From cot to cot bed

[HomeIsWhereTheHeartIs]

DS is 14 months old. He is currently rocked to sleep ing arms, and then transferred sleeping to the cot. He is getting too big and heavy for this to continue for much longer. Also he occasionally wakes during the night and requires 1 hour or more of rocking and patting.
So we are thinking of converting the cot into a cot bed (with a bed guard) and changing the bedtime routine from bath, bottle, bed to bottle, bath, story, bed.
Has anyone got any tips/experience of this? Is it too early?
He sleeps in a tiny bed at nursery btw. He willingly climbs in to it and falls asleep while they pat his tummy.

Anyone??

We used to rock DS off to sleep and one decided to put him in his cot and see what he did. He went to sleep in 5 minutes. We did make sure he was comfortable settling himself before putting him in a bed so he didn't start escaping.

I think it sounds like a lot of change all at once.

Your aim is to not to have to rock him to sleep which I would concentrate on first.

At 14 months he will have you up and down to him all night if he can get himself in and out of bed at will! He is safe in his cot and I would be inclined to keep it that way until he is older.

Thanks for the advice. I was hoping that if he saw that he was going to sleep in a bed, rather than a cot, that he might associate that with sleeping well at nursery.
I have no other ideas as to how to break the rocking to sleep pattern.
If I put him in his cot awake he stands upright immediately and starts to wail.

You may just have to resign yourself to few noisy nights while he squeals. Get him as relaxed and cosy as possible, put him down and walk away. Eventually he will learn that you're not going to come to him and he should just go to sleep. If you put him in a bed with this mentality he will just fry straight back out.

I started by lying on the floor with a pillow & holding hands until he fell askep.

Then sitting next to him.

Then the other side of the room etc.

Then it all went wrong again so I'm probably not the best person to ask!

I personally would keep the cot for as long as possible though.

Just wanted to update, took the cot side off and installed a bed guard - it's going really well! I have been putting him in to bed, sitting close by and blocking his attempts to climb out.
He did cry the first night, for 30 mins, but the second night only for ten, and less than five tonight! Slept 11 hours straight for the last two nights.
Long may it continue :)