Bye Bye Cribs...Hello Big Kid Beds!

Amelia & Owen are playing in their cribs until I hear, "No Owen!" followed by massive giggles. Owen had propelled himself from his crib into Amelia's. I walk in and they jump up simultaneously with huge gins on their faces, proud to be together in same crib. :wub: So we took off the side of their cribs and installed the rails on the side. Now there is an opening at the end which allows them to crawl in and out. They are SOoo excited for their big kid beds and we are going to take them shopping for bedding as an early xmas gift this weekend

So after putting them down tonight and closing the door, we hear, "Mommy, Daddy, OUT!" less than a minute afterwards. They were standing on the otherside of the door. We poked our heads in and told them to go back to bed. After some protest and whining from DD, they obliged and went to bed (no naps today make for tired babies). So I'm bracing myself for what's to come...multiple nighttime wakeup? Early morning wakeups? :woah: I have friends who have been through this and some had to sleep train their kids again, endured children coming into their beds at night or early morning (Ours haven't slept in bed with us since they were newborns--I don't want that!).

For those who've been through this, how did/do you contain them in their rooms once they have this newfound freedom? What was the transition like? Were naps officially over or did they stop for awhile and come back? Mine have definitely not outgrown their naps. Please dispell any advice you have! Thanks! :10:

 

I'm afraid of tomatoes here...lol! We have had absolutely no problems with the transition. We did it the weekend of their third birthday. The wake ups are at 6:30, which is earlier, but I blame that on DST. So we got a clock that turns green when they can get out of bed.

Naps surprisingly are better. Most days. They still take naps regularly. Anthony was my short napped. Now he goes a bit longer. I'm thrilled! Lol! If Nicholas wakes first, he does have a tendency to wake Anthony, and that is usuall not a good thing.

They are both potty trained for day/night. On the rare occasion they need to go in the middle of the night, we go upstairs and bring them. There is a lock on the inside if the door(on the handle), so they can't get out. Yet.

They never play before bedtime. They always go right to bed. You may hear a litter patter, but that is very rare. And when they wake in the morning, they are both squeezed into the glider with their blankets waiting for us to arrive! :wub: It may not be as bad as you think! Good luck!

 

And forgive the spelling errors, etc. I'm in bed on my itouch.

 

What we did is talk about it a lot. Over and over, reinforce that big kid beds are a treat and that they have to stay in their beds all night until Mommy comes to get them in the morning. With that, we never had a problem at night. However, we lost naps entirely. They had been bad before though, as I think my kids were outgrowing them. We also have a childproof cover on the doorknob so they can't get out.

 

I have to agree with Meaghan, my boys have never tried getting out of their beds unless it is to go to the bathroom. Actually, even if they want something, they yell for me and I go to them, lol. They did give up naps though, the only way that ever happens now is if I lay down with them (which is rare). You might find that they love it!! Our boys were in our bed until they were a little over 3 so, thankfully, the transition was smooth for us. Hope it goes well for you!

 

With both of my kids, the transition has not been too bad. My DD was put in a toddler daybed at 19 months because she was a climber. At night time she did great right off the bat but it took her a couple of weeks to get used to it at nap time. Once the novelty was over, she was okay and sleeping like a champ.
We just transitioned DS over the weekend and the first day he wanted to play and kept getting up and down. He just figured out how to open his bedroom door on the second day and was wondering around the upstairs. We put a latch lock outside of their doors and had forgotten to put his on that day, so we put the lock on and he'll just play by his door when he is awake and is ready to come downstairs. I am in the process of trying to teach him that when his tot clock is blue, he stays in bed and when it turns yellow, it's time to get up.

 

Yup, we didn't have any issues either. Well, we had drawer dumping for about a week, so I put all the clothes out of reach for a few weeks, then once the novelty wore off, no more problems. We didn't lose naps during the initial transition, but have since then.

 

Talk, talk, talk! Seriously, talk about the new beds and what's expected. Tell your kids that they need to stay in bed, they need to not play (too much), and that if they need mom or dad they should yell rather than go running through the house at 3am. Our transition went surprisingly well after a day or two of having to explain what was expected.

 

My guys are a bit young to reason with.

We have had so much furniture removed from their room. My pediatrician had it
right. Keep them in the crib as much as possible even tent them if you need to.
We couldn't... so plan b Make their room as safe as their crib. Remove as much as
possible to keep them safe.
We have had to remove toys & all books. Even board books are dangerous to our guys
for each other.

Naps. We only get them if we seperate them.

right now after almost 8 weeks to the new toddler beds we are still having bedtime issues. we're just about to seperate them to different bedrooms.