Advice for transitioning to toddler bed

[ChickenRoseNugget]

Hi, my little one is 18 months old and I'm currently pregnant and due in a few months. Just wondering when is it best to transition out of the cot and into a bed? We have a next to me for the new baby, but it didn't last very long before my first outgrew and needed the cot, I don't want to leave it until last minute getting her used to a bed!

She sleeps 12 hours at night and is usually really good going for her nap and settles straight down without any fuss(unless teething). She hasn't tried climbing out yet and she has a good bedtime routine.

I currently have a stair gate on her room as we were decorating the other bedroom. Is it too early to try her with a bed?

Thanks ☺️

Think it's a great time to do it. Get a really low toddler bed and roll up a long towel into a sausage (or buy a pool noodle) and pop it on the outer edge under the top sheet and it acts as a soft barrier to accidentally falling out of bed.

With both my DD we didn't tell them they were moving into a 'big girls bed' or ham it up in any way. Just say nothing. I presume you lower her down into her cot at night? Just lower her down onto the bed instead. We had the bed guards (DD3 still uses hers now) so they didn't fall out. We used black out curtains/blinds in their rooms so the didn't really notice to be honest. The more you make a big thing of it, the more they'll become overwhelmed (not saying you are). Just say nothing.

Should have said they went into a toddler bed rather than a single. So they had all the same bedding which kept it all very familiar.

Thank you both! I'll definitely buy a toddler bed now and give it a go ☺️ Thank you for the tips. I won't make a big deal out of it and will keep to the exact same routine etc, so hopefully she settles in relatively quickly 🤞🏼

Somebody suggested a single mattress on the floor to begin with in case of falling out, would you just recommend a toddler bed instead?

I was far far more worked up about this move than I needed to be. I never thought my son would stay in his bed, expected him to be up every minute.

He was not phased at all.

I wouldn't worry about falling out tbh - just go for it.

I think toddler bed are a waste of money. We went straight from a cot to a normal single bed -lower part of bunk-bed. My DC are 21 months apart, so I suppose for the first weeks baby 2 was in a Moses basket before moving into the cot. Cot and single bed were in the same room, so the DC always shared.

@LadyMacduff I think I'm getting more worked up than I should be too! I think she'll be completely fine so just need to go for it I think.

@Blimecory I was told the same thing and to opt for a single bed straight away 😩
My two will be 21 months apart too, can I just ask when you made the transition please? Was it before the second was born?

I wouldn't get a toddler bed again. We got one for DD but it's really small and she can't fit her soft toys in So we ditched it and now she actually has a double as it means one of us can sleep in with her when she's ill and it's more versatile for visitors etc. I'd just go straight to a single as I think toddler beds are a bit of a waste of money unless you've got one already as part of their cot.

[quote ChickenRoseNugget]@Blimecory I was told the same thing and to opt for a single bed straight away 😩
My two will be 21 months apart too, can I just ask when you made the transition please? Was it before the second was born? [/quote]
No, after baby 2 was born. We moved child 1 into the bed just before baby 2 needed the cot. Child 1 wouldn’t have been two years old. I can’t quite remember how long baby 2 was in Moses basket in our room for. Quite a while, as she was small and it still fitted. There weren’t any problems at all.

@Hugasauras A double, what a life! 😍 Thank you, I think I'll go straight to a single to save time and money ☺️ I didn't bother with a Cotbed 'cause I didn't think it would last long 😂

@Blimecory Okay thank you ☺️ I'll get the bed, but I won't rush as there's still a few months to prepare. Hopefully the same for us 🤞🏼

You can always get a single mattress, use on the floor a few months and then buy the bed frame. If baby is in next to me 4 months, then you have until eldest is over 2 before you need to start mattress on floor, and add bed frame 6 months later.

I have a 21 month age gap between my 2.

I took the side off the cot a few weeks before the oldest turned 2. We had no issues at all.

We started giving her a toddler duvet and pillow a few weeks before. With a 1 tog sleeping bag on. Did lots of practice getting her to pull the duvet up if she was cold. Down if she was hot etc.

We had no issues.

@PennyPenguins

I have a 21 month age gap between my 2.

I took the side off the cot a few weeks before the oldest turned 2. We had no issues at all.

We started giving her a toddler duvet and pillow a few weeks before. With a 1 tog sleeping bag on. Did lots of practice getting her to pull the duvet up if she was cold. Down if she was hot etc.

We had no issues.

3 months later we switched from cot bed to low single bed.

Expect hell for a few weeks while
They get used to it. Do it now before your babies due.

Does she still nap? Could you have both cot and bed set up temporarily and do bed for naps for a week or so then bed for everything once she's used to it

Thank you all ☺️ I think I'll get a mattress and see how we get on! I'm still yet to give her a duvet and pillow but she's quite happy with her blanket at the moment.

@Esssa She still has one day nap so I was thinking about taking the mattress out of her cot and putting it on the floor for her day naps just to see how she gets on first!

So I put her cot the other side of the room and put her cot mattress on the floor where the cot originally was to trial day naps to begin with. Just put her up for a nap and she fell asleep straight away, didn't get up or anything! 🤞🏼 So hopefully I'm just overthinking it and she'll be fine ☺️

We swapped at twenty months. Let them 'play' on the bed etc to get used to it in the daytime, but never ever let them climb off it themselves "no, wait for mummy, mummy must lift you" etc to discourage the link between climbing out at night.
Sounds ridiculous but it worked. Neither ever climbed out in the night or morning when they woke , just led and waited

Can only add that like others said it wasn’t a big deal for our DC. Think keeping it low key would help. We had a cot bed which we altered from a cot to a toddler bed at around 2 years and it wasn’t a problem. Moved on to a single bed a few years later, again not a problem.