Moving into bed/taking down stairgates?

[Coldhands]

My DS will be 2 this week. He isn't climbing out of his cot yet, which I am surprised as the sides are at his mid chest, but I suppose the grobag helps keep him in.

Anyway we are going away in May and he is too big for the travel cot so he will have to be in a bed. We don't want to start it on holiday so we are going to put him in his cotbed a month before we go.

How old was your DCs before you moved them from their cots and any tips for keeping them there? Particularly for daytime naps which I think is going to be more of a problem as he is pretty good with wanting to go to bed anyway. I don't want to get another stairgate for his bedroom door really. We have a very small upstairs and let him run around it so we just have one at the top of the stairs which I don't want to move.

Also what ago did you take down your starigates and let them play upstairs and downstairs in the day?

[teaandcakeplease]

I only moved my daughter into a bed when she learnt how to get out of the cot.

She was like a Jack in the Box in the bed and kept laughing and opening the door when I first put her in it, I explained she was going to be a big girl like Peppa Pig and sleep in a bed on the first night.

Over a number of nights I repeatedly lay her back down without talking to her, or looking at her and left again, multiple times. Eventually the game got boring as I never reacted and she stopped doing it. I had to child proof the room and remove all the toys, so she wouldn't play with them instead, if being put to bed in the early days. Some children do end up needing a stair gate on their door as they get older if problematic. FIngers crossed yours will be an angel

Her daytime naps were interesting once in a bed in the early days, I had to repeat the old exercise of repeatedly laying down. If you make sure they're tired before laying down (sorry stating the obvious) that's your best bet for daytime naps.

May is a while away yet though, so I'd wait until they learn to climb out personally or unless they ask for a bed? You could use the threat of the old "if you don't go to sleep in the big bed, I'll put you back in your cot" - to try and get them to behave maybe? But that's just my opinion, either way best of luck x

[Jolene2]

Ooh, we kept our DS1 in his cotbed until he was about 3!! Selfish parents, we didn't want to get woken up.... Anyway, while we were away on a long trip, DS1 had his first experiences of not being in a cot - we slept in a campervan (interesting!) and in some places he had a single bed. The main problem with the single bed was that he'd fall out sometimes so we had to put cushions etc around. Weirdly, he never voluntarily got out of bed.

When we did feel brave enough to put him in a bed at home, he was fine. We had a few late night visits from him but only a handful. Same with day time naps as well. I reckon it could well be better than you expect. Good luck

[toodleypip]

My DD never tried to climb out of her cot, I just fancied a change really so turned her cot into a bed a few weeks after her 2nd birthday.

She got out a few times for the first week but she loves her big girls bed.

The top stair gate remains just in case of sleepy wanderings in the night, but the kitchen gate came off when she was about 1 and a half and the bottom one shortly after.

Again, a week or so of mild interest in the stairs and then the novelty wore off.

[Coldhands]

Thats interesting toodleypip I am getting a bit fed up with the stair gates, especially the one for the kitchen, but I know if I nip upstairs to the loo or something, DS could go in there and toch the (gas) cooker so that does make me keep that gate on. He is very good at using stairs, we taught him from a young age how to come down safely etc, I think I would be paranoid that he may just fall, that one time. Then I would feel guilty. Maybe we could try it.

[mamasunshine]

Hi, I put ds1 into a bed when he was 19 months old, we needed the cot for ds2. He's been fine, although he does have a stair gate on his bedroom door so he can't wake us! He did take a few nights to get used to it! When we were on holiday different story as no door gat, had to get him to sleep in push chair, then snuck him into bed!

[lola0109]

Hi, we had DD in her bed from 14 months, very early I know but DD2 is due in March and DD1 never went straight down in her cot, had to fall asleep in our bed then be transferred only to wake again and end up in our bed.

So we knew we had to get her out of the pattern of sleeping in our bed so thought no point in trying again with cot, we'll just turn it into bed.

What a difference. The first few weeks it took 1-2 hours to get her down at night which was so stressful but we knew we had to persevere. Now, she takes 10 mins, with her in bed and either DP or I sitting on a chair away from her. she very rarely wakes but if she does its usually about 4am, she comes into our room and we take her straight back in! She now knows that the bed id for sleeping, which she never seemed to associate the cot with. Its bliss!

Glad we made the transition sooner than needed so maybe a good idea for you to start now before May?

We have a very small landing upstairs so have the stairgate just for night wandering and we make sure that all doors except hers and ours are firmly shut.

No gate on bottom of stairs or kitchen. She can get up and down the stairs quite well and we only close the top gate if she is upstairs.

The doors in our house are difficult to open though but she asks to go out so we always know when she is on the stairs and someone is always behind her.

[Coldhands]

I think the bed a night would probably be ok, although I am thinking that I am going to put his toys in one box and take that out. Its daytime naps I'm slightly more worried about.

I think the stairgates will have to stay as the kitchen door is connected to the front room and the door opens if you push it, the catch is crap, and the stairs are also in the front room so he has access all the time.

[moaningminniewhingesagain]

I had to turf DD out of her cot so DS could have it, at about 19mo.

I set the bed up and offered her the choice to try a nap in the bed. She said no a few times, then tried it a few times, then switched to bed all the time, it was very painless. Few nights of getting out of it but soon stopped, she stays in bed and shouts that she's awake these days at nearly 3

Stairgate in her bedroom doorway as top of my stairs not suitable for gate.

DS is 13mo and I'm thinking of putting him in a bed in the nest 3 months or so because he hates his cot and am hoping he might sleep better. Still too tiny just yet but he can slither off my bed safely.