The Dreaded Toddler Bed Transition
Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 3:17PM
I came to a realization last night that I may not have a choice when it comes to when we transition our toddler to a bed. That came after my daughter didn’t want to go to bed and was NOT happy when I left 
Elle trying out Pottery Barn Kids Toddler Bedthe room. As usual, I stood by her door to make sure the crying died down. We don’t always have crying but lately there has been more because she wants mommy to stay until she falls asleep. Anyways, I was just about to walk back in and I see our daughter standing in the doorway of her room.
I screamed, actually scared I was seeing a ghost or an intruder and then panicked because I had NO idea how she did that without my being able to tell she was climbing out and I didn’t know if she had fallen on her head or some other limb. My mother in law said she climbed out of the pack n play this past week when we she was watching her. My husband and I didn’t believe her but now we do.
I guess it’s time to transition her to the toddler bed, which we’ve been dreading because of a number of reasons:
We won’t have a way to contain her whether that means keeping her in bed until she falls asleep, keeping her from exploring the house and getting into who knows what and running into our room whenever she pleases. A million scenarios run through my head as to what she could get into and how we might need to sleep train all over again. Sigh.
Any tips/advice when transitioning to a toddler bed? We need them!
Reader Comments (2)
Mary Clayton got her "big girl" bed for her second birthday. We did not do a toddler bed, just went to a queen size bed. She loves sleeping in it and having pillows and stuffed animals in the bed with her. We do have nights that she will get out and scare me to death coming into our room. Sometimes because of a bad dream and sometimes because she just doesn't want to go to bed. I have a red "spanking spoon" that I use as a threat....I will tell her that I will go get my spanking spoon out if she gets out of the bed again. So far, that has worked and I have yet to have to actually follow through and give a spanking. As far as worrying what Elle will do around the house...MC always just comes straight to our room. Also, for a long time MC couldn't turn the door knob to get out so once I closed the door>>that was it. I found her asleep on the floor in her room several times. All in all I love her having a big bed. We read books in it before I turn out the lights, I enjoy lying down with her and singing and saying our prayers. More than once when I was pregnant with Jackson I fell asleep in her room. It is also nice in the morning to not go lift a big baby out of the crib...she just comes and gets in bed with us around 7. Go for it! It will all be fine!
We just went through this transition with my 22 month old last week because she too climbed out of her bed (and scared me too)! It has gone much better than I thought it would. She didn't nap the first day. She just ran around the room and played for an hour and a half. But, we have had no problems since then. I think it is because 1) her room is really small and I only have a basket of books in there for toys and 2) her door knob is very difficult to turn and open so she cannot open it and get out and explore. It has worked great for us so far.