I had a feeling the transition from a crib to a twin bed would go well and I’m happy to report that it did! I was itching to get this done sooner than later because a) I didn’t want Little Boy to feel like the new baby was “taking” his crib, and b) I wanted to stop having to lift Little Boy in and out of the crib. So on his 19 month birthday, we did it. Here’s how it went!
Before the Crib to Bed Transition
A couple weeks earlier, we had taken the twin bed base out of the room, and left the mattress on the floor in its new position (strategically placed on the opposite side, so that the dresser was now in front of the only plug in the room). On D-Day, Little Boy agreed to nap on the big bed with his doggie, and I was hoping that the night would be just as easy. Not quite.
First Night in the Big Boy Bed
We were planning on taking the crib out of his room and started disassembling it, only to realize that the frame didn’t fit through the doorway. We ended up leaving 3/4 of a crib in the room, but at this point it was bath time and there was no going back.
The first night was a little rough. Little Boy was pointing at his crib (what was left of it) and not wanting to lie down on the big bed. He requested more and more stories and refused to put on a sleep sack. I offered to stay for a bit and snuggle, but the kiddo was restless.
Eventually I just had to leave. It took just under an hour for him to finally settle down and lie down. Even at this age it is so hard to hear your kiddo cry! I snuck in later to cover him with a blanket.
Second Night in the Big Boy Bed
Night two was a little better. We had been talking for a while about how big boys sleep in big beds and made a point of looking at books with bed pictures during that day.
Little Boy knew that his bed was a big one and not a crib. Nap time again was easy.
Still when night came, he was a little sad and didn’t want to be left in the big bed. I didn’t dawdle too long, and he cried for about 1 minute before getting accommodated and going to sleep.
I was impressed, until an hour later when the kiddo rolled off the bed! He cried, I ran in, and though he requested a story I just put him down, covered him again and soon enough he was sleeping like a baby.
Sleeping in the Big Boy Bed
Our third night there was no crying. The kiddo was exhausted so we read a story, I told him to lie down, covered him and left.
On night four he asked me to lie down next to him, so I did for a little bit, and then while he was still awake, told him I needed to turn on his waves (sleep sheep).
I got up to do that, covered him and left. In the middle of the night he fell off the bed. This time it was much harder to get him to go back to sleep. I stayed with him for a while until he had sufficiently calmed down and then left.
Night five was easy and uneventful (and by then we had managed to take the door off the room to get the rest of the crib out), and night six seemed uneventful but in the morning I hear on the monitor “uh-oh”, and there he was on the pillows again.
Night seven was a little rough with a middle of the night waking that brought M into the room for several hours, but we’ll attribute it to a cold because from then on we’ve been pretty much in the clear.
Shenanigans from here on out I wouldn’t attribute to the transition but just general toddlerhood. All in all it wasn’t too bad!
Have you transitioned your toddler from a crib to a big kid bed? How does your experience line up with ours? Easy- peasy or a rough transition to a bed?
