Transition to Toddler Bed Experience
Posted by Michelle Kersey on Tue, Apr 27, 2010
I know many moms wonder or think about the day when your baby grows up and becomes a toddler, you start to see a glimpse of a big boy or big girl underneath those baby eyes. Around this time is when you'll transform your crib into the toddler bed stage. I wanted to share my experience with you.
When I knew it was time to Convert
When my son was 21 months he started attempting to climb out of the crib. One night, he got about halfway up. At that point, I decided it was time to convert his crib to the toddler bed stage.
Thankfully, we have always planned on using our Kathryn crib to the fullest. Meaning we bought it to convert to a toddler bed and then a full sized bed later on. The preparation needed was minimal to make this transition. Other than mental that is.
We picked a day where my husband had two days off in a row to make the switch. To our surprise, it only took him less than 20 minutes to convert the crib to a toddler bed... with limited help from me. The instructions were easy and all the nuts and bolts were there.
First reactions from our son
Our son was bursting with excitement when he saw his toddler bed. He climbed in and just sat there looking around and taking in the new unobstructed view. He was pretty happy.
Adjusting to a new sleep schedule
The next week was an adventure. One morning, I woke up to him yelling "Mommy, Daddy! Mommy, Daddy!" When I ran in there, I found him standing in the top drawer of his Generation Next Combo dresser; the drawer was pulled all the way out! If I wasn't so worried, I would have taken a picture. I was amazed that he climbed up the entire dresser and neither he nor the drawer fell! Needless to say, I was amazed at the strength of the furniture and very happy that I had installed the tipping restraint kit that it came with.
Another bump in our adventure was getting him to stay IN the bed. Camron was a perfect sleeper before the transition. He would fall asleep on his own and stay asleep for 10-12 hours. However, with his new found freedom, he was not my perfect little sleeper anymore. First, I tried the "Super Nanny" advice of putting him back in bed every time he got up. But, after a few days of that it turned into a game for him. As soon as we walked out the door he would be right behind us. I then tried staying in there with him until he fell asleep, also to no avail. Finally, I remembered what worked when he was a baby... the Ferber Method. It took two days and he was staying in bed and falling asleep on his own again. There was only one glitch to the Ferber Method this time around; I had to find a way to keep him in his room. So, I took a childproof doorknob cover off another door and put it inside his room. It worked. It also kept him safe inside his room where everything had been toddler proofed.
Still having sweet dreams in his toddler bed
It has been 8 months and Camron is still sleeping well in his Kathryn toddler bed. The doorknob cover has been taken off; he stays in his room and happily goes to bed every night. To help with the switch, we kept the same routine from the crib stage in the toddler stage; bath, brush teeth, book, bed. Best of all, the crib we chose helped keep the transition minimal. There was no need to talk him into liking his new bed, it was the same bed, the same mattress, sheets, and bedding that he was already used to. It will continue to be the same bed for quite some time.