Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Cot to Bed - Positive Stories and Hints/Tips Please

44 replies

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 13:00

We moved DS (2.2) into his bed last night. It went pretty well. He was a bit unsettled at bedtime (took him a couple of hours and one cuddle visit to faal asleep, but he woke up at 2am crying having gone under the cover. We were then awake for a couple of hours trying to get him back in and asleep.

Does anyone have any positive stories, or tips, as DP is panicking and talking about letting him sleep on top of covers in a Grobag, which I don't want to do?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Kewcumber · 19/05/2008 13:07

I moved DS about a week ago (2.5) and have to sit reading in his room (making visits in and out to MN of course) for nearly an hour!

I found he was struggling to get sleep because the duvet was too rustle-y (IYSWIM) I put him in heavier jim-jams and folded the duvet right down to the foot of the bed then went in after he was asleep and just covered his legs. Seems to be working fine.

I don;t see a particular problem with using a gro-bag for a while. Explain to DS that its just until he gets used to it.

Kewcumber · 19/05/2008 13:08

also consider playing with him under the duvet so he doesn;t panic. I put the duvet in the cot for a week before moving DS

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 13:17

Thanks Kew. I might try moving duvet down as you mentioned. I put his baby blanket in with him last night as something familiar but this wasn't until he'd woken up at 2am.

OP posts:

Kewcumber · 19/05/2008 13:18

oh I did that too - left the duvet on the bed down the bottom and gave him a blanket instead.

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 13:23

That's great - thanks again. He's such a good sleeper normally I think DP is worrying that it's a bridge too far or something.

OP posts:

claireybee · 19/05/2008 13:25

I put the bed in the room when dd was 18 months with the idea she'd have a few months to get used to it before ds needed her cot but after only a couple of weeks she decided to sleep in it. We did grobag at night, duvet for her daytime nap for a while (had done this in her cot too). Why don't you want him to use his grobag?

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 13:27

I just worry that it will make two transitions rather than one. First getting used to bed, then getting used to duvet on bed?

OP posts:

LulluMummaOfOne · 19/05/2008 13:32

Hi, i put DS (2.3) in his bed for the 1st time last night also. He was a little unsettled and took about 3 or 4 visitos and hugs to get him off. He only woke up once but went back off again with no problems.

I havent put a duvet on his bed as the weather has been quite nice so he has 2 blankets insead.

Weegle · 19/05/2008 13:35

We moved DS at 19months. Now nearly 2 and he's fine. But we did have a problem with the duvet. So once it became apparent he wasn't getting up (and therefore a bit of a hazard in the grobag) we put him back in the grobag. He's been fine since. He's very mobile in his sleep so I think he'll be in a grobag for a while yet.

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 13:54

Thanks guys. Maybe we should think about Grobag then. I might give it another night and if still problems try what DP wants.

OP posts:

Nyx · 19/05/2008 14:24

We've put our dd (2.3) in a bed in the last fortnight; she's not been too bad - just a bit unsettled if she does wake up in the night. I am a bit of a softy when putting her to bed, we have a few stories with me sitting in the bed beside her, then the light goes off and we both lie down and I tell her another story in the dark, just more or less whispering it. She has dropped off before the end of the story most nights, and I sneak off; but once or twice she's been awake (very awake!) and I've had to go back in two or three times until she's asleep.

As for the duvet, I was pretty worried about that myself as she was in a grobag too, but she doesn't seem to mind it. She doesn't want it over her while she's awake (I cover her with it when she's asleep), but if she wakes up and finds it covering her she's ok. We don't have side rails (or whatever they're called!) on the bed yet - need to hit Ikea! - so I've been tucking the duvet in on the 'floor' side when she's asleep - seems to have worked so far. Good luck! I love it now dd's in a bed, I can sit beside her if she wakes in the night and she just lies down again; beforehand, it would have been getting her out of the cot and sitting on the rocking chair for an hour...yawn.

Spatz · 19/05/2008 14:30

We also carried on using the grobag in a bed with both DCs. I think it made the transition easier and saved us getting up in the night to sort out duvet problems

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 14:36

Thanks again for your responses - it's really useful seeing that other people's experiences are similar.

OP posts:

Kewcumber · 19/05/2008 15:20

I can't put DS back in a grobag - I've sold him the benefit of a bed being he can get up in the morning and come into mummy's bed. He'll be damn grumpy if I tie his legs together (metaphorically!)

Kewcumber · 19/05/2008 15:22

Nyx I think thats pretty normal I sit and read my book and tell DS I'm only going to read for 10 mins, then I have to work (aka MN!) then I leave for 10 mins, then go back for 10 mins etc.

Only differnce in my case is that he won't let me lie on his bed! "Mummy sit" he says pointing at the chair.

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 16:11

This morning when I heard him shout me I thought he might get up and come into our bed, but when I went in he was just sitting on his bed waiting for me - bless!

OP posts:

mistlethrush · 19/05/2008 16:18

Ds took some time to realise that he could get out of bed as well as into it - and also just shouted from where he was - until I suggested that he could go and have a wee himself if he needed to... Now he comes out onto the landing and yells at the top of his voice 'I need a wee'

Anyway - cot to bed - ds was in sheets, blankets and a cot blanket in his cot towards the end and we simply moved them over - he is, however, getting too large for the cot blankets (which are fab to start with on a bed - just the right size, easy for dcs to move themselves and not too hot) and will have to get a larger cover at some stage. We had no problem in moving from one to the other, possibly as only the thing he slept on was changed and bedding was the same.

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 16:21

Maybe I'm being a little ambitious trying to do the blanket and cot thing in one go?

OP posts:

mistlethrush · 19/05/2008 16:23

Was he in a growbag or blankets etc - can you compromise? If he was waiting on his bed anyway, grobag probably won't be a problem - a colleague at work had his 3 / 4 yo in them and said they were remarkably active - up and down stairs, in and out of different rooms etc despite being in growbags. You could, of course, also show him how to get out of it - not sure whether this would be a good idea !

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 19/05/2008 16:27

He was in a Grobag every night, with an occasional blanket when it was a bit chilly. The blanket DP put on him last night was one of his cot blankets and when I put him back in bed later, I put that blanket near his neck as well, but he was still underneath the duvet iyswim. I just thought it would be easier transitioning him into the two together rather than the bed now and his duvet later...

OP posts:

Fizzylemonade · 19/05/2008 19:59

Can I give you all hope and tell you that ds1 didn't get out of bed until he was 4!!!!! He used to shout me from his bed! I was the parent asking how the hell you get a child to get out of bed rather than wondering how to keep him in!

Ds2 however will be a different kettle of fish. He is 2 today and is currently in cot bed with a cot bed duvet BUT I put it sideways in the cot and tuck the sides under the matress.

I do something similar with the pillow to hold it in place. I wrap it in a flat cotbed sheet and then tuck the excess under the matress.

We kept ds1 in his grobag for a bit to do one new thing at a time. For his day time naps he had a blanket anyway so once he was settled in the cotbed then we tried him with the duvet in the winter.

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 20/05/2008 14:10

Quick update on the bed front - DS went to bed no problem last night again. He woke up about 23:15 crying (he really was sobbing his heart out) so DP put him into a Grobag and, after calming him down, I put him back in bed. He didn't peep again and when I went in this morning he was out of the covers, upside down with his feet on the pillow!

Thanks again for all your tips and stories!

OP posts:

Kewcumber · 20/05/2008 16:16

DS is perpetually revopling the wrong way when he's trying to settle but once he sleeps he just crashes where he is and hardly moves!

Original poster

Sunshinemummy · 20/05/2008 16:18

DS is a wriggler I think! He's in a different position every time I peek at him!

OP posts:

gardenshrub · 20/05/2008 18:10

Saw these whilst ordering some new grobags for dd the other day, they look as though they would be a good inbetween stage from grobag to duvet. www.grobag.com/firstduvet.aspx

Flip

1 2