If your dc was still in their crib past 4 yrs...

[mm123]

Just some quick questions to those of you who had 'older' crib sleepers.

DD1 is now 4, and still is VERY happy in her crib. She's pretty small, so her size isn't an issue, and she still curls up in a ball in the corner most nights.

So, just curious for those of you whose DC stayed in the crib until they were older than 4- how old were they when they did finally move out? Was it their decision, or yours? How did the transition go?

I'm mostly fine with it, but traveling is getting to be a bit of a problem, since she has more trouble sleeping on a regular mattress on the floor when we go away. Maybe if she got used to a regular bed at home, she'd sleep better when we're away?

I also feel a bit strange that she'll be starting Kindy in the fall, and she'll still be in her crib!

So, should I initiate a 'big girl bed' transition, or just leave it, and wait til she notices it's odd for someone her age?!

[lmintzer]

My younger son stayed in his crib until just a few months before his 4th birthday. Like your dd, he is on the smaller side and was completely happy in there. I think I just made the executive decision that he should move out. I asked him if he wanted to sleep in a "big boy bed" and talked it up a bit. He was excited about it. I bought a "snug tuck pillow" for the long end of the bed so that he wouldn't fall out and would feel like he had something to snuggle up to. The transition was super easy.

The only consequence of having him in a crib so long is that it took him a while to realize he didn't have to call for us when he wanted to get up in the morning, lol.

[annex]

I know my motto has always been not to mess with good sleep, so I completely understand holding onto the crib until or after 4 if it's still working for your kid. I think, though, by that age chances are good the transition will not be as bad as the horror stories you read from kids who moved out when they are toddlers.

My DS stayed in his crib until over 4. He is hugely routine driven, and wasn't interested in changing beds. We decided a few weeks after his birthday it was time to transition him. Picked a week when there wouldn't be any other disruptions in his routine. Got a bed rail, a bed tent, and made sure the bed was in a corner to make it as similar/confined feeling as the crib as possible. It went amazingly well. He still curls up in the corner, and stays in bed all night without getting up and wandering around.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[mm123]

Also wanted to add...

Her crib can also change into a toddler bed. If we were to decide to transition now, would it be better to change it to the toddler bed, or just get a twin bed right away? Or should we put a twin mattress on the floor, and get an actual 'bed' later?

[elbenn]

It's so easy to make it into a toddler bed, and it will still seem really familiar, so that's what I would do. You could mention that when she wants, you will get her a bigger bed.

[karstmama]

i just did the executive decision thing. he was actually starting to potty train a bit, so i got him a toddler bed. his crib would have been too tall to get in & out of himself, which was the point of not using it anymore, anyway, so i went with a inexpensive low mickey mouse bed that used a crib mattress. he transitioned just fine with some warnings that if he got up it must mean he had to go to the potty & i'd take him to the potty & put him right back in bed.

[american_mama]

My story is a lot like lmintzer. DS slept in his crib until a few months ago and he just turned 4. It was sheer inertia that led me to leave him in the crib, since I had a whole hand-me-down mattress plan involving two mattresses, one of which needed some minor sewing repair, and I kept putting it off. Eventually, I made the switch and told DS this is the day (or maybe this is the week) you sleep in your big boy bed. DS was excited, his sisters were excited.

However, he did not like it so much the first week, in part because the longer bed forced his night light to be moved to a different outlet and that cast different shadows that he didn't like. And he just didn't like the change. I sympathized, said he'd adjust, played a bouncy game at bedtime that was not possible in a crib, and said I'd look for ways to put the nightlight back (battery lantern or extension cord). But reverting back to the disassembled crib was never an option.

Personally, I would unilaterally decide to move your child into a bed very soon. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill, but I think change due to growing up is something children (and moms) have to deal with, and the crib is a powerful symbol (certainly to adults, possibly to children) of babyhood. Help her move out of that phase, literally and figuratively, soon. It's not even completely about the leaving the crib, but about the process of adapting to one change will help prepare her for the other larger changes coming her way.

Also, I rarely bring up the teasing factor, but I do think she might be teased by friends if she's still in a crib, especially friends who have siblings and associate cribs with babies. One of DD's friends visitied our house and was clearly surprised that my DS was still in a crib, and, although I don't think he heard her comment, he was old enough to have possibly been self-conscious about it.

[scrooks]

She loved her crib! She had had a full sized bed in her room prior to DS's birth (so 2+) but never had interest in it. We just used it for reading books at bed time. We converted DD's crib to a toddler bed last Sept (basically just removing the front) We did push a bit but she agreed. Sometime around Christmas she asked for her big girl bed. That very day we fully converted the bed (the front of the crib became the headboard, the back the footboard and we had to add the side rail kit) to a full sized bed. The transition has been pretty painless...i think because she led the process.

[randomkid]

My DD was also a late crib sleeper and she is also little. What finally did it for us was when a friend offered to give us a toddler bed. It was a really nice one, we were at their house and I didn't want to say no to it. We brought it home (luckily, it fit in our van) and DD was smitten. She was so excited about it that she helped us clean it up and get it ready. Honestly, she didn't sleep in it long because she was almost too big for it. She could curl up in the crib, but not so much in the toddler bed. I'd say she used it for a couple of months, but she wasn't sleeping well in it, so we went to a big girl bed. I don't really know how much longer she would have stayed in the crib, but probably not much longer. We had already been talking about a bed and she was ready for it. She had been asking when she would have a bed like her sisters. She would go lay in their beds and want to sleep there. That's pretty much what led us to making the transition. She was definitely out of the crib before she started Kindy. At 4yo, I would totally skip the toddler bed. We only had one because it was given to us.

The transition was super easy because she was so ready. The good thing about DD being in the crib for so long - and loving it - is that she is really good about staying in her bed. She never really tried to climb out of her crib (I think she felt secure in there) and just got into the habit of staying in bed.

[Thatchermom]

Another late cribber here. And DDis really tall! We were just totally not willing to mess with the sleep mojo earlier. On a trip to Ikea DD tried out all the beds and fell in love with one. Santa brought it for her (at 4.5 yrs old!) and the transition has been super smooth. Like some others have said, she still doesn't even get up in the morning on her own. It's been great!