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Behaviour/development

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

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Original poster

From cot to toddler bed

17 replies

mummymooof2 · 05/01/2010 13:54

My eldest daughter will be 2 this week and i'm wondering the best time to put her into new bed and how she will cope. My youngest is 10 weeks and is in carry cot so it would make sense for her to go into cot and us buy eldest bed. I'm bit scared and think she will just run around all night playing. Any advice on the best way to go about it would be great x

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PureAsTheColdDrivenSnow · 05/01/2010 13:58

I was just about to post the same thing! DS is 2.1 now, and i've been thinking about moving him to a big bed. Thinking of waiting until it's a bit warmer maybe, but before we go on holday in the summer so we don't need to worry about cots.

Original poster

mummymooof2 · 05/01/2010 14:06

I don't want to get it wrong and be up all night putting her back in bed when i have youngest to see to. Plus i'm worried about her faling out of bed!

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emmabemmasmom · 05/01/2010 14:18

My DD was 16 months (March) when I put her in a single bed. She had been climbing out of her cot for months and it was becoming dangerous as she got her leg stuck between bars and twisted her ankle...anyyway

At the time I was pregnant with DD2 and she was born in May.

DD was not a good 'stay in your bed' little girl. We tried everything and would always put her right back in her bed when she came and opened her door.

Once I had DD2 however and started BF in the evenings it got really hard as I was feeding her for over an hour, while having to get up and keep putting DD1 back in her bed. So I invested in a flexigate and oh my god it has been a life saver. I started putting that up every night on DD1's door starting in June.She wanted to keep her door open as she is afraid of the dark so she could hear me around but couldn't come out of her room. She then got the idea that I didn't mind if she played a bit as long as she was quite and then she would always go to her bed and fall asleep within 30-45 min without screaming or tantrums. I then moved DD2 into the room with DD1 in August. There have only been a handful of nights where they may keep each other up, but over all it has worked out great.

I would make sure to give her a few weeks/months in her own bed before you move baby in.

Oh, and not once has she ever fallen out of her bed...she has no guard and it is a full size single bed which she looooves

Hope it helps!

emmabemmasmom · 05/01/2010 14:21

Oh I may also add that I have them both asleep by 7pm. They bath together, and then I put DD1 in bed while I feed DD2 in another room. DD1 then gets a few min to play so when I put DD2 in her cot I tuck DD1 back in and that is them out for the night! (Still using that gate too lol)

Original poster

mummymooof2 · 05/01/2010 14:23

Thank you - very helpful

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Original poster

mummymooof2 · 05/01/2010 14:25

You sound very similar to us with your routine - think i will buy the bed!

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emmabemmasmom · 05/01/2010 16:18

Oh good! I was hoping it did not come off all 'Oh yes I totally know what I am doing' lol I still go with the flow, but if it was any help to you then I am happy with that

emmabemmasmom · 05/01/2010 16:22

Also I noticed that you thought about giving the cot to your youngest, which of course would be very wise on the ££. I have read however that some kids do not take to kindly to their beds being given to the 'baby'. So maybe if you were to do that then I would put the older in a 'big girl bed' and keep the cot broken down for the time being. Give her some time to get used to the new bed and then in a few weeks months when you move DD2 in then set up the cot and hopefully by that time she will have forgotten that was her cot and be so in love with her own bed she won't mind

Just trying to think of everything to make the transition the easiest for you as I was terrified lol Good luck!

pigleychez · 05/01/2010 16:34

We just put DD into a bed last week at 17mths.
I too had visions of coming out of her room at all hours and in and out of bed.
Thankfully she has been really good. We shut her door at night time, mainly cause we always have and it helps block out sounds as she can be a light sleeper. She also hasnt got out of bed during the night at all although she does know that she can get out.I think the fact that we always tried to resettled in her in the cot without taking her out has helped with her thinking nighttime she stays in bed.

We have an Ikea bed thats really low to the ground so not far to fall however it comes with a long matching bedguard so cant fall out easily.
She was abit unsettled the first few nights but has been fine since( I think the Peppa pig bedding has helped too )

Im due number 2 in May so wanted to get all the unsettledness out the way and get her settled again before being up with number 2 aswell. Thankfully weve been pretty lucky that shes taken to it so quickly.

I think you either wait till baby is abit older before moving her or just bite the bullet and do it now if your up anyway! She may just suprise you,but if not then I think its just perserverance im afraid.

pigleychez · 05/01/2010 16:38

emmabemmasmom- Thats what i was worried about too- DD thinking Baby was taking her bed, hence getting her settled in her new bed now to give her time to forget about the cot.

Think leaving it a while would be a good idea before putting DC2 in it.

maxybrown · 05/01/2010 17:14

Our Ds had never even slept in his own room.....or bed come to think of it and bypassed a cot completely but he must have been about 14/15months ish when he went into his bed in his own room and he is good as gold!! He is 2.3 now. He has a story cd on at bed time or a singy cd, and never moves...........the superglue helps

Original poster

mummymooof2 · 06/01/2010 10:10

Thanks everyone! DD1 has been difficult to put down at night in the last week (since being ill with ear infection). She screams goin into cot which is not like her (has been a geat sleeper) She has been waking in night and gettin very upset, which i've read can happen around this age. Any similar problems with your children everyone?

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emmabemmasmom · 06/01/2010 10:40

Mine only started with the screaming when I moved her into her bed. She does not scream scream but mostly just yells in rebellion lol once I did the gate thing and let her play a bit though she was cool with the deal we made!

She is however waking in the night. She started night terrors which are quite scary but it only happens a few times a month. She also wakes for water a few times. I don't like her in this habit however I always need a huge glass of water so I can't justify telling her she can't have some if she needs it!

Other than that she is a great sleeper but yeah, about 2 is when she started waking a few times.

mozette · 06/01/2010 13:16

We bought a bed tent and put the stair gate across DD's door

mozette · 06/01/2010 13:16

..... and it worked like a dream - however it did get a bit hot under that bed tent and it's a bugger to climb out off if you fall asleep beside her and you are 5ft 4!

Original poster

mummymooof2 · 06/01/2010 14:31

I think just knowing other mums go through same thing makes you feel better. Def going to go ahead and buy the bed now so thanks everyone. She's sat with me at laptop to look at the bed she will have so she'slooking forward to it (bless).

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Sonilaa · 06/01/2010 17:50

My son moved to a toddler bed when he was 18 months old. He just got too big for the cot I didnt want him getting hurt falling out.

We talked the "bigboybed" hot for about a week and then went to IKEA to buy his new bed. He choose his bed linen himself and was very excited. He also "helped" daddy to put the bed up.

He sleept in the toddler bed very well from day/night one. Only fell out of bed once so far, but didnt even wake up, these toddler beds are very low off the ground...

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