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Original poster

converting to toddler bed - help

23 replies

tintinenamerique · 27/10/2016 15:03

We've taken the sides off my 2.5 year old's cot bed (stupidly and prematurely). We have also given him a duvet and pillow. He's not getting on with it all at all. Considering going back to sleeping bag (which he loves) in toddler bed. Has anyone done this? He so far hasn't fallen out of bed or got up and wandered around in the morning. He can walk ok in the sleeping bag. Any thoughts? I would rather not spend this afternoon reattaching cod bed sides!

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GoofyTheHero · 27/10/2016 15:05

What's going badly about it? Does he just not like the duvet and pillow?
Haven't done it myself but cant see why it would be a problem. No different really being in a sleeping bag in a cot to in a bed.

Original poster

tintinenamerique · 27/10/2016 15:14

He snuggles into the duvet at bedtime and goes to sleep fine but wake up screaming in the night because he's kicked the covers off and is cold. He won't entertain the thought of going in his bed for a nap (he's still napping 2 hrs in the day). I think its more the duvet than the bed (hoping). Just concerned he'll go walkabout in his bag and trip over something

OP posts:

fleur34 · 27/10/2016 15:26

Could you put him in a fleecy suit (and socks) to keep him warm when he kicks the covers off?

Also when my daughter went into a bed, we tucked the duvet cross way around her under the mattress to help it stay in place ( hopefully that makes sense?!)

If it's really the duvet could you leave him in his grobag but just make sure his feet are sticking out by leaving zip undone there? Just until he gets used to the bed a bit more?

Good luck!

FoofFighter · 27/10/2016 15:28

toddler duvet in a single cover sideways then the extra @flaps@ tucked under the mattress

AndNowItsSeven · 27/10/2016 15:29

You could get a gro bag duvet.

AndNowItsSeven · 27/10/2016 15:30

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01175XKRQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1477578604&sr=8-6&keywords=grobag+duvet+cot+bed

Duvet zips on the bed, can be cheaper on eBay.

FreeButtonBee · 27/10/2016 15:36

second the single duvet sideways. You can tuck both sides under the mattress and their weight keeps it all tucked in. My DD still loves being tucked on both sides at almost 4!

Original poster

tintinenamerique · 27/10/2016 15:39

Thanks for the suggestions. These are useful for nightie. Not sure about nap time though s he won't even get into the bed

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redcaryellowcar · 27/10/2016 15:41

My ds2 is in a bed, well actually currently mattress on the floor until his bed base arrives next week, he is still in a sleeping bag, and then has a duvet he can pull up if he wants to, does stop him from waking Up around 3am chilly. He is also able to walk in his, so not particularly dangerous. Ds1 was less able at the walking in sleeping bag thing and we found that jojo sell a sort of sleep suit which is 2.5 tog, so it has legs, arms etc, we used to pop a pit of welly socks on him and he slept in his big boy bed in that.

LemonBreeland · 27/10/2016 15:47

I moved two of my children into a bad and kept them in a sleeping bag for a while. Couldn't do it with my eldest as he was toilet trained. It sounds like he is not ready for a duvet yet. Just use the grobag.

19Hannah · 27/10/2016 15:57

2.5years with sides on the cot, what if he needed the toilet in the night surely a sleeping bag is hard to get out of? I never really thought about the 'transition', Surely he'll get used to a normal bed and duvet?

Original poster

tintinenamerique · 27/10/2016 16:09

He's not toilet trained. He's just 2.5 this month. I'm guessing he will get used to bed and duvet but it's pretty painful for us all (him especially) as he's waking in the night, up early in the morning and not napping. Just wondering whether gradual phasing in us better

OP posts:

GoofyTheHero · 27/10/2016 19:38

I gradually phased in but the other way... swapped gro bag for duvet in cot then took the sides off (just before she was 2). We had a few nights of her shouting because her duvet had fallen off when the sides were off but she soon learnt to sort it herself.
IMO the refusing to nap in the bed doesn't really sound like a duvet issue... sounds like a bed issue.

GlummyMummy · 27/10/2016 20:50

I feel your pain! We've also just moved our nearly 2.5 year old from cot with sleeping bag to bed with duvet and she's gone from sleeping through 12 hours to taking an hour to settle and up multiple times through the night! The worst thing is we just decided to move her as she was getting a little too big for the cot, she'd never tried to climb out, so it's not like we HAD to move her.

It's like having a newborn again, feeling knackered, and her behaviour has been bad as a result of tiredness. Any suggestions of how to ease the transition gratefully received!!

OP, my daughter dropped her nap several months ago and just one day refused to go in her cot for it. I ended up taking her in the car for naps for a while, but now I don't really bother. It may be that he's decided if in a big boys bed, he doesn't need naps anymore!

Original poster

tintinenamerique · 27/10/2016 21:25

Goofy - that was my plan until dh took the sides down while I was putting the baby to bed the other night!
Glummy - I feel your pain too. We had no need to move him other than my impatience for him to be out of a cot. That will teach me to be impatient!
I'm fairly certain he's not ready to drop his nap. He had 2 hours when I gave in and put him in the travel cot in his grobag.
He went to bed happily in sleeping bag tonight so let's see how that goes

OP posts:

GoofyTheHero · 28/10/2016 06:42

Hope you had a better night!
Mine dropped her nap in conjunction with going into a bed too (at around 21 months). I probably could have persisted but I had a newborn too and didnt have the energy!

Original poster

tintinenamerique · 28/10/2016 08:08

He slept til 8. Sleeping bag is the way forward!

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GlummyMummy · 28/10/2016 18:49

wow, that was a good night then! I agree, we wouldn't have felt so bad about all this if she had tried to climb out of the cot so we had to move her!!

My daughter took an hour to settle last night and then was up at 3am. Hoping it's just a phase and she'll get back to her old pattern!

KP86 · 28/10/2016 18:51

Sleeping bag on toddler bed is fine. We took the sides off the cot about six months ago but only stopped sleeping bag about six weeks ago. It was too much of a sleep association for DS. Like yours, he could walk fine in it.

As long as it fits then keep going!

GlummyMummy · 28/10/2016 18:54

KP86, when you got rid of sleeping bag, how was he?

KP86 · 28/10/2016 19:08

About 2.5yo, but it was mainly because he was almost too tall for the bags.

We do still have issues with him kicking off blankets at night so put him in warm pjs to sleep.

GlummyMummy · 28/10/2016 19:23

sorry, I meant how was he? how did he get on...did you have some bad nights as he got used to not having his bag?

KP86 · 28/10/2016 19:35

Oh, sorry. I misunderstood!

I think we timed it with a weekend away so he was sleeping with sheets/blanket at a holiday unit which was different anyway so when we got home we just kept up with the blanket. Plus he had been using blankets at CM/nursery so it wasn't a complete shock to the system.

He got on much better than I expected; the last time we tried he kept asking for the sleeping bag but this time that didn't happen.

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