Moving into a bed - how did you do it?

[gnocci]

We feel it is time to move DS into a big bed (he is 18m). He is too big for his cot and we also have DC2 arriving in Sept so want it done before she arrives!

So..... how did you go about doing it? Did they climb out a lot after you'd put them down? Fall out?

We have a wooden bed frame and I've ordered a nice new mattress. We also have a bed guard.

Tips/advice/stories please!!

Thanks!

Dc1 was great, didn't get out of bed until the morning

Dc2 faffed about for two years getting up and down all bloody evening!

Good luck

We had ds and dn in cotbeds, so just took the side off. But followed sage advice of using a single duvet sideways so half of it is folded underneath the duvet, making it harder for them to fall out or the duvet to fall on the floor.

Luckily by coincidence ds can't open his stiff door handle even now, so when he played silly buggers too much we could shut him in for a couple minutes until he was willing to get back into bed (had to stop that when he was out of nappies...) - he often plays a bit then goes to bed by himself and as long as he's quiet and well-rested in the morning that's fine by me. Though dn used to stay up all night destroying everything in his room... eventually grew out of it thankfully!

Just started the process (DS is 20mo). Like you, keen to gt him into the bed by the time DC2 needs it around October time. At the moment he's just napping in the bed, and all being well we'll move him into it at night in a few weeks. Both the cot and the bed are in his room atm

Weirdly, I'm not sure he's realised he can get out of the bed.

He is also a pretty reliable sleeper which helps

We didn't make any fuss about the new bed. On the day it was delivered we told DS he was sleeping in a bed, he watched it be assembled and went in it for his nap no problem. Same for bedtime. He used to fall out as he thrashes about loads so put a low foam bed guard in as I didn't want him to try and climb over a high one.

Then he discovered you could get out so kept doing that for weeks. I had to keep putting him back in super nanny style. Looking back I think that was a sleep regression, not anything to do with the bed as he'd been fine at first!

He's been in it for a year and doesn't get out until we come and get him.

Ds1 is 4.7 and has still never got out of bed himself . Not sure how we achieved this; I think it's just a personality thing. DS2 will be a different kettle of fish (tempted to keep him in the cot until he's a teenager ). As to how you actually move them, I was prepared for a palaver, but actually it was totally simple. Just took the cot down one night, erected the bed, and stuck him in it. I definitely second the sideways tucked in duvet, though. Not so much to stop them falling out - DS1 never did this - but to keep the covers on. DS is only just starting to manage not to kick them off, and the first winter he was in a bed he'd often wake up freezing if I hadn't tucked him in firmly enough.

I sent DD1 to my mother's for a night, while we decorated DD2's room (I was about 8 months pregnant) While she was gone we also put new covers on the bed, took the cot down, and generally tidied and rearranged her room. When she got back we told her she had a new bed and she was overjoyed. She actually thought she had a new room, bounced up and down on the bed for about an hour, and then went to sleep overjoyed at all the time we had spent on her. She never noticed that we had completely redone the spare room.

We did put her in a proper bed though, not a cot bed, but that bed had been in her room for about 6 months at the time.

We just moved DS (2.4) at the weekend. We'd talked about his 'big bed' for a wee while beforehand and would ask him if he wanted to sleep in a 'big bed' and he said 'yes'. It's an ikea extendable bed so it's not any longer than his cot, but quite a bit wider. We've kept him in a sleeping bag which I think stops him roaming! We have put rolled up blankets under the sheet which stops him rolling out (but he can easily climb over). So far he hasn't tried to escape, am not sure why as he's a monkey! It's either because the room is so dark that he's maybe scared or it's much harder in a sleeping bag!

Have ordered some foam guards though as on occasion he's fallen asleep horizontally with his legs hanging off the side of the bed (got a cheap 2nd hand video monitor which has come in most useful!!).

I would have kept him in his cot longer but DC2 due next month and wanted to make the move

Didn't do it until a lot later- but then mine didn't move until later. Moved DS at just over 2, and DD at 2.6. Not much fuss made, had a toddler bed, still have for DD (now 3.5), has little sides near head to stops falling out. Both didn't get out, but like pp it's a personality thing.