!

[Topsy44]

The week before I moved my dd to a bed from a cot, I started talking to her about it in a positive way. That she was going to be a big girl moving up to sleeping in a bed. My Dad and I put the new bed together and she was excited when it was all going on. I also brought some new bed linen which she loved.

Had no problems and also was the beginning of her starting to sleep on her own rather than me rub her back to sleep.

Good luck.