Oh please tell me how to deal with 25month DS just moved into a big bed last night...

[bohemianbint]

I really didn't want to move him out of his cot yet (having just had a baby 3 weeks ago) but I went in the other morning and he'd unzipped his sleeping bag and was sitting astride the cot rail, totally stuck. So it had to be done asap, unfortunately.

He's been a brilliant sleeper for ages now going from 7-7 and having a 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon, which has been my salvation since having DS2. Anyway, looks like we've buggered that right up. Last night was the first time It started well enough (took him an hour to settle down and go to sleep) but all went horribly wrong at about 3am. We have put a stair gate across his door because otherwise not only would he be in and out of our room but he'd also be going in the bathroom playing with the loo brush and flushing things away. So he woke up and started shouting for his light show to be turned back on, but as that only goes for 10 mins DH was in and out every 10 mins for about half an hour. Then he started throwing his dummy out of the door and shouting for it back, wanting his cup/bear/whatever in/out of the room and generally driving us up the wall. We tried leaving him in the end which worked eventually but wasn't much fun as he is the loudest toddler ever born and the neighbours probably thought we were trying to kill him the way he was carrying on.

Anyway, what's the best way to handle these night wakings? What makes it worse is that we only got the baby settled at 1am and then DS2 being up from 3-6am means we're all in a crap state today. Do we go in every time? (I don't want to make him any more disturbed, having to put up with a new baby and a big bed in a matter of weeks) but for the sake of our sanity we can't have too many more nights like that.

Any practical advice?

The night wakings might be a complete coincidence with the change to a big bed.

When DS was about 25-26mths he suddenly went from being a good sleeper to waking up 2-3 times per night. It was a phase that only lasted for about 4 weeks, but it felt like a blinking long time. Does he have a night light, if not try that and see if it helps.

Go back to the cot, put him in his sleeping bag inside out. When he can get out of that, then put him in a bed!

You could get a voice activated light show if he gets comfort from it.

Or a lot of ignoring. I've done a certain amount of door holding in my time to keep one of my DSs in.

But its a right PITA going into a big bed sometimes.

The change to a big bed is a PITA but stick with it. My ds who had fallen asleep like that every night for months could be awake for over an hour before finally giving up. Close his door otherwise things will get thrown out and he will need them back. It is horrible listening to them but its just one of those things sometimes. Good luck

Tell you what, am half tempted to put him back in the cot but DH took it to bits so doubt he'd be too keen to put it back up!

He's gone down alright-ish tonight...Could hear him standing at his door in the dark, sucking his dummy and earwigging. It's quite cute really, just not at 4am. At least he was quiet and must have got bored in the end and put himslef back in bed.

I might see about ditching his lightshow and going for a nightlight instead. He has got a voice activated one, but it's a case of where to put it so he can't grab it, am paranoid about him looking into it whilst it's on and wrecking his eyes..

Ah well, wish us luck for a better night...

how about stringing up some fairy lights above his bed? Might keep him interested. And a side table - mine have one with a drawer, and they put all 'their' stuff in there. Does he have a bed guard? If so, have it quite close to the top of the bed so he can't just jump out.

I found out about the inside-out sleeping bag trick the day after I put DD into a bed too. Grrr!

Fairy lights is an interesting idea...The sleeping bag inside out thing is genius! Dammit.

What about one of those bedside light/torch thingy? Make a big deal of his Big Boys Bed. Not a Thomas The Tank engine fan is he?

same thing happened to me almost word for word...just have to ride it out....

Seriously? 25mths old, move to a bed, giving up grobags and a 3 week old sibling? Poor chap that's a whole lot of change for him.

I would second turning the bag inside out and getting the cot out. Hassle I know, but probably a whole load less hassle and upset for him and you.

I had a v small age gap between my two. I didn't move my DS1 to a bed until he was nearly 3 to avoid any connction between moving to a differnet sleeping environment and the new baby. Plus, like you, I desperately needed him to sleep in the day for a couple of hours while I dealt with the new baby.

That inside-out grobag tip is brilliant! Wish I'd thought of it when my DD went through her houdini-cot-escapology phase. Instead we moved her into a big bed, which just meant she abandoned her afternoon nap and wandered the corridors for months in the middle of the night. God, it was horrendus.

If I were you, I would seriously consider reinstating the cot (with the inside-out grobag). Your child might be more pliable than mine, but we had to do A LOT of midnight returns to her bedroom and quite a lot of door-holding. We had a new baby too and it just added another whole layer of stress. Give yourselves a break!

we put dd2 in a bed but kept the gro bag on which helped because she couldnt escape. But also because its a huge thing for a child to go from cot to bed so we thought we would get her used to the bed first before giving her a duvet aswell. So I would definately give the inside out gro bag a try.

We removed the side of the cotbed and put the guard on (its from mothercare so has a wooden guard that is bolted on)

Left it like that for a few weeks, then made it into a bed for him, still with the guard.

Due to get big boy single bed this weekend, he is 2.4 months.

Ignore him is my best advice, he probably finds it all very entertaining you running to get his dummy/turn his light on etc.

We have the arf-kids bunny clock that lights up (not the one with the moving ears) so it is a nightlight and shows a picture of bunny asleep then at the time you set it at that light goes out and lights up the picture of the bunny awake.

You can then do "shhhhh don't wake the bunny" bit too.

this is the bunny

Unfortunately taking one side off the cot isn't an option as it's a solid cot with only an adjustable base, and I don't think we'd be any better off for doing it, he'd still get out...

Anyway, the good news is that he seems to be taking to it well, after a hideous first night. It takes him maybe 40mins-1hour to settle and stop coming to the door listening in, but in the end he gets bored and goes back to bed. The last two nights we've only had to get up once in the night and he's gone straight back to sleep, so hopefully he's cracked it already bless him.

Fizzylemonade, that bunny clock looks brilliant! Might invest in one of those, thanks for the tip!

Ah I've just moved DD (3.5) to a big bed. Shes still in cotmode at the moment. Shouting for us, rather than climbing out. (Touch wood) but funnily enough, since moving into the bed, shes been night waking after being a brilliant sleeper. The past few nights its been 3 or 4 times a night. Weve just got her a lamp with a night light, but I worry that it will wake her up/disturb her sleep in the first place, never mind if she woke up in the dark and wanted it on. SIGH. The 4 weeks phase sounds ok, if thats all it is! Hope things settle down for you (and I) soon.

Thanks minorbird. If it makes you feel any better, last night he didn't wake up once, after he finally went to sleep. (After arsing about for an hour and a half!)

Put a stairgate over the door then leave them. Mine went into beds at 2yrs 'cos they're not babies anymore and deserve to be treated as such. Mine had toys in their room, drinks left (water) and they knew it was bedtime. They could play if they wanted but no way was I running up and downstairs! I quite often found a small person under the bed gathering fluff. They loved their "big kids" room and just crashed out when they were tired. I did the CC but at 2yrs they're too old to do it. Some kids are tired some aren't but it didn't mean I had to stay up all night watching them. Mine loved books and would look at them for ages and also book tapes of their stories. I thnk that if they're in cots at 3 they'll climb out and that's dangerous. Mine had quilts on the floor in case they fell out and we often had to move small child into bed when we went up. I did the drink, teddy, etc routine with my first and then gave up. My mantra was "if you throw it out, it stays out!". Don't leave biscuits or anything tied to the cot/bed either, 'cos they can get themselves tangled up especially when they stressing. Only my experience