First attempt at Big Boy Bed

[Barbara]

Tonight we tried to but Carl into his big boy bed.  He got to sit on it while I read books to him.  Then we put him down and walked out of the room.  Seconds later he was down the hall.  I brought him back to his room and said it was time for nite nite.  I placed him back into bed and walked out.  He came out immediately.  I walked him back in but didn't say anything to him and placed him back in the bed.  We did this 10 times before I placed him in his crib. 

Did we do this right?  He seemed to be getting a little scared and I don't want to associate this process with any trauma at all.  Carl is 32 months old and cannot talk.  Developmentally he is between 12 to 18 months (per the current testing he has received).  I really need the crib for Lane as he is a 7 months old and is still in a bassinet in our bedroom plus Carl is so big for his age he is ready to break the crib with his jumping.

Carl loves to play in his crib prior to falling asleep.  This poses another problem for when I want to put both boys in the same room.  Carl has been in his room for an hour and is still playing - probably because everything is different - the position of the crib has moved because we put his twin bed where the crib use to be.

Any tips on how to make this transition work?

[jessica and emilys mummy]

Hi Barbara
I think once you have made the decision to put him in a big bed,you have to stick with it.
I would have a bed guard on the side,just to reassure him.
Also,you may have to wait for a while in his room while he settles down to sleep,maybe even a couple
of weeks
Then after that you can try jsut putting him back to bed again and again until he does it on his own.
It's a long process but it will work,just try not to put him back in the crib as he'll want this everynight.
Also,you really need to get Lane out of the bassinette,the mattress really doesn't give enough support.
Hope you get on ok.Just keep us posted.

[mommy4life]

Not sure if these ideas will work with your lo....but this is what I did with my dd who is now 4 and will be doing with my 2 year old ds in a few weeks.

Put rails on the bed so they feel more secure and will not fall out while asleep. If they have something special in bed with them ( for both my kids it was/will be their soothers) you can use anything tho...a blanky a stuffy what ever. Tell them if they get out you will be taking the item with you.
First tho what I did was exactly what you did. put them back in many times before you take something away.

To avoid them following you into the hall I put up  a baby gate in the door. I thenstood outside their rooms and "waited" for them to get out of bed, I would go back in and place her back in bed. YES this can be a long process. Like it was said above it could take a couple of weeks...however if you are consistant then it shouldnt take long.

Like anything with little ones consistantcy is the key.
I hope this makes sense ...

[Barbara]

Thanks you both so much.  Transition has gone better than we thought.  We lay down with him for a few minutes when we put him down and he stays in bed.  We also use a gate.  We are amazed that it has worked so well.  He hates change and apparently was ready for this change.

[Katet]

Barbara, that is great... well done

[Tonya]

Congratulations!!!  Well done!!!

[Kaitlynsmum]

It sounds like it was relatively easy for you.

My ddis 21 months and climbs out of her cot. I really don't want to put her in a bed until she can talk (she says nothing yet but won't her being able to talk to me make things easier?) so I am trying to teach her to stay in her cot at bed time. Can you tell me in easy steps what to do when she climbs out and stands in side her bedroom door crying? She is usually such a good sleeper and she has a cuddly toy with her in bed. I don't know whether to leave her until she stops crying, then put her back to bed or do I just keep going in everytime she gets out and put her back? How long does this take (I mean per night and how long will it take for her to understand to stay in bed?)

I'd like bed to stay a pleasant place to be, and she's been teething too so she's particularly clingy at the moment. As she seems to be unsettled at the moment and basically grizzling all day I am going mad listening to her!