Big Girl Bed-lots of questions!

[miasmum]

Hi,

My dd is a spirited 19 mo and I am trying to get the courage to move her into her big bed.  I am expecting #2 in a few months so wanted to start now.  I bought the bed, set it up in her room and put a rail on it so she couldn't fall out and have talked to her and made it sound great.  Today I thought I'd try her in it for naps.  She turned it into a huge game, getting down and out the door.  I took her back and told her we stay in bed but no good.  I got so confused that I was doing the wrong thing and she would end up hating her bed that I put her back in her cot after 15 minutes and she fell asleep straight away. 

Do you lo get out 500 times?  I have heard I should get a gate to go across her door but it is hard as it is a twin sliding door.  Are there any tips or should I just keep trying? If I start by putting her down in the bed should I stick to it or if its not working can I go back to the cot? 

Is she too young to start this, should I wait and then it will be easier? 

Thanks for any suggestions,

[sacmommy]

I would strongly recommend waiting as much as possible. I have a very spirited 4-year-old, and when I transitioned him to a big bed at 2 1/2 all sleep habits went out the window. I am serious. I counted up to 90 times that he got out of bed 1 night! And naps became inconsistent from then on. With these wonderful, spirited kids, I think they need as much routine and structure as possible - including a nice solid crib! The new baby won't need the crib for the first few months, and I would wait as long as possible if I were in your position today!

As an aside, my dd is 22 months, and while she is better than my 4-year-old, I am still hoping to keep her in the crib til 3 based on my past experience!

[Rachel Anne]

I agree with the previous poster.  19 months is way to young for a big bed.  Very young toddlers like the confines of a cot to make them feel secure.  We moved both our children into beds at 2 1/2.

[deenz]

My dd moved to her big girl bed at just under 18mo.  I had bought the bed and set it up in her room, so she was used to it there.  Then one night she was having a lot of trouble sleeping (sick) so I ended up taking her out of the cot and sleeping with her in the bed.  So the next night I just decided to bite the bullet and continue on with her sleeping in the bed.  She sleeps with her door shut, so can't 'escape' but does get in and out of the bed.  From memory we had a few nights of her getting a bit upset and falling out while trying to get back in, but it was a pretty smooth transition (it was very dark at bedtime at that time).  About a week or so later we changed her into it for nap time as well (pretty light in her room) and she did spend many nap times just playing.  However she got over the novelty fairly quickly, and now nap times are ok.  She will play for a bit before going to sleep.  However she used to amuse herself in her cot before going to sleep too, it's just that now she can get into her clothes, books and soft toys!

I do think that once you start on it, you need to be consistent though.  Maybe you could ask where she wants to sleep??  Maybe try with night time sleep first??