Moving toddler to big bed before baby comes

[Lilliput]

My dd is 22 months and my new baby is due in February, we are also moving house in January and I am not sure when to introduce a big bed. Should I do it when we move or before?

maybe before. it might be too mcuh for your dd to have a new bed and bedroom all at once. and if you leave it too long she might still think the cot is hers and wont like the baby in it.

I would say after the move and after the baby is born.

I'm thinking maybe you'd get her all settled in a bed now and then changes such as moving house and arrival of new baby may be disruptive to her. I would say, wait till she is settled in new house and familiar with the baby and then move her to the big bed. I waited to move ds1 into big bed until after ds2 was here and he was fine. I'm waiting now until we move to put ds2 into his big bed as ds3 now needs his cot!

you'd have a while after baby is born anyway, unless you are planning to put baby into cot. ah i dunno. moved dd1 into bed 6months b4 dd2 was born, dd2 went into bed about a 9months ago as was too big.

We had this situation when we moved here 4.5 years ago. Was 7mths pregnant with dd at the time. We kept ds1 in his cot until a month or so after dd was born - she was in the moses basket anyway. The thing was though that we didn't want to put him in a bed and immediately let dd have 'his' cot IYSWIM. So we actually dismantled the cot and put it away when he got his bed, only bringing it out after he was well settled in his new big bed and dd had well outgrown the moses basket. It worked well for us and ds1 has never looked back.

We first took the side rails of dd's bed when sie was about 18 months, with the matrasse slighly propped up at the edges and lots of cushions on the floor. Once she stopped rolling out we got her a 'big' bed, especially as we'd just found out that ds would make an appearance after 8 months... she absolutely loved having her own big bed. Though I have to say that she now wants to join ds in his cot... no jealousy issues though, she just wants to cuddle.

We tried to move ds 2 months before dd was born, so that he did not feel she had 'taken' his cot. However, it was a disaster, and he was traumatised by it! So he went back in the cot, (after hours and hours of screaming), in the morning woke up and said happily "My Cot". I was quite worried about what to do when dd needed it. She was in her basket for about 4 months, and when she was 3 months, ds fell out of his cot (aged 2.4). At which point he took against it, and would have nothing more to do with it. He went in his bed that night, and has loved it ever since. I guess what I'm saying is that he went in when HE was ready, and rushing it wouldn't have worked, so take the lead from your dd.

I'd say after. we moved dd1 a month before, but she was 2yrs 10 months and coped fine.

We waited until after the baby arrived - dd was 22 months when ds was born. He slept in the moses basket/ our bed until he was 6 months old but we moved dd into a bed about a month or two before ds 'moved in' to her cot. This meant she did not feel that she had been pushed out of her cot for him. We also left the cot in the room and told her that if she wanted to sleep back in it, she could. I think she did once or twice but liked her bed so it wasn't a problem. We put a bolster pillow alongside her so she wouldn't fall out. The only problem really was the duvet - she'd always had a grobag and the duvet would slip off all the time. Luckily (ho ho), ds was one of those babies who woke two or three times a night, so when I was up, I'd go and check the duvet. I saw on another thread the other day (or was it top tips?) that lying a duvet sideways helped this problem - wish I'd seen it a year ago!

My dd is 23 months and has been in a 'big bed' for about 4 months now. With a bed guard of course. The reason she was moved to a bed was because she'd been climbing out of her cot. Ds went into a big bed at 16 months to free the cot up for dd arrival.

Depends on the child - my first I moved at 2 as he was big for the cot and it was a mistake as he got out all the time and still does. My second is also 22months and he is moving this this week but I feel he is better at bedtime and will settle more easily. You have a little time before you need the cot so you could delay it but at the same time you don't want your toddler to feel turfed out and replaced so timing is difficult. Try it and see - and use the time now before feb to tackle any problems before the pressures of number 2 arrives and you have no sleep and 2 children to look after - hope this helps.

buy the big bed now and (if you have space) have both up so that for a little while she has the option of going back to it, we did this with ds and he never looked back - he slept better in it in fact. then if all goes well, don't unpack the cot in the new house until no. 2 arrives. HTH.