Is it normal for toddler to HATE big bed at first?

[NotBehindTheRadiatorPlease]

Is it normal for the transition from cot to single bed to be quite difficult?

My daughter is 21 months (but very tall and had reached height limit of her cot, hence the change) and tonight is the second night of her sleeping in a single bed rather than a cot. Last night was pretty tough, she slept from 7:30pm - 12:30am but then woke up hysterically crying. We kept putting her back to bed, laying with her, cuddling her, shushing her ect but she was still crying. Finally fell back to sleep at 3:30am! We did offer her milk, water, and pain relief in case she was hungry or in pain, but she refused it/they didn't make any difference. She would calm down when we picked her up, but as soon as we tried to put her down she would scream.

She's just gone to bed now and it was quite difficult to put her down. Again, every time I tried to put her down she would cry. Eventually she stayed asleep and is still asleep now, but I'm terrified we'll have another night like last night 😟

Is it normal for little ones to not like their big beds at first? I don't know if this is normal or wether she's not quite ready yet. We haven't given her a pillow or duvet yet, just kept her in a sleeping bag as we didn't want to change too much at once (she's always slept in a sleeping bag), but do you think it's worth giving her a pillow and duvet now?

Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you ❤️

Maybe too early. My dd went into a bed at age 2 and ds was 2 ½years.

Have you thought about using a bed rail to help it feel more like the cot

Thanks both, there are bed guards on the side of the bed.

Amazingly enough, last night was much better! She woke up once, but only whined for about a minute and then went back to sleep. Apart from that she slept all night!

I've seen she had a better night, but what about putting on a "special" duvet cover and pillow case? Obviously the shops are closed at the moment but I let my 2yo pick a bedding set by choosing from two pictures on the Next website, and she was very excited to get in when it arrived.

Both my DDs hated sleeping bags by that age.

my ds had a mattress on the floor initially , it wasnt a smooth one night transition.

Yes - sleeping is very personal but DD2 wept over the loss of her cot and then again over the loss of her toddler bed

They are all different, mine is delighted with hers and won't come in my bed in the mornings now. She didn't go in it until 2.9 years and I got her a double bed though.
This too shall pass.