Toddler bed...a million questions!

Ugh. I am dreading this change over.

Sadie is a TERRIFIC sleeper. She naps 2-3 hours and goes to bed around 7, will sleep 12/13 hours easily.

The new baby will be born at the end of April and Sadie will be two at the end of Jan. She is 20 months now. I am thinking of waiting till she is two? I do not want to buy another crib and they will have to share a room for a while as it is.

Also, she still (and has always) only uses a binky to fall asleep. Since she was like 4months thats the onyl time she gets it and I really dont mind.

Which do I ditch first, crib or binky?

I am terrified this will cause a major upset in her routine.

One more ?
She sleeps in a pack and play at my mom's and MIL's during the week. what do I do about naps there?

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

Hey Jen, we had a lot of the same issues. DS was born when she was 22 months. We attempted to switch her to the toddler bed when he came home (a few weeks before actually) but it was torture. Stupid us didn't realize she needed time first to get used to her new room (that was just finished)...so she ended up staying in her new room in her PNP for a few weeks; then Jack came home & then we attempted the toddler bed again (she was right around 2). It actually worked out pretty well & I was concerned too b/c she was/is an awesome sleeper.

At my MIL/mom's she still slept in a PNP & it was fine. My MIL switched her over a few months later (no issues).

I'd do the crib first (esp. if the paci doesn't bother you). She'll probably also need a soother after the new baby comes home.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

I'm in a similar situation as you! DD is 2.5 though and still in a crib. Baby #2 comes in April. We have potty training to do, our house is getting redone, and we still need to transition to a bed. We're going to do the bed first. Then the next thing will be potty. Then the next thing will be potty training in December. Then we will hopefully be moved back into our renovated house, so it will be the new room. THEN the new baby!! In your case, I would say, go with the bed first and don't ditch the paci yet if she only uses it at bedtime. Maybe it will help her ease into the big girl bed?

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

If you don't want to buy another crib then you need to move her to the toddler bed as soon as you can so that when the baby comes she doesn't think that the baby is sleeping in "her" bed... that piece of advice was passed down to me from a mom of 4 who learned the hard way.

I just took my DD off the paci 2 weeks ago... DS is 3 months. She doesn't go after his at all so this worked well.

It's not like you're going to give THOSE pacis to the new baby - the new baby will have his/her own so it's not likely to be an issue associated with sibling rivalry like the crib can be.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

DD was 21 months when DS came along... I also wanted to pass her crib along to him... we switched her to a big girl bed a few months before Brody was born- she did great! My MIL got a toddler bed for her house and she loves that as well and at the babysitters she still takes naps in the PNP...

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

DD#2 was an awesome sleeper. We used to put her down awake at 7:30 and she slept until 7:30-8am every night from the time she was 10 weeks old. We moved her to a big girl bed around 20-21 months because she flipped herself out of the crib one day and got hurt.
WELL, she is now 2 1/2 and it has been hell! She gives us a hard time going to bed EVERY night. It can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 1/2 hours and then she wakes between 1-5 times a night EVERY night. It has been a miserable few months. DH works nights too, so it is all on me. If I could have, I would have kept her in there til she was in kindergarten
IMO It would be worth every penny to buy another crib. Do you really want to deal with a newborn and a non sleeping toddler because you did not want to spend a few hundred bucks. I would pay a few thousand dollars to have my awesome sleeping child back

Message edited 10/11/2010 9:04:20 PM.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

I'm going to switch J&M to the toddler bed when they are around 22-23 months. They are changing rooms too, so I'm going to put the toddler beds in their current room for awhile first.
I'll give them a month or two in the toddler beds in their current room and then move them to their new room. this should give them at least a month in the new room before the baby is born.
I'm dreading the change too because they love their cribs and I also know that they will be running around the room like maniacs and laughing their heads off. I'm going to have to take the dresser out of their room and everything out of the closet that they can reach otherwise I'll wind up with clothes everywhere every morning.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

Kaydyn turned 2 in January and I was due in the beginning of March. We transitioned her to the toddler bed right before her 2nd birthday. We also kept Ainsley in our room for almost 3 months so Kaydyn wouldn't think she was taking her crib.

There was a little adjustment period and she def didn't sleep as long b/c she realized she could get out of bed, but she was still sleeping about 9/10 hours at night.

She slept in a PNP at my ILs for naps and in a crib at my moms for naps until about 2 months ago and she had no problems sleeping in either.

I don't know about the binky b/c neither girl took one.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

Id say binky if you can.. it really only took us a week on that, then bed. For us we kept thinking of her toddler bed as a lower, safer and more 'free' version of her crib. *shrug* worked for us. Good Luck.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

just keep the changing table stuff put away and you will be fine


I guarantee the binky will be taken away with no issue, I thought the boys were attached and they weren't at all.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

Posted by ChrisDee


IMO It would be worth every penny to buy another crib. Do you really want to deal with a newborn and a non sleeping toddler because you did not want to spend a few hundred bucks. I would pay a few thousand dollars to have my awesome sleeping child back

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

DD #1 was 27 months when DD#2 was born.

We transitioned DD to the toddler bed, in her new room and dropped the paci all in the same night. It went so much better than I ever could have imagined! She was so excited to go into the bed. She asked for the paci exactly ONCE and when she did, you knew she understood that she wasn't going to get it but she figured she would try anyway.

DD#2 slept in our room in the PNP for the first six months, at which point we transitioned from the toddler bed to the twin.

It really wasn't bad - and DD never tried to take her baby sisters paci.

I would get some fun toddler bedding - let DC help pick it out and get excited about it.

I also wanted to add that my older DD is VERY routine oriented. She doesn't like change at all, and we still had no problems.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

Posted by Diana1215

Posted by ChrisDee


IMO It would be worth every penny to buy another crib. Do you really want to deal with a newborn and a non sleeping toddler because you did not want to spend a few hundred bucks. I would pay a few thousand dollars to have my awesome sleeping child back

This was my thinking when it came time to buying a second crib. I just didn't want to mess with Jack's sleeping, and he just turned two when Tyler was born. We converted his crib to a bed a month before his third birthday. You can still get a lot more time with her in that crib.

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

don't mean to hijack but I have question for BTDT moms....if your child sleeps on a cot at daycare for naps, did it make the toddler bed transition a little easier or no? That's my hope

Re: Toddler bed...a million questions!

I will be putting this off as long as possible. Although today I went in his room to find him hanging over the side...so maybe...time is ticking...

the binky thing does not bother me so much although, the day he turns two we are sending it to the binky fairy...he is aware of this...