I'm not quite sure how it happened but Daddy and I were just talking about little J's room and the next minute we were building his toddler bed. We have had his toddler bed for a little while. We saw it online, liked it and it was on offer so we bought it. To be honest I had no idea when we were going to move little J from his cot to his bed but I wanted to buy it anyway.
I had googled a few weeks ago about looking out for signs to show when your child is ready. One major sign is them being able to get out of the cot or having a pretty good go at getting their leg over the bars. Little J hasn't done this but he is very tall and this was my main concern. When he stands he does tower over the top. Another sign is not being able to settle in the cot. Up until very recently little J has always slept in a sleeping bag but he has started to look uncomfortable and restricted. We decided to stop putting him in the sleeping bag and he did seem more settled. He obviously wouldn't be able to wear the sleeping bag once he was in the bed anyway so it was time to lose it.
So despite him not showing any sure signs of being ready for the transition we decided to give it a go anyway. We built the bed together, he stayed in the room and watched as it was put together. It didn't take very long and I am really pleased we chose the
Disney Cars Toddler Bed
I had read some reviews of toddler beds where parents had said they are a waste of money and eventually they need a bigger bed anyway but I think it is perfect. Its just the right height off the floor so he can climb in and out easily.
We weren't sure what to expect on the first night of him in his own bed. Obviously we knew he would be excited and having the freedom to get in and out of the bed was going to be a novelty, but hopefully that would wear off.
We kept his usually bedtime routine and when it was time to go up to bed we tucked him in, kissed him goodnight and walked towards the door. He seemed fine at first but when we shut his new toddler gate he screamed. He was really upset and was trying to get out. This lasted minutes before he went off and played in his room. We left him for five minutes at a time and then went back in, walking him to his bed, tucking him in, kissing goodnight then leaving. Before we had even closed the gate he was out the bed and playing again.
I did a google search looking for the best way to deal with this but there are so many ideas, tips and advice and to be honest I think you just have to do whats right for you. We did let this continue for longer than I had hoped but on one of the times Daddy went in he didn't get out the bed, he just snuggled in to his teddies and started to drift off to sleep. Phew. He was asleep but for how long?
I actually thought we would hear footsteps during the night or him playing with his toys but he didn't actually get out the bed till morning. I was quite shocked. He did wake a few times during the night but he has been doing that anyway as he is cutting his second molars.
Night two was a little different, we did his bedtime routine as usual but instantly after putting him to bed he was up and out playing. I am not sure whether its right to just let him play so I popped him back in straight away. Infact every time he tried to get out I put him back in. He found this funny at first then he got a little frustrated. I thought eventually he would give up and he did but he gave it a good go. I think this lasted over a hour of me just putting him back in to bed.
I think we will just have to see how this goes. We will keep this going for a few weeks. and we have kept the cot accessible just incase we have to set it up again. If he does have to go back to his cot I won't see it as a step back just he wasn't ready and we will try again when he is a little older. The age range for moving in to a bed is huge. 18-42 months is the average age, little J is only 24 months so we may have gone to early or he may be fine. Only time will tell.
Michelle
