When should I move my two year old into a big kid bed?

Question

My son is newly two and still in a crib. He doesn’t try to climb out and does pretty good most nights in the crib (but still gets up at least once a night most nights). We’re expecting number two, due in July. We plan on having the baby in a bassinet in our bedroom for the first 3 to 6 months, but after that the baby and my toddler will share a bedroom and the baby will need the crib.
I don’t want my son to feel put out by the baby, but it is nice that he is contained still in his bed at night. Should we go ahead and move him to a big kid bed before the baby comes so he doesn’t associate the baby with the removal of his bed?
Also any advice for transitioning to a big kid bed would be great! Thanks, ladies!

Answer

I just did this last year. My son turned 2 two weeks after my daughter was born. I knew I wanted them to share the room eventually and I didn’t want to buy a second crib. What I did was get a toddler bed and put it in the room a few months ahead of time while he was still sleeping in the crib so that he got used to it being in his room. Then when he started climbing out of his crib (just after his 2nd bday) I put the toddler rail on the crib (sister was newborn sleeping in our room.) I would encourage him to sleep in the toddler bed, but he still had his crib with the toddler rail on it to go back to if he wanted. Then when sister was probably 4mos old, I put the crib rail back on the crib and started napping her in there to begin that transition and he was forced to only sleep in the toddler bed, which was now fine because he was used to it and he realized that the crib was now the “baby’s bed.”

Answer

Girl, wait wait wait!! I had the same dilemma, but I am so happy we waited. Having the toddler confined in his crib is CLUTCH for surviving most nights. We just sucked it up and bought a second crib (baby 2 was bigger than expected and outgrew his bassinet very quickly). They will both need toddler beds anyway 🤷‍♀️ (they are 20 months apart).

Answer

We waited until she asked. My daughter was 32 months when we made the switch and we only did it them because she asked for a big girl bed. As long as he isn’t climbing out, keep him in a crib. Once you make the switch, it’s hard to get them to stay in bed. It’s a headache. Just wait.

Answer

I would move him into a bed now as it will give both of you time to adjust before the baby is here. Also if you do it with the baby here he might feel pushed out as he will see the baby go into his crib. Always make out that he’s a big boy now and stick to a bedtime routine

Answer

WAIT! WAIT AS LONG AS YOU CAN 🤣 if he isn’t climbing out I totally would wait. My oldest is now 2 1/2 & we switched her to a toddler bed with rails & that’s only because she started to climb out the crib. Well she was  in and out of bed constantly through out the night & she is just now finally staying in there till early morning. I know every kid is different but my oldest is pretty much well behaved & she still did this surprisingly. Lol not sure if other mamas have had the same issue but I know if my youngest doesn’t start climbing out I’ll be waiting till I absolutely have to switch her 🤣🤣

Answer

You might be surprised by the transition, I was afraid of my daughter getting out of bed constantly once she moved to her big girl bed but she never did! She’s four now and still rarely gets out of bed. I think at first (she was 2) she didn’t know she could lol.

Answer

Okay so I literally just went through this. Baby is due in August and my 2.5 year old was still sleeping in his crib. He never attempted to climb out so I really didn’t want to but I wanted to have him sleeping on his own in a “big boy bed” before baby came. We skipped the toddler bed and went straight to a twin and bought a rail to put on the side. Every time I tried to take the front off the crib before he wouldn’t stay, I think he thought he was going to fall out. First couple nights he did amazing. Never got up or anything. We’ve been battling with him about getting out of bed (mainly just because he can he will lol), but the last two nights he’s not got up. The only thing I’ve really had to adjust to is him waking me up in the morning instead of me waking him up.

Answer

We are also expecting in July and my son will be 2 at the beginning of June. We moved him into a big boy bed a few weeks ago and it’s been awesome. He sleeps so much better and doesn’t wake up at night anymore. He never really climbed out of the crib either but I wanted to get him used to his new room before the baby came. It’s been a super easy transition for us and I think he loves being a big boy.

Answer

I'm due in a couple weeks and we moved my 2.5yr old back in December.  He took to the transition very easily thankfully, but I'm glad we did it early just in case.  Your toddler will have enough other changes to deal with after baby comes so why add one more thing to the list that can be dealt with beforehand.

Answer

I agree with moving him now. I wouls go ahead and move him so he is used to it before the baby comes. If you wait until the baby is ready to move to the crib your son may feel jealous and want his crib back.

When should I move my two year old into a big kid bed?

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