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Parenting

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Original poster

How do I get DS (2) out of his cot and into big boys bed?

21 replies

LadyKatieJ · 29/02/2012 07:58

I'm 5 months pregnant with DC2 and we're trying to move DS into a new room and single bed before new baby arrives and 'steals' his cot.
At the moment he loves his cot and sleeps happily in there in his grobag. We've decorated and furnished the spare room to be his new room and he LOVES playing in there (especially on the bed) and even pretends to sleep in the bed pulling the duvet over himself and snuggling down saying 'night night'
We can't fit the cot in there as well as the bed otherwise I would put the cot in there to get him used to the different room first.
We've tried him in the new bed with his grobag rather than duvet to start with and he's fine for a bit but soon gets upset and asks to go back to his cot.
I don't want to take the cot away giving him no choice (MIL suggestion ) and we do have quite a bit of time so how would you/have you played it? Just wait and keep bigging up his fab new bed until he gets the idea? Sleep in there with him?
Thanks in advance for any advice

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iloveberries · 29/02/2012 08:00

no suggestions but i'm planning on doing the same with DS before DC2 arrives so will watch with interest!

girlsyearapart · 29/02/2012 08:07

When we had to do this we started off doing nap time in the bed and gradually moved her into the bed at night.

Though realistically if he still sleeps nicely in the cot and you have 4 months + Moses basket months left then let him stay in it a bit longer?

I'm having similar issue as the three dds are meant to be sharing a room so Ds can move out of Moses basket into her cot but im going to put a cot in our room because I can't face them all waking each other up!

trixie123 · 29/02/2012 08:23

As you've got time I would carry on as you are but gradually up the amount of time he spends in the bed -maybe do bedtime story there. Can you take the sides off the cot temporarily to get him used to the idea of no bars? If your LO will be in a Moses basket for a bit you've actually got a very long time to do this so don't panic yet. Our DS got evicted from his cot pretty much overnight when we moved house and suddenly had room for DD to go into the cot and him into a bed (she was bursting out of the moses basket). he loves his bed and is quite interested in the fact that DD is in the cot so you may find that when your LO is born that will help things along because he is then the big one. Good luck x

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seeker · 29/02/2012 08:27

Is buying/borrowing another cot an option?

Original poster

LadyKatieJ · 29/02/2012 09:46

Thank you everyone! I think nap time might work as he usually falls asleep on me after lunch on the sofa and I plank him in his cot so maybe I'll plonk him in the bed instead - there is plenty of time I guess as DC2 will be in Moses basket in our room for 6 weeks (did that with DS and worked well) before going into cot but can't fit cot into our room so that means going into DS's room + cot.....
Can't take sides off this cot either so not an option sadly, I'm sure it'll work out ok as most things usually do the less you worry about them, I guess I thought he'd leap at it as he is getting big for the cot and he was so excited playing in the new bed.... fickle toddlers eh?!

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Iggly · 29/02/2012 10:40

Honestly, we just told DS in the morning that his new bed was arriving that day. He watched it be built, we took the cot out and he went straight in for his lunch time nap later no problem. He was fine (20 months). We had the oddnight where he wandered around his room disorientated and he fell out so we got bedguards but after a few weeks he was fine.

thisisyesterday · 29/02/2012 10:44

i would just take the cot away. just say you're a big boy now so the cot has gone. and put him to sleep in the other bed. don't make a big deal out of it

seeker · 29/02/2012 11:08

And then bring the cot back and give it to the new baby?

Iggly · 29/02/2012 11:12

Yes that's what we did. DS didn't bat an eyelid. You can make too big a deal then the kid will think it's more of an issue than it really is.

BuriedUnderChocolates · 29/02/2012 11:18

I would take the cot down and put it away. Has he got a bed guard on his new bed so it's cosy like the cot?

With all of mine I just built the bed, dismantled cot and they got in the bed with no problems at all, so perhaps if the cot wasn't still around he would get in the bed.

He will be used to the bed by the time you have to get cot back out for baby.

Oh and I would definately put him in the bed if he falls asleep, it just seems like you are doing a bit of both at the moment which must be confusing for him, so I decide cot or bed and then go with it.

thisisyesterday · 29/02/2012 18:19

yes. i've done it twice now and neither of my older children batted an eyelid.

if either of them had become particularly upset then we'd have done something...b ut it wasn't an issue. I think if you are very matter of fact about it then kids pick up on it and it isn't a big deal.
if the cot isn't there it isn't there, so they sleep in the bed
by the time the baby comes they don't really remember sleeping in the cot, especially when they're young.

i think we sometimes project our own feelings of sentimentality onto children. he's 2, it's a cot... he really is unlikely to care!

TheCunningStunt · 29/02/2012 18:24

I've just taken cots down. DS could climb out at 14 months so went into a bed then. Dd went in a bed at 11 months, so they were both young enough not to remember. Both had a bed guard. Agree if you make an issue, it can become a bit of a monster. Do the nap thing, it might just work

DreamGirly · 29/02/2012 18:26

we put 'dreamtubes' on the new bed, made it cosy and safe. also we took the cot down until it was needed again, so it was no longer an option. the 'big boy' was very happy on hid new bed.

DreamGirly · 29/02/2012 18:28

dreamtubes

pigleychez · 29/02/2012 20:52

DD2 moved into a toddler bed at New year at 18mths.

No room for both cot and bed to up so had no choice to remove the cot straight away. We made a big fuss about her new Big Girl bed and let her pick a new duvet set for it. She choose an In the Night Garden set. This really helped as it made it more 'her' bed.
Try to keep most things the same though (no major new bedtime routine etc).
Maybe having both is just confusing him more. You telling him this is his new bed for sleep but then putting him back in the cot for naps etc. I would just bit the bullet and move him. It make take a few unsettled nights but you will be surprised how resilient they are to change.

With DD1 we had the room for the cot and bed in the same room. We started with a daytime nap in the bed which she enjoyed then that night wanted the bed so just went with it and she never went in the cot again. (again aged 18mths ready for DD2) We moved the cot into the new Nursery for DD2 and explained that Baby would sleep in there as she didn't need it as she had her special new bed. She understood this and happily spoke about Baby having the cot.
We had a few slightly unsettled nights where I think she stirred and freaked out not really sure where she was as she had so much room!

Original poster

LadyKatieJ · 01/03/2012 09:38

Thanks for all the words of wisdom! I think we probably are confusing him a bit so have decided that as we're going to have a few nights away with him for brother-in-laws wedding in 10 days time (so different place/bed) we'll take the cot down before we go and explain that when we come back he'll be in his new bed.
I've put dreamtube type things (foam wegdes) under the undersheet so it's nice & cosy.
Would you go straight to duvet & pillow or keep him in grobag for a bit? I think he 'gets' the duvet thing and is quite capable of pulling it up etc also he can climb out if he's just under a duvet whereas not so easy in a grobag??

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Iggly · 01/03/2012 09:42

Just make the full switch - bed, duvet etc. Grobags and beds are dangerous if he falls out and tries to walk.

DS took a while to get the hang of a duvet (it's one thing in the day, quite another at 3am) but he's fine now.

Honestly it's not that bad making the switch!

Helenfellows33 · 01/03/2012 09:51

when dd was born we kept her in a moses basket until she was practically bursting out of it then got a bih bed for ds 20 months. we told ds he would have a new big boy bed stuck to our normal bed time routine and he was fine.

if you want to do the swap before i would give him no choice as the others have said. as long as he keeps the same routine and some familiarity he will be fine.

flamingtoaster · 01/03/2012 09:58

My DS was reluctant to leave his cot (even though we moved it into the new room as an inbetween step). So one day the cot had an awful accident - the bottom fell out of it ... much consternation from us when we found it, sorry Daddy couldn't fix it ... sleep in your bed tonight until we find out what we can do .... No problems from that point on so the cot was quietly put away until DD arrived. Good luck!

girlsyearapart · 02/03/2012 06:09

How awful flaming I should hope you complained to the manufacturer and filed for divorce on the grounds that he couldnt fix it?

Original poster

LadyKatieJ · 02/03/2012 11:42

well just to throw a spanner in the works he's started getting very upset and refusing to fall asleep - he just cries and asks for cuddles
Routine is same (bath, story, quick cuddle then into the cot with teddy then 'night night', sleep) but now after the cuddle he holds on for dear life and when put in the cot just screams. It's been 2 nights and we've tried leaving him (just continues to cry until sobbing) and we've had to resort to either holding him until he falls properly asleep (DH does this) or I just sit next to the cot with my hand on him until he cries himself to sleep
He's probably fighting a cold and maybe his molars are trying to push through but it's just horrible seeing him so upset and not usual for him at all.
Just to add we've not pushed the new bed or confused him anymore so I'm sure it's not that.... I'm dreading the 2 night away in a hotel for BIL's wedding next weekend now, I really hope it passes before then!

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