Our youngest, Polly is 2, almost 3 (in August) and she's still in a crib. But not just in a crib. Last year she tried to climb out of her crib and we got this crib tent that she absolutely loves and even asks "mom! zip me!" every night, but I kind of feel like we are even deeper into this crib thing when we should be going the opposite direction.
She's getting very tall, very fast and I know we are going to have to make the transition soon, but I'm nervous she'll stop napping and sleeping 13 hours a night! One thing that amazes me daily is how easily I forget how to do this. How I did this twice before. (How?!) With every milestone, it's almost like experiencing it for the first time. Maybe it's that our girls are each 4 years apart, or I just have a bad memory. But I also know that every child is different and every situation is different, so we thought today it would be fun to chat with 9 moms who are going through (or who have gone through) the crib to bed transition and have them share their experience. I'm taking notes and we'd love for you to weigh in with your experience in the comments!
1. Yellow Brick Home 2. Pretty Real Blog 3. Almost Makes Perfect
4. In Honor of Design 5. Alice on Sunday 6. Garvin and Co
7. @burtsbrisplease 8. @andiandreastudio 9. A Beautiful Mess
1. Kim from Yellow Brick Home - THE CONVERTIBLE CRIB
After going into Lucy’s room to get her up from a nap and finding her playing with toys (and not in the crib!), we knew she was ready for the big move. Lucy has just turned 2 when we made the transition, and it could not have gone better. We warmed her up to the idea for a couple of days before putting the toddler rail on her bed, and she woke up from her first night saying, I love it!, in that sweet raspy way that ‘big girls’ talk. In fact, she enjoys sleeping in her big kid bed so much, that she no longer tries to get out of bed in the mornings. She lays there until we come and get her! Lucy’s room is very, very small, so once we feel more comfortable without a rail, we’ll transition her to a twin bed. Maybe this will happen within a year? Honestly, we look to her and follow her lead when it comes to these leaps, as we want her to feel comfortable and motivated by the changes.
2. Tiffany from Pretty Real Blog - No Rush!
We transitioned our kids as late as humanly possible. Ha. My children slept very well and I did not want to disturb that! It was around 3 years old for each of them. For my girls, we transitioned them into a toddler bed. They shared a very small room and other than bunk beds, it was the only set up that would work. I loved that I could still use a crib mattress and that they were close to the floor and protected by the side rails. Plus have you ever seen a shared room with 2 toddler beds? It’s pretty cute! For my son, I used a regular bed, pushed against the wall for extra security. I fought using a side rail (speaking of cute- they aren’t!) but after he fell out (#oops), I bought one.
My first tip is to make sure to have all the basics of kids’ bedtime covered before transitioning to sharing- blackout curtains, a nightlight, and a white noise machine (this is even helpful with older children who have trouble calming their minds) are all helpful in our home. I also suggest having little or few toys in the room. The fewer distractions, the better right?
Whether sharing a room is a necessity or because we want our kids to have the magical experience of falling asleep next to one another each night, it will be an adjustment for all. If it’s the latter, my advice is to wait until they are old enough to handle it, especially if you have a good sleeper paired with one who’s up at the crack of dawn [raises hand]. In that vein, a clock is a must-have to set limits on not only her wake time but when she is allowed to wake her sibling.
Another tip? Have a backup plan. For instance, if we’ve had consecutive nights of late-night talking (followed by hard-to-wake mornings!), we separate our girls for a few nights to re-set. It works like a charm. Lastly, don’t be married to the idea of sharing. It may work for years; it may work for months- you can always shift your plans, even temporarily! My daughters are 8 and 10 and I can already see that my oldest will need her space, soon. We can cross that bridge when we come to it. At the end of the day, my best tip is to remember that they are only little once, for a short time, but the memories they make and the bond they forge while sharing a room will last a lifetime. ♥
I think it’s assumed that once mom gets pregnant with baby #2, it’s time for baby #1 to transition to a bed. But that’s not always the case! If you need to hear it, it’s ok to have multiple cribs in your home! My oldest was 2 when my second was born- so many friends assumed I’d transition her to a toddler bed but I knew she wasn’t ready. I bought another crib and let my oldest remain peacefully in her crib for another year 1/2. So much was about to change for our little family- that one constant felt like some security for all of us.
3. Molly from Almost Makes Perfect- THE WAITING GAME
Arlo turns 3 in june (*or this month) so obviously it's on my mind but i've always been one of those if it ain't broke type of moms instead of the moms who are obsessed with milestones (that also might just make me lazy lol). Since he still sleeps so well in his crib, I've just kept him in it since I've heard horror stories about them suddenly getting out of bed all night once they're "free". I know I'm going to have to transition him eventually but I'm totally dreading it hahaha.
I am leaning towards a daybed because I had one as a kid and I loved how it felt like a big cozy sofa. He loves all his stuffies so he could set them up on there and he loooves to cuddle with us so it seems like the best type for that versus those tiny little toddler beds. I am thinking a rattan one! I was also considering a bunk bed so my dad can come have slumber parties with him since he'll be out of a guest room if we decided to have another baby, but he's probably too little for that--arlo, not my dad.
4. Anna from In Honor of Design- BUNK BUDDIES
For most of them we first transitioned to a small trundle bed that can slide under a bunk bed. It was a great way to see if they could sleep in their bed without falling out. Since it is so low to the ground, and usually on a rug or carpet it is a safe landing if they do. It also is a good solution for room sharing since it is a space saver. My daughter Azelie is the 5th child though, and she was just born ready for life;) She transitioned to the lower bunk bed straight from her crib because she wanted to be just like her big sister. She was motivated to do everything right so she could stay in that big girl bed at 2 yrs old, and she did! It is so important not to worry about different milestones taking longer for some children than others. Kids are all so wonderfully different, and trusting your gut as the parent to know when they are ready is the key!
5. Ashly from Alice on Sunday - Every Child is Different
I would have loved to transition the kids from cribs into their "forever" beds. I don't believe in cycling out furniture for the hell of it so, even though they have their separate rooms now, I plan to keep them in their twin beds until they get too big and then transition them again.
6. Jessica from Garvin and CO- OK to Wake
Our oldest two were two years old when we transitioned them and both of them did great right away, they always stayed in their beds! My youngest was three, and got out of her bed to come to ours every single night, in fact, she still does and she is almost five now. Each of them went from cribs to twin beds, I think it really helped them feel like they were big kid status. A twin bed is also something that will last them for years, rather than a convertible crib or a toddler bed. Our girls have always shared a room & we love it for so many reasons! Obviously they feel safer when they are in there together, but also it makes traveling so much easier since they're already used to sleeping together. Yes they keep each other awake chatting & giggling before bed often, but that's what childhood is all about!
7. Bri from @burtsbrisplease - Transition Before it's Too Late
Thinking back to Amos, what worked the best was keeping as much the same as we could. Nothing changed about his bedtime routine or life in general except the place he slept. They’re little creatures of habit and I think keeping as much the same as you can is a kindness for them! We’ve also had a lot of success with them sharing a room, which we started right when Amos was out of his crib. It was great to have everything modeled by his older brother right beside him and everyone’s bedtime could happen all at once, all together. We love it so much, in fact, that Jude will be heading into the same room soon to share with his brothers. 3 peas in a pod!
8. Andi from @andiandreastudio - Finding the Sleep Cure
Within a few months, we felt like he was struggling to get a good night’s sleep in general. He would wake up a couple times during the night and was getting up around 6:00am, instead of 7:00. When he would nap at my sister’s house, he seemed to have the best naps of his life in a queen sized bed. She would have to wake him up when he was going on a 3 hour slumber. David is so tall he’s commonly mistaken for a four year old. We knew he just needed more space to snooze. Because of the size of his little room, we upgraded to a twin and there has been little to no transition going from a toddler to a twin bed. The main differences are, the height off the ground, and no half rail on the side. I especially love that I now FIT in a bed with him for story time! With his toddler bed, he didn’t have “bedding” per se. He had a two-sided comfortable that just went on top of his fitted sheet. Now that he has a sheet, quilt, and extra blanket, I think the added weight also helps him sleep better. We’re happy to report he’s back to sleeping 12 hours a night!
9. Elsi from A Beautiful Mess- It's OK to Splurge
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I loved this post so much! It's all so interesting to read the stories of multiple parents and how their little ones have been transitioned.
Thanks.
It's so great to read the experiences of different mums and how they transitioned their little ones.
I especially appreciate Tiffany's tips to have the mandatory elements of a bedtime routine and a backup plan. Sticking to the normal routine even with the changes from the crib might just be the stability the little one needs to handle the transition like a champ.
Wow, thanks A LOT! It's a helpful piece.
I still remember transitioning from our bed to the crib! We've used HWL sleep training (Susan Urban's method) - how short it took and how silent it was. I hope now it'll be the same!
Does anyone have a suggestion for affordable toddler bedding (convertible crib)? I’d love to change up my daughter’s bedding, but I don’t want to spend a fortune knowing she will be transitioning from her toddler bed to a full size bed in the near future.
Hi Chris and Julia! We are about to transition our >3 year old. He's big for his age and capable of climbing out, but he doesn't bother to act on it and he's a great sleeper, so we just haven't rocked the boat. He just started showing interest in a big boy bed so we are getting ready. I was wondering if you have a recommendation of a mattress for kids? I think you have a sleep number in your room but wondering what you have used for your kids. Thank you!
Our kids all have the Leesa Hybrid mattress and love it!
My kids are 2 years apart and I wasn’t buying another crib so each of my children were moved to a twin by age two. I have good sleepers so it was never an issue. It wasn’t until age 3 or 4 that they started wandering in the middle of the night to sleep at the bottom of our bed. I would not buy a toddler bed but go right for the twin. Good luck young Mamas they’ll be sleeping until noon before you know it.
I really enjoyed this post! It was fun to hear from a variety of voices -- some familiar to me, some new. Would love to see you use your platform to continue to elevate more voices of color in formats like this!
We moved abroad to be closer to family when our son was about two and a half. He was still going strong in his crib so we had my parents buy in advance of our move (what we thought) was the same convertible Ikea crib he had in the States. We thought we'd use it for another few months and then transition him to the toddler bed. Turns out, at least in Germany, the Sniglar crib does not transition to a toddler bed! The good news is, that although our son did start showing interest in a twin bed about nine months after our move, after an extended summer vacation he made it clear he wanted to keep sleeping in his crib a while longer. We left both beds in his room and let him take the lead. Eventually, he chose the twin bed. We bought the stackable set Utaker set and just keep the extra in the basement. Bonus: they are super low to the ground, so a couple extra-large pillows on the ground softened the midnight "landings."
One last thing: a lot of people mentioned their kids only falling out of bed once. If your kid falls out often at the beginning, don't dismay. Everyone's different and with all parenting and development, there's a huge range in this experience.
I’d love to know what you recommend as far as black out curtains/shades go and how you balance between aesthetics and functionality. My kids have had blackout curtains since birth (currently 1.5yrs and 3.5yrs). However, I tried to keep their sleep needs a priority over the aesthetics of how nice their windows would look if they allowed sunlight to come in. Basically I ended up resorting to blacking out their windows with thick black poster board and hanging cute curtains over it. It effectively blacks out their room 100%, ensuring great sleep both at nap time and bedtime. Downside though, it doesn’t look as nice.
Same, girl. I discovered Home Depot has these cordless cellular blackout shades in the Home Decorators Collection that are virtually invisible when installed, they take up like 2" at the top of the window!! They appear white but are STRAIGHT UP BLACKOUT when pulled down.
Thank you for the heads up, Lydia! I need to get some blackout blinds!
For the little one who likes her tent bed, there is a company that makes tents for beds from toddler to king size beds. It might be a great way to transfer her and still give her the security of the rent I’ve looked into them for myself. They are reasonably priced. Lots of pretty colors and a couple printed ones. I can’t think of the name of the tent but I’m s sure you can google them.
I transitioned my daughter at 15 months. Her crib was a hand me down and literally fell apart. I put her on a mattress on the floor with two guard rails on the one side and the wall on the other. She did great. Maintained same sleep pattern. I think it’s because she was so tiny and young it just never occurred to her she could easily get up. She was always an easy baby. I was lucky.
Thank you for these beautiful pictures! CanBri share where that cream rug is from?
Disappointed that you have not addressed the killing of George Floyd or the Black Lives Matter movement. Unfollowing for that reason. It is too important to just ignore.
We've been addressing this daily on Instagram, but you'll see changes on the blog as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBEZsorp5-B/
Love this post! But I’m with Tiffany on waiting as long as humanly possible! We made the mistake with my first to transition out of the crib when he was 2, now with my 2nd, we are keeping her in the crib as long as we can! My experience here http://www.stitchesandpress.com/2017/11/15/the-not-so-easy-transition-from-crib-to-big-boy-bed/
This was a very sweet post, and I really enjoyed seeing the different rooms! One thing I will note related to the panel selection, I would have liked to see a dad chime in. Almost every panelist used "we" when describing who made the decisions regarding the sleeping arrangements, so I assume at least one dad is in on it! I as a 30 something have very fond memories of my dad reading us stories, singing to us, etc when my younger sister was probably at the crib/big bed transition stage. "Super Parent Panel" has a nice ring to it :) just a thought...
When you transition to a twin bed, consider using a “Hiccapop” instead of side rails. It is like a road bump for the edge of the bed, and just slides under the fitted sheet. It’s nice for a few reasons: 1. No ugly rail 2. Easier to lay in bed and snuggle for books and bedtime routine 3. It travels well because it is flexible. We always take it with us on trips or for the bunk in the camper. The best $12 Amazon purchase EVER! (Ok-maybe that’s a stretch, but you get the idea).
Julia, what do you do when she has to potty and she’s zipped in and can’t get out? Or have you held off on potty training.
We've begun potty training, and Polly sleeps through the night. But you're right — potty training and big kid beds go together.
Both of my sons started sleeping in a twin bed at the age of two. Here is how it went: I said" look, a big bed!" And in they went. They will sleep in those beds until they get out of the house.
ha ha ha. I'm pretty sure that's exactly how my folks did it. And we didn't have any side rails and we didn't fall out of bed!
I love Ashly's advice on room sharing and toys! This has already been a consideration for us too. Many thanks to all of the panelists.
Loved these little rooms! Especially that vintage pine bed...SWOON! I wanted to make a quick note to moms having another baby before buying a second crib - remember that you may have the baby in your room for a month or a few months in which case buys you another little bit of time. If you anticipate you'll be switching the older out of the crib and into a bed within 6 months to a year, I recommend using a pack n' play as the second "crib" and then when the older switches out, you can move the crib into the nursery. I realize the pack n' play is not super cute (definitely didn't match our beautifully decorated nursery!) but knowing it was only a few months of needing two "cribs," we were able to then move the pretty crib into the decorated space with time.
This is very helpful! My first will be two exactly when my second is born and I am thinking about this. Thank you!
Floor bed for the win! We moved my daughter out of her crib shortly after she turned 2. She hadn't tried to climb out (and was still wearing a sleep sack), but it was getting too difficult for me to lift her in and out of her crib. We moved her crib mattress to the floor and I built a tiny frame with a canopy to make her bed look like a tent. The mattress lies directly on the carpet, so it was no big deal when she rolled off at the beginning. We kept her in her sleepsack for a few months before we did the transition to a blanket.
Thank you for including a diverse group of panelists!
Agh! No one is talking about potty training and cribs... our 2.5 year old is potty training himself but I feel weird keeping him in a crib when he can’t get to a bathroom (we still have him in diapers) but I’m so confused! He’s my fifth so I should know better but my last one is 11! It’s been awhile! I read all 9 hoping someone was doing this! Haha! Help!
Yes! This is why we had to take the side off the crib - when my daughter was ready to go to the potty during naps or overnights.
Why can't he just stay in night diapers until you transition him? My almost three year old is potty trained, but not night trained, and he is in his own bed. He still wakes up in the morning with very wet diapers so I don't think he is anywhere ready to night train yet. Of course every kid is different. But maybe you don't have to worry about this until he's a bit older, unless he's asking to go to the bathroom at night.
Thanks for this wonderful post. I’m planning on transitioning my almost 3 yo to a bed and this article came at the perfect time!
I am more confused about what we want to do! I am pregnant with my second and thinking about transitioning my first out of the crib around 18/19 months before baby comes. I just don’t know what to do! Ugh I guess we will figure it out.
You will know when the time gets closer. With having babies that close I’d say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Maybe keep the oldest in their crib for now. I’m on baby 3 and still figuring it out as I go! You’ve got this mama!
We moved all of ours into a twin bed before age two. We did it to make room for the new baby in the crib and did it early enough that big brother no longer felt the crib was "his" bed. My family has the tradition of letting them pick their big kid bed sheets. We end up with lots of ugly character sheets, but also super excited little guys who love their big kid bed.
My kids are all spaced 18-20 months apart and we didn't ever buy a second baby bed (well, except when baby #3 turned out to be babies #3 and #4). We transitioned to twin beds a couple months before baby was due so that the current baby bed sleeper wouldn't think that the new baby stole their bed and honestly, it worked great with both kids. I think that transitioning while the child is still young makes the process pretty easy. They both learned to stay in bed eventually and it has been very easy ever since!
My older two are 18 months apart. We ended up with two cribs and kept my oldest in her crib until about 2.5, then took the front off for a toddler bed. It felt like so much transition already with a new baby, we (parents, maybe she would have been fine) felt like it was more than we could take on.
This is a really great idea and a neat way to see how different people handle dealing with the same situation in a variety of ways! From a design perspective it is fun to see all of the creative solutions to a universal problem that most people can relate to. A series of this would be a fun way to show different design plans and highlight other creatives with different styles and backgrounds too!
In regards to this particular problem, my 27 month old climbed out of his crib last month and we immediately took the crib rail off and put up the toddler rail that came with the crib. I was too nervous to have him climbing out! His nighttime sleep didn't really change too much, other than him now waking us up a little earlier in the mornings. He used to wake up and quietly play with the two stuffed animals that he sleeps with until we went to get him. But now, he gets out of bed and brings his stuffies with him to our room to wake us up! The naps were a struggle for about a week but now he is back on track and seems to be proud of his big boy bed!
This was an awesome post. I love hearing from a variety of voices! Even though I don't have kids yet, I'm tucking this away.
My son was nearly 2 when my daughter was to be born. I didn't want to transition, but didn't want to buy another crib. And didn't want a toddler bed (felt like a temporary waste of money) and hated the look of rails, but knew he would not stay in a bed with out them...what to do?! Well, we found the PERFECT solution for us: a bunk bed that could unstack (similar to Anna's above), and the top bunk had rails all the way around! It was the same color and design of his crib, too (total luck there!). We started off doing quiet time together reading on it, then he got the special "treat" of taking naps on it, then eventually was allowed to sleep in the big boy bed. The crib was still there, but he never asked for it. He loved the big boy bed! We took the crib down, and a few months later set it up in a different room for my daughter--he never recognized it as "his"!
A few years later, he moved into the lower bunk (still unstacked) which was pretty low to the floor (safest for my wiggly worm!), and his sister moved to the big girl bed with rails all around. When she was 6 and a half, she got new furniture and the unstacked top bunk was retired. The beds have served their purpose for us, even though they are bunk beds that have never been stacked! LOL
Such great insight! Thank you to the contributors.
Please, more of this type of post. I don't have little kids so this doesn't apply but I like seeing different room styles and hearing input from a diverse panel. I could see this working for so many individual design questions - ways of decorating with plants, use of brass in design, using rugs in design, approach to curtains and window treatments, etc.
Yes! Love this idea! Thanks, CLJ.
Such perfect timing with this article! We are having our second in July and our first will be turning 2 the same week I’m due. We decided just to get another crib because we don’t feel like he’s quite ready yet for a bed without any railings (he moves a ton in his sleep!). Not sure how long we will keep him in a crib but reading this made me feel better about keeping him in there a little longer and not trying to make too many transitions at once.
When I transitioned my daughter, I used pool noodles under the sheets, rather than a side rail. It worked great and she never fell out of bed. I have a two year old son now who is still happily sleeping in his crib. I kind of forgot I am going to have to transition him out! haha.
Both of our kids moved out of the crib before the next was born. Our eldest was a little over 3 and we put a bunk bed in, knowing the kids would share eventually. Our second moved in when he turned 4 a few weeks ago because #3 is due soon. They both napped and slept well in the crib before then, so we kept them in as long as possible. The eldest, now 7, had napped through most of kindergarten as well, so it was nice having them separate still. The 4 year old still naps, and the two of them love playing together in the morning.
I say do whatever works for you and your kid(s)!
I transitioned mine from cribs to queen beds and they never got out. I don't know if the size helped, it was so big to them that they couldn't find the edge maybe? Ha. It also means not having to get them another bed as they grow.
This post comes at the perfect time for me. My son turns 3 in October, so I’ve been thinking about making this transition. Like Polly, my son is a great sleeper and loves his crib, so I haven’t been in a rush. I even talked with him about changing to a “big boy” bed, but he was NOT into it. It was so nice hearing perspectives from so many other moms and how they have handled the transition. Would love to see more posts like this with a range of others’ opinions and experiences!
My daughter was a few months shy of 3 and the #1 reason for transitioning her was I was ready to be done breastfeeding, but we needed to change bed time for that to happen. A few weeks before making the change we had stayed at my parents and discovered she was too big for our pack n play so she and I slept in twin beds next to each other and the entire trip she didn't ask for the boobie (sorry). We decided that was it. She also slept great and felt SO special in a big bed. So we got our hand me down twin bed from storage, bought a new mattress, pretty sheets and a duvet (because even at 2 she cared) and it was a HUGE success. She loved her big bed, never missed the crib and dropped breastfeeding the night she transitioned. 3 months later we moved to a new house and actually sold the twin set and moved her to a full size bed and again, easy breezy. We love the big bed as reading to her at night (or crawling in after a bad dream) is SO much easier. As for the potty training aspect. She potty trained a few months before but we didn't tackle night time until her cue (how we do everything) and when she could do it herself from a bed. She night trained herself when we moved into the new house without us breathing a word (or thought) about it. We've got a new baby coming any day and based on the layout of our house they'll need to share a room for a few years after the first 6 months or so - so baby will be in a much smaller bed post crib so we'll see how that goes
I love all the advice and personal experience, and how each person has done it differently but still successfully! Thanks for sharing a variety of strategies. Besides that, this is just the cutest kids' bedrooms roundup!!!