Moving from cot to toddler bed

[WindFlower92]

Looking for some advice on how to handle this transition. I have a 21 month old, with another due in May, so DD will be about 2 when baby arrives. I want to start getting her into a bed now so that we're not dealing with this on top of having a newborn. Is 21 months too early for a proper bed? She's still in a sleeping bag and has never tried to climb out of the cot or anything. Has just started sleeping with some teddies and seems to be using one as a pillow. Should I introduce a pillow/douvet in the cot first and then move her to a bed? Is there anything else I need to consider?

And some quick questions - what tog douvets did everyone go for, and where did you get them from? Any bed recommendations? I've seen one I quite like from Argos but am open to new suggestions!

Thanks all.

I don’t think 21 months is too young. You can get ones with a rail to stop them falling out. Ours is from Argos and the rail was removable which was handy.

My daughter also never climbed out of the cot and still doesn’t get out of bed on her own and she’s 3, no nighttime visits or up and down at bedtime, I don’t think it’s occurred to her she can get out herself!

We went straight from cot and sleeping bag to bed with duvet and pillow, she was fine. She had had a pillow for a while already.

We have a 4 tog duvet, also from asda. Whilst they’re little it’s recommended not to go higher than that as they can’t regulate their temperature so well and overheating is still a possibility.

My DS moved to a single bed around 21 months. He was fine. We took the side off his cot first for a month or so and he had a toddler pillow and duvet (from ikea) and then we bought him a single bed size once he was in the proper bed.

Just a thought but we only took the side off DS’s cot when he was 6 weeks off turning 3. So you could also wait til your DC is a lot older, if there’s no real rush? We did have some disturbed nights initially with him crying out about his duvet falling onto the floor, and now he sometimes comes to our bed before our alarms go off. Very glad that he was safely contained in his cot for the first year of DC2’s life, was less to deal with!

My DS went from a cot to a full size single bed at the same age. I couldn't see the point in buying a toddler bed just to replace it a couple of years later and we have the space. We just used regular bedding and had before guard.

Before = a bed

It's up to you but don't feel the need to rush if she's never tried to climb out before. My lo was 4 before we moved him out his cot and it was a seamless transition as he was old enough to understand what was going on and what was expected of him.

If you do move her to a bed, the biggest reason my lo and other children I know wake at night is that they get cold because their covers fall off! So I recommend either a footless sleep-sack that she can wear but also walk around in, or if you get a duvet, you can get duvet clips that go under the mattress that you attach to the duvet to stop it sliding off in the night. My lo has them and they've been great.

Good luck!

Watching with interest...dreading having to take the sides of the cot off but nice to know some haven't done it till their older. It's the getting out of bed and wondering around that scares me!

In contrast to pp, we moved dd1 at about 19 months because she seemed ready (although never tried climbing out).

We got a John Lewis bed with half-size removable rails on each side to keep her in, and got a toddler duvet/pillow set from argos. I also got a duvet strap like
this because after the first couple of days i realised she had no idea how to keep a duvet on. She loved it, all went well. She already had a gro clock, so new she had to stay and play quietly in her room until the sun came up on that which helped.

I gave DS a duvet in his cot first then added a pillow and then moved him to his new bed. He was fine with all of it

@MaMaD1990 we moved my daughter at 2. She’s now nearly 4 and has never got out of bed on her own once.

Thanks all for the responses. The reason we need to move her is that baby will go in her current cot when she is round about 6 months old, so that gives us roughly until the end of this year to get DD in a new bed. We thought this transition might be better before baby arrives so DD is less unsettled by the change! I am nervous about it though; she has a stairgate on her room but I'm nervous about her wandering about there while we're sleeping! I might leave it another couple of months as she seems happy in her cot, but when it gets a bit warmer might introduce her to a pillow and douvet before getting her the bed. I like to do these things slowly as I get too anxious! Thanks for the replies

We moved our son into a toddler bed when he was 17 months. We wanted to and we knew he would be happier in a bed.
We got a wooden toddler bed in Argos. We got the recommended 4 tog duvet and pillow from morhercare.