cot to bed - when? big bed and grobags?

newkid · 2006-03-07T16:20:07+00:00

DD is 22 mo. I want to keep her in her cot as long as possible. When do most children move to the 'big bed'? Also dd has been in a grobag almost from birth. I'd like to keep her in one in a bed as well. Any experience of this or advice? She stands up in her cot in her grobag now and keeps falling over (she wants to bounce like Tigger) and I worry that she'll tumble out of a bed and get wrapped up/trapped in her grobag!

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bundle · 07/03/2006 16:21

dd2 has just had the sides taken off her cotbed, she will be 3 next month. we went straight to a duvet in the "big bed", i use a regular single size, the wrong way iykwim, and tuck in the edges to avoid her falling out

chjlly · 07/03/2006 16:23

I have just moved dd (2) into a big bed I keep her in her sleeping bag although she can undo the zip!
I also have a bedguard on the side to stop her rolling out

cece · 07/03/2006 16:23

I moved dd and ds when they were about 2 y and 3 months.
Both had grobags from birth pretty much but about a month before swapping to a big bed I gave them a duvet instead in their cot.

Didn't have any problmes with it falling off once they moved to a big bed... if that is what you are worried about!

Nbg · 07/03/2006 16:24

Well we did the transfer with dd last week. She is 2.5.
The reasons we decided to do it was because we have a new baby on the way so felt that any changes should be made before the arrival and secondly she was doing the bouncing thing and making an awful racket.

She's done really well with it, no major problems apart from a few tears in the first couple of days.

If your wanting to swap, why not introduce a duvet for a few weeks so that she can get used to that and then change to a bed. You could also put her in those all in ones for bigger children so that her feet are still covered up.

yomellamoHelly · 07/03/2006 16:36

Did the same as others have suggested when ds was 23 months - duvet for about a month; then set up bed in his room towards the end of that time which he had a chance to get used to for a week; then moved to the bed; then took cot away a week later. He was a bit upset to see the cot go, but I made a big thing of him being a big boy and he continued to sleep fine. It was all sorted the day before he turned 2. Has taken side off cot at 18 months (climbing out). He fell out the cot 3 times the first night with no side, but slept through it (thick carpet) and not an issue since.

Original poster

newkid · 07/03/2006 16:48

i'm wondering when she'll be old enough to understand that she has to stay in there and when the argument that she is a 'big girl' now will make sense?

Now - what sort of bed? I don't want to spend a fortune but want something that will last (ie I don't want to buy a toddler bed and then have to buy something else in a few years). Has anyone used IKEA beds?

OP posts:

cece · 07/03/2006 16:50

I bought ds a toddler bed off of ebay for £10!

yomellamoHelly · 07/03/2006 18:50

We also bought ds's bed off ebay. We chose a normal single bed which'll last him 'til he leaves home / it falls to pieces. We also bought a wooden box / chest from Ikea that's about 1 m long so that he has a step to climb in and out of bed (and an extra toy store) until he's grown a bit.
I have to admit he did climb out of bed and come rattle his bedroom door once he realised he could, but we used Tanya's rapid-return technique (once speak nicely and escort him to bed, second "it's bedtime" and escort to bed, third time escort to bed only). The first night we had to use it 5 times in rapid succession before he gave up (took 10 mins - I was waiting for him outside the door). The second night it took 3 times. It hasn't been an issue since, really - only very occassionally we'll have to do it once.

Ragtaggle · 07/03/2006 21:43

We introduced ours when our dd was two just before her brother arrived (Out of necessity - he needed the cot) and it has been a disaster. She wakes up two or three times a night screaming these days and although I'm not entirely sure it's related to this (and she's never been a perfect sleeper) it seems more than a coincidence. It's also waking her baby brother up every time and driving us mad.I would definitely recommend waiting until their understanding has gone up a notch - leave it as late as you can. When they are three you will be able to explain and comfort much more.

One thing though - we do have a stairgate at her door so she can't come in to our room. I'm a bit puzzled as to why more people don't do this - surely it's ony the equivalent of having cot bars to contain her? When she used to come to the stairgate screaming we too tried Dr Tanya's rapid return technique. Thought it worked at first but one night after a hundred odd returns ( I kid you not) we realised that it was backfiring badly. n all honesty I have doubts about whether all these TV techniques work for everybody. She's getting a bit better at the moment but I still look back on the days when she was contained in a cot wistfully.

Ragtaggle · 07/03/2006 21:43

We introduced ours when our dd was two just before her brother arrived (Out of necessity - he needed the cot) and it has been a disaster. She wakes up two or three times a night screaming these days and although I'm not entirely sure it's related to this (and she's never been a perfect sleeper) it seems more than a coincidence. It's also waking her baby brother up every time and driving us mad.I would definitely recommend waiting until their understanding has gone up a notch - leave it as late as you can. When they are three you will be able to explain and comfort much more.

One thing though - we do have a stairgate at her door so she can't come in to our room. I'm a bit puzzled as to why more people don't do this - surely it's ony the equivalent of having cot bars to contain her? When she used to come to the stairgate screaming we too tried Dr Tanya's rapid return technique. Thought it worked at first but one night after a hundred odd returns ( I kid you not) we realised that it was backfiring badly. n all honesty I have doubts about whether all these TV techniques work for everybody. She's getting a bit better at the moment but I still look back on the days when she was contained in a cot wistfully.

Wordsmith · 07/03/2006 21:52

DS1 went into an IKEA junior bed at age 2.3 and has only just moved out of it at age nearly 6. he's now in a top bunk with his little brother, 23 months, in the bottom bunk. I have put a side guard on the bottom bunk and ther's been no problem.

TBH I wouldn't bother with the toddler bed again - as long as one side of the bed is against the wall and you put a sideguard on (you can get them from Mothercare) you needn't worry about them rolling out. I would just go straight to a normal single bed. A toddler bed is an unecessary stage.

My DSs are in IKEA wooden bunk beds which are fab - they convert to 2 single beds and are full size (ie an adult could easily sleep in them) so hopefully they have a long shelf life.

I moved DS2 because I wanted them both in bunk beds. If i hadn't had to think about accommodating both of them and wanting the extra space I doubt if I would have bothered moving him out of his cot, he was fine there. Yes we do have a staiguard on the door but it really upsets DS2 if he tries to get out, so we never really shut it. Having said that, he stays in bed most nights (although thinks it's great that he can get up and come in to our bed at the unearthy hour of about 5.30.)