New bed and bedroom for 17mo ... transition ideas?

[LeggyBlondeNE]

My 17mo is getting regularly stuck in the corner of her Arms Reach cot so we've decided it's time for her to move into a bed (she has no problems when sleeping in our bed so we're fairly confident the extra space and lack sides will help!*)

Because her nursery is actually a small dressing room off our bedroom, the new bed has to be in a new room. We'll be moving some of her furniture through, like the changing unit and the rocking chair but otherwise it's quite different.

So, how do we ease the transition? She's linguistically still very rudimentary so we can't talk much about it - bed/sleep aren't even in her lexicon yet. She doesn't have a particular comforter.

I can keep the bedtime routine the same (bath then bottle in the rocking chair, then transfer when asleep) but we were hoping that the new bed would be a good opportunity to change that as we can sit next to her easily and cuddle her while she lies down.*

I would appreciate any advice or things others found useful.

*her cot doesn't have removable sides!

hi, I have 3 dcs, the youngest is 16m. I suggest you think of it a bit like you would approach sleeping in a new room on holiday. If you are confident and comfortable with the idea then it should feel more natural to her. I do use some 'sleep music' on a cd/mp3 that I play at home and always take away with me so wherever we are when I hear that it feels like bedtime. (Dc1 is 9 so I've been hearing it a long time - sends me to sleep fine usually but not always them.....). You could try choosing some music and introducing it alongside her normal routine now for a while and then transferring it to the new room.
Other than that be prepared for settling on Night 1 to take a while but stick with it and be consistent and she will adjust.

Have just made transition into bed with our 2yo and, although hit has only been 2 ights, I am amazed at how well it has gone. I was dreading it! we are also thinking of chaning her bedroom but decided to tackle one change at a time. Sounds like this isn't an option for you though?

I looked through some cataloges with her a littkle while ago and looked at al the beds and bedding to introduce the idea. Asked her what she liked etc. I ordered her a duvet with peppa pig on (not what I would have chosen!) and made a big fuss about it when it arrived. She immediately loved it!

When the bed came we half built it while she was at my mum's, then made sure we involved herin finishing it off so she was realy involved. She coudn't wait to get on it!

Like yu said, we kept all other aspects of nighttime routine the same. We thought about putting stairgate on her bedroom door, but couldn't find all the screws when we got it down from the loft! so had to just hope for the best....first night she didn't attempt to follow me out! slept through from 7.15 to 5.30am (she's always an early riser). Last night was a bit more fun and games as I think she worked out how to get out! but it only took about 10 mins and a stern 'stay in bed' and she was sound asleep again. If your LO is already asleep when she goes down then you won't have to worry about her following you out. Could be easier.

We did also buy a bed rail as she moves around A LOT in the night.

Hope it goes well!

That's a good point, ernie, we don't have much difficulty in other people's houses using her normal routine. Although in those instances she's always in with us and in a cot so she can't wander around!

Stairgate in the door is a good idea...