Would you move him to a big boy bed?

[arivecchi]

So my younger DS is 3 years and 5 months old. We moved to a new house 2 and 1/2 weeks ago and he just started going to daycare this week - so a lot of changes recently.

Before the move, we had mentioned that we were going to get a big boy bed for him in the new house and he is now asking to move to a bed. I do know he loves his crib though and he has lots of room in it still. I am also terrified of having him roaming around at night since everyone is getting used to the new daycare/commuting routine and we certainly need the rest.

It would be crazy to switch him to a bed now right? Should I just wait until things settle down to make the switch?

[roseyloxs]

We switched dd to a new bed when we moved and she just turned 2. DS also moved to a big bed when he turned 2. I however don't mind all that much if they wander into our room at night (which almost never happens with ds but dd is a bit guilty of this behavior).

What we did with both kids was set up the big bed and left their old crib/toddler bed out and let them choose which they would like to sleep in each night. Both chose their big beds and never looked back.

If you choose to wait though(and it sounds like you are leaning that way) I would just talk to ds2 and pick some comfortable date in the future to get the bed. End of summer perhaps like Sept 1st? He may just be happy knowing when he gets to move to the big bed.

[ExcitedMamma]

We just moved DS even though he was happy in his crib and never even tried to climb out but I really didn't want to buy a new crib before our baby is due. I talked to him about it and he was very excited about it. I was very worried because I've heard how awful the transition can be but for us its been great. He's actually sleeping better in the bed for naps and at night. We have the monkey door latches (love love these) so he couldn't get out of his room. I watch him go to sleep on the video monitor and if he doesn't go down we will come back in until he does (think he's an anomaly on this but he doesn't want us in his bed at all and will get upset and say he's sorry and tell us to leave). We have talked to him a lot and he knows he has to stay in the bed so except for acting up sometimes at bedtime he stays in bed and in the morning he stays in bed and calls for us to come into get him.

http://www.amazon.com/Wake-With-Night-Light-Music-Timer/dp/B0044D0HA2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339024298&sr=8-1

Hope the above link works. We bought him the OK to Wake! Alarm clock (plush owl) which really helped him learn when it was ok to wake up and he loves going to sleep with the music.

I also bought him sheets I knew he would love and wall stickers to make sure he loved the new room and he does plus new bedtime books which all helped his comfort level I think because he wants to be there. Also made sure to play in there a lot the first few day so he could adjust and hopefully not want to climb out to play. I also keep all of his toys in the closet for now because I'm afraid hat would encourage him to get out of bed to play.

I definitely don't miss picking him up and putting him down in the crib and for PT it's so much easier with the bed. Good luck with the transition if you decide to do it!

[wellyes]

I would try it. You said you would, he wants to. It'll be a thrill for him during a stressful time. Plus, it's a show of faith in him, and I think even a 3.5 year old understand that.

But don't disassemble the crib until you see that it is working out!

[arivecchi]

I really like the idea of leaving the crib in the room, but his bed is his crib! It's a convertible crib and we already have the conversion kit. I am being gun shy because DS1 had a HORRIBLE transition (he basically moved into our bed for 2 years!), but I do feel badly for DS2 because he is excited about getting a bed.

[AnnieW625]

:yeahthat: Does his crib have a toddler bed option? Coukd he share a room with DS1 until he gets used to the new house?

FWIW we moved DD1 to a twin bed at 2 yrs. 3 mos. old. The first couple of weeks were hard, but in the end she loved her big bed and never mentioned wanting her crib again.

eta (as I posted at the same time!) I wonder if it might be smarter to try a twin bed first until he is a couple of years older and might not want to be getting out of a full size bed. You can just put the full bed in a guest room for the time being. I suggest this because maybe a full size bed is just too big for a child who is used to sleeping in a confined space.

Costco (if you want to make yourself even more suburban....j/k :rotflmao:) has a really nice firm twin Serta or Sealy mattress set for under $300.

[Dr C]

I presume the crib transitions to a full--can you just put the full size mattress on the floor and leave the crib up?
I agree it makes some sense to go ahead and transition him since you said you would and he wants to.

[nfowife]

I would try it. You said you would, he wants to. It'll be a thrill for him during a stressful time. Plus, it's a show of faith in him, and I think even a 3.5 year old understand that.

But don't disassemble the crib until you see that it is working out!
:yeahthat:

[roseyloxs]

I presume the crib transitions to a full--can you just put the full size mattress on the floor and leave the crib up?

This could work. If he is all that excited I would just go for it. Hopefully going through it once will help you guys curb the co-sleeping behavior. If I am annoyed about sharing my bed one night then I'll bring the child back to their own bed and then lay down with them there. Once they fall back asleep I sneak away again or pass out and leave a few hours later.

[elektra]

That is so tough. We were sort of forced into the bed for DS when the crib tents were recalled. I was anticipating the transition to be horrible, but for us it wasn't! The hardest part was that at the time of the transition, I really wanted DD to be able to get to bed on her own and that was hard for her (I posted about it.)
But DS has not really been a problem at all! He goes to bed awake, stays there all night and calls out if he needs to get up in the morning! I am still a bit in shock as DD has always just gotten up and would frantically cling to us if we left.

If he says he wants one, I might be open to trying it.

[smilequeen]

I presume the crib transitions to a full--can you just put the full size mattress on the floor and leave the crib up?
I agree it makes some sense to go ahead and transition him since you said you would and he wants to.

That's what I would do too :) We have started with the mattress on the floor for my older 2 and it worked well. I would definitely try the switch, but I've always switched kind of early. 20 months for DS1 (he HATED his crib), right at 2 for DS2 (he liked his crib but we had just moved into a new house and he wanted to sleep with his brother anyway).

[bigsis]

I would switch to a bed. Your little one seems to be excited about it.

[arivecchi]

Thanks all. I am still trying to figure out what to do. We would have to purchase the mattress which we do not have at this point. DS is having some potty training issues now that he started daycare (this is his first week). Would having a bed help with these or make things worse because it is one more change he has to deal with?

[elektra]

Well in theory, I would think that keeping as much consistency as possible is ideal when there is so much other change going on. However, the thing with the crib/bed is that you are going to have to change it anyway, which would require yet another change in the near future. And since I know that when the dictator gets something set in his mind......
well. ;)

I wish I knew the exact right answer. I can only say that our transition to the bed has been much easier than I thought.