With her second birthday just 6 weeks around the corner, it’s fair to say my beautiful Frog is no longer a baby.
Despite her inability to confidently walk unaided (although we’re getting there, step by step) my girl is feisty, chatty, independent and extremely bossy. She certainly isn’t the tiny, helpless little bundle we brought home from the hospital.
Which means – we think – that she’s ready for a bed.
The whole “moving from cot to bed” is yet another milestone that parents can become obsessed by. On the scale of riveting conversations, the discussion about my daughter’s bed readiness ranks pretty low (about a 1 or 2 I guess) and isn’t something I’d expect anyone other than myself to give two hoots about.
But, as with all these milestones, the ones who are immersed in it are the ones who become obsessed by it. And boy, have I become obsessed.
I’m excited to try out her new Dunelm Sleepy Owl bedding. She already loves the matching cushion, taking it everywhere with her, including to wake up her grumpy dad on a Saturday morning…
I’m excited at the thought of being able to sit next to her in her bed, while we read a bedtime story. I’m excited at the lack of back pain as I constantly bend down, reaching over the bars to extricate my toddler from her nightime prison.
But I’m also rather scared.
What if she falls out of bed? Will a rail stop her rolling? Is a rail necessary? What kind of stair gate should we get? What if she decides to throw a party for all her teddies at 3am and won’t go back to bed? What if she comes into our room at 5am on a Saturday morning and gives up sleeping altogether?
All of these questions are, I’m sure, desperately unoriginal ones. But they remain at the forefront of my mind, as I postpone removing the side of the cot for yet another day.
Aware of my self-postponement tactics, I’ve now set a date and actually written it in my diay (I know – pathetic, right?). The Day Of The Cot To Bed will be next Saturday.
Which gives me a week to fathom an answer to all of the above questions. In the meantime, have you got any advice?
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Disclosure: I’m on the Dunelm parent blogger panel. The Sleepy Owl bedding and cushion were one of the samples I received for the purpose of review, which will be posted once the cot prison is finally discarded.
Your second hand rickety cot fell apart when you were about 18 months plus. A single bed was the only option. By 3 and a half or less you were in a bunk bed, insisting that you had to sleep in the top bunk. Did you fall out ever? No. Did you get out ever? All the time! Life became far more interesting out of bed than in it. Your old bunk bed top (without bottom) is all ready for little madam’s visit. Love ma x
Here’s hoping that if she decides to get up at ridiculous o’clock, she’ll come and see her Mar Mar and Dandaz instead of her mummy and daddy!
I will be interested to see how you get on as we are thinking about moving Iyla soon! I am very worried about the middle of the night teddy parties! x
Me too!
Gosh, I’d forgotten that terrifying milestone. We bought one of those portable, fold-up bedrail things to limit the chances of midnight tumbles which were my chief fear. They worked a treat. And threats and bribery and my famed Voldemort stare forestalled all the other problems.
If only I had a good Voldemort stare…
Moving to a bed needs to be a gradual process and only when the child is ready. If you are moving from a cot to a cot bed, initially take down one of the sides and put a bed guard or alternative in as a replacement to give the child security as removing both sides can be very daunting, after a couple of weeks the other side can be removed. If moving from a cot to a bed try having the bed in the room for a couple of weeks prior and involve the child in choosing their new duvet etc. If one side of the bed can be pushed against a wall and the other have a bed guard this will provide some security, try having the bed in the same position as the cot so that it is all similar. During all these processes explain what is happening and giving reassurance. A night light and a stair gate at the bedroom door may also provide security whilst keeping your child safe, stops little one wandering around the house at night!
Great advice, thank you. We’re planning to just take one side off the cot at first, with a bed guard. And putting a stair gate at the top of the staris. She already has a very fluffy plump sheepskin rug by her cot so we’ll move it even closer in case there’s any rolling. She’s ready – it’s us that might not be!
Sounds like you have it all ready and I’m sure it will all go well!!
Fingers crossed!
We moved The Boy at 2y 9m – when he dropped his daytime nap. I figured that at that point, he was so knackered by bedtime that he wouldn’t try to get out of bed, and it worked. I’m all for leaving it as long as is humanly possible (and putting a lid on the cot if they start climbing out!) but good luck with it.
Eek – scared now!
I look forward to seeing how you get on next weekend. Our little girl was nearly three when we moved her and that was only because her brother needed the cot. The move went very smoothly and she loved it and it took her about 6 months to even think about actually climbing out of it in the mornings! Our boy is 2 at the beginning of July and his friends are starting the transition. I am tempted to go for it as have seen some rather lovely beds with great storage but kind of scared of rocking the boat as he goes to bed so well and 99% of the time sleeps through to a very reasonable time. Tricky! Good luck! x
Your experience with your daughter gives me some hope that it won’t necessarily be too scary!
moving from cot to bed is a massive milestone cots are so very baby related and beds are much more grown up, but in saying that I cant really remmeber how old mine were when i moved them into beds… I remmeber it being the start of harder bedtime routines as they would get up and out more often, and I quite often sat and read them stories till they fell asleep… or the simple constant put back to bed routines do sometimes pay off and they would settle themselves, my youngest still wakes up at random times in the night tho and sneaks into our bed, but overall things went smoothly i think Good luck that pillow looks lovely Im sure she will adore her new big girl bed x
Oh dear, the idea of disrupted sleep and bedtimes is terrifying. F’s such a “good” sleeper that I’m a bit scared it could set us back. That said, we have to make the change sooner or later I suppose…