Thursday, June 14, 2012

Hello "Big Boy" Bed {Try New Adventures Thursday!}

There's too much growing up going on around here. Entirely too much.

Last weekend we moved Peter up to a "big boy bed"...something that we had put off for a long time due to lack of space.

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We did not get off to a promising start. We purchased a used toddler bed off of craigslist, and Peter was against the idea from the start. "I not need big boy bed." Every time we tried to hype it up, he shook his head and seemed staunchly opposed. Great. 

And kind of tough luck, because at 5 months Edmund is officially outgrowing the bassinet and needs to move up to the crib.

The first night, we made up his little (ahem....BIG) bed, complete with his first pillow. His dislike faded a bit as he realized how fun it was to be able to crawl into his bed on his own...and how bouncy the mattress was. He sat on the edge of the bed with Daddy to pray, and then we explained the "rules." Which basically boiled down to no getting out of bed.

And he did marvelously! We had to go in the room a few times to give reminders about not kicking the wall, but he never once tried to get out of bed (still hasn't).


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And while he still looks at the crib wishfully every once in awhile, Peter's big bed is his new favorite spot. He sits on the bed to read. When I call out to him and ask what he's doing, sometimes he responds with "I'm on my bed, playin' wit my's cars!" And he's very eager to be involved with the new bed-making routine we have added to the morning.

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There's something about watching Peter curled up in his bed playing that melts my heart.

But then again, he tends to have that effect on me in general. :) Two year olds! They demand to be squeezed.

Moms, at what age do you typically move your toddlers into a "big" bed (Peter is 2 1/2)? Was it a smooth transition?
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10 comments:

  1. We transitioned Julia at 16 months, which was early for sure, but she gave us no problems. We needed the crib for Hannah and didn't want to commit to a bassinet. She did really well from the start with a big bed.

    Hannah was a whole other creature. That girl LOVED her crib. And at 18+ months we had no plans of moving her out of it. And then we moved. And in our move the movers broke Hannah's crib. That girl was heartbroken. We tried keeping her in the pack and play, but let's face it, those things aren't all that comfy. So we moved her to a big girl bed which was seriously the hardest thing ever. She got up a lot, cried a lot. Sigh.

    I don't know what we'll do with Joseph. Part of me wonders if we move him early enough then he won't fight it. But then wonder if letting him transition on his own would be better. Funny, three kids in {two in big beds} and I'm still stumped! Haha!

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    1. Aw, that must have been traumatic for Hannah! Moving to a new place and all of a sudden her crib is gone! That's tough...I hope the moving company compensated you somehow.

      I'll be curious to hear what you decide with Joseph. Although really, let's not talk about him being big enough for that yet....he needs to stay little for a long long time.

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  2. Alicia, he's so so adorable! That transition can be tough, but he seems to be adjusting well :) I love that he lined the bed with his toys...oh so cute!

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  3. Kylie loves the idea of a big girl bed (20 months old) until it was time to sleep in it. It took a week of her daddy lying with her at night for her to be okay with it. Taylor was ready at months and didn't look back. I think she wantes to be like Kylie and since they are in the same room, she had no reason to be nervous about it.

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  4. We moved Susannah from her crib to a mattress on the floor around 22 months. She didn't have any problem with it. We have the same "Do not get out of bed" rule. She didn't have any problem staying in it to go to sleep, but she would get out of it in the mornings by herself (she is supposed to call for us and stay in her bed until we give her permission to get up). It took what felt like a very long time, but probably about a month and a half, before I realized one day that she was not getting up by herself. She would be sneaky and come to the door to call for us, then when she'd hear our footsteps she would run and climb up into her bed. Now she lies in her bed and calls for us, waiting for permission to get down. :)

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  5. I think each child has their own time. We have six (5 in big beds, and a baby still in the crib) and I am still trying to figure out what's best for her. There is no rush in getting her out of it and she doesn't seem interested in the "big girl bed" at all so I'm just going to let her ride it out. She just turned 2 a few months ago and we still have trouble keeping her in her crib at bedtime, she just climbs out. We stand at her door and put her right back in. Sometimes I worry that we will have to do that training all over again when we move her to the big bed. :(

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  6. I love the photos!!! So cute! I'll have to agree that it depends on the kid when it's best to switch over, but for us both girls were ready at age 2. For Melody, it was more out of necessity since her baby sister was born. I'll have to say that I would have made the switch sooner if we would have known that they sleep so much better in the big bed. We just went ahead and got full size beds that are on boxsprings on the floor. Works out great for us. And whenever we get frames, they are all set. For us, we've never had any problems with them getting out of bed often, but definitely depends on the kid...and the parents too. :)

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  7. We moved into a "new" home and a few months later had to move our 2 1/2 year old to a big bed. the transition was not good. he didn't go back to sleeping through the night until almost 6 years old. he had never tried to get out of the crib and had slept through the night for ages until the transition to the big bed. he was very long/tall so it had to be done but he wasn't ready for it and it affected him for a very long time, sadly.

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  8. At about age 2, my children moved to a toddler mattress on the floor, since we thought they might roll off at first. Like you, we had to make room for the next baby. And then despite not having a baby-in-waiting, I think that my son moved sooner than 2 because he was climbing out of his pack-n-play at 18 months.

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