Can someone please come and talk me through moving a 21 month old into a bed...............

[FAQinglovely]

as I've just put DS3 down for his afternoon nap and realised when his head is at the top of the cot he only has about a 4 inch gap between his feet and the bottom of it.........

DS1 and 2 just seemed to "happen" - without any problem. I can't remember how but it just did. Think it was partly to do with the fact that DS1 (even at nearly 3) hadn't worked out he could get out of bed without having to wait for me to come and get him ), and DS2 loved his sleep so much he didn't want to get out.

I have a problem in that DS2 and 3 share a bedroom, DS2 is on the top bunk, DS3 will go into the bottom bunk. He can if he puts his mind to it climb up the (vertical) ladder, but seems to have tired of this game recently.

So - idiots guide to moving DS3 from his (really too small for him) cot to a bed please............

oh and DS1 and 2 were both much older when they went into a bed as well (don't know if that makes a difference but I'm sure it must).

You know I often wonder if I really has been me looking after my children for 8yrs - as I can't seem to remember much about how I did anything with any of them

We just put a bed guard on DC3 bed and gave him his own bedding with Thomas on. We had a week of him getting out of bed and climbing up the ladder of the high sleeper and disturbing his brother or playing with toys and we just went in and put him down again. Was a bit tedious but he settled in the end.

A month or so back we had issues with him climbing up to the high sleeper again and disturbing his brother, so we put him to bed first and then DC2. We would find him up there and would just quietly move him down and put DC2 up there. In the end it just got so tedious moving him all the time that we left him up there and DC2 sleeps in the bottom bed. I've given up being worried about him falling down the ladder. DC3 is 18 months.

I just did it with my ds1 when he was 22 months and no problems. Didnt have the bunk issue though.

Could you take ladder away once ds3 in bed until ds3 is asleep?? Put a quilt or something on the floor (cot matress?) so that if he does fall/climb there is a soft landing.

When awake can he negotiate the ladder ok?? If so then prob not too much to worry about??

It'll be months before he grows four nches. I'd leave him where he is, especially if he sleeping well.

I can't take the ladder away as DS2 often wakes in the night to go to the toilet.

He can get up the ladder (sort of) ok, but it's if he tries to get down that I'm worried about. It's a completely vertical ladder and DS3 has no fear. I think I'm not going to bother with a bed guard (didn't have one for the other 2) for the simple reason I can see him climbing over the top of it and falling - hurting himself more than if he just rolled out

Moving DS2 to the bottom bunk would be asking for trouble, he slept in there for ages before DS1 got his own bedroom and was absolutely thrilled to get the top one.

Geepers - he really is too big for it, I sit downstairs everynight and hear him banging on the side of the cot as he moves in his sleep. He's a big boy that wriggles, and it's starting to disturb his sleep too. It was just today that I noticed the length issue.......