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- We flipped her double-sided mattress from the hard newborn side to the softer, more cushioned toddler side. I believe that one of the reasons she loves our bed is because it’s so soft and cushy with its fluffy blankets and the pillow-top mattress. So we tried to safely recreate that feel to make the transition to the toddler bed more seamless. We also added mattress pads for additional cushion and protection from night-time accidents.
- The first couple of nights were tough. Getting her to lie in her bed involved a lot of hand holding … literally! For the first few nights, we held her hand until she fell asleep. I could understand why; I’ve always have trouble falling asleep in a room I’ve never slept in. I’ve wished I had someone to stay with me until I was comfortable enough to fall asleep, many times. And I know how comforting hand-holding is for her (sometimes we have to hold her hand while driving, no matter how uncomfortable it is). So I was prepared to do this for her.
- We gathered her favorite toys, so she wouldn’t feel alone. I couldn’t give her the warmth of our bodies to keep her comfortable in her new bed, but her favorite toys were a good coping tool. She still asks for toys to this day. Sometimes there’s up to 10 in bed with her. I don’t care. I just remember to take them out after she falls asleep because I don’t want her to roll over on one and it wakes her up.
- She’s been sleeping in the same room with us for most of her life. And I sleep with the TV on. So to try to copy that environment in her room, we mounted a TV to the wall. I have no problems with TV’s in bedrooms, so I had no qualms about putting on in her room. This is also useful for when we have guests and they sleep in her room. The crazy thing is sometimes its easier for her to go to sleep when there’s no TV. So either way we’re covered. I encourage you to do what is best for YOUR family. You have to make it through the next night and the next day. Not anyone else.
- We made two decisions. The first is that she would not be sleeping in our bed again. Its the only way I’ve been able to stand firm on decisions in my life, especially those that affect me and my quality of life. We’ve been so firm in this decision that we now have blankets permanently in her room, so that we can sleep on the floor next to her bed just in case she is having trouble going back to sleep. For me, sleeping on the floor is much more comfortable than sleeping in the bed with her.
So where are we now, 5 months in? She’s still sleeping in her room. We still have palettes – blankets on the floor – in her room. But most times, I’m able to tell her it’s time for a nap, lie her down, walk out of the room, and she’s asleep within 10 minutes. I’m basically finding my presence to be a distraction. So even at night, if she’s having trouble sleeping, I’ll leave the room, and can come back within 30 minutes and she’s knocked out. In summary, the transition to the toddler bed has been a welcomed and somewhat easy change for us. It’s been the easiest thing, even considering the palettes on the floor.



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These are all great tips and some of them we used to get Aubrey to sleep in her big girl bed. The main thing for us was the softer mattress, she had gotten used to our plush mattress and hers was more firm, so when we switched her to the softer mattress she stayed in her bed and hasn’t slept with us since.
Probably made for an amazing night’s sleep anyway. I’m glad its going well for y’all. Aubrey seems like a snorer lol
This post brings back memories of when my daughters were in that stage. Now they are all grown. I wish I knew about blogging then.
You’re right. I wish I would have read more stuff when Skylar was smaller. There’s some tips I definitely missed out on that could have made things easier for me.
I remember this transition with my first! We’ll be doing it next summer with my second, who definitely loves to sleep with ALL her favorite toys 🙂
Let her!!! Anything to keep her in her own bed 😂
these are great tips, the transition can be tough!
Transitions can be so tough but these tips are amazing! Thank you for sharing
Transition is very important. No doubt, this process is tough. I mean here you have to comvient a child about something. But I find your tips very helpful. You have done great job for collecting points how to deal with the situation.
Thank you for your kind words. I hope these tips can be helpful to someone.
these are great tips; i know we went from co-sleeping to sleeping in a crib and then toddler bed right next to us, and finally to another room..
Toddler bed right next to you? 1. You guys’ bedroom must have been huge. And 2. I wouldn’t have ever thought to do that. I think I would have just kept her in a pack n play. Actually we did do that. When she recessed from sleeping in her own room, we tried putting her in the pack and play. Which didn’t last very long lol.
Trying to copy the environment is huge. My kids as babies were used to sleeping with white noise. So that white noise continued for quite awhile after the transition to a bed. They went right to a twin mattress on the floor. And now they do fine without the white noise.
I think we’ll introduce white noise back to her room. Because she gets wakened by ambient noises, like the train passing. So maybe the white noise will help.