I want to start by saying this is not a "how to" post. I'm no sleep expert and I believe timing is everything on this kind of thing. Fallon has always been ready for the next step well before she's either able to be or before other people think she should be. Chris and I have learned this as her parents and 100% are not trying to push her to grow up too soon. But we do follow her cues and try to help her get to where she wants to go as we feel it's appropriate. Sometimes I could swear she cried all through her first year of life because she just hated being a baby! She's been consistently trying to climb out of her crib, obviously craving more independence and the timing was perfect to give this transition a shot before she becomes a big sister. We went in with positive thoughts but low expectations. And really that, above anything else, is my best advice.
Regardless of transitioning out of the crib we had planned to upgrade Fallon's room from nursery to toddler bedroom this year before the new arrival. The first thing we did was arrange the room as it would be with the twin bed in it but moved the crib there for a week. I'm not sure that it made a difference but her bed had not arrived yet and it just made sense to see if she would be okay with suddenly sleeping on the other side of the room. She could have cared less.
Once the new bed was assembled and in place we showed her, acting very excited and calling it her big girl bed. We made it all up with bedding and a brand new furry pillow (her favorite!) and let her get in and check it out. This was during the day and not being known for her consistent napping habits, we definitely planned to try sleeping in the new bed at night. Maybe if your kid is a better napper than nighttime sleeper it would make sense to try during nap time first!
I've shared about how our DockATot did help Fallon to nap more consistently, although she just is not the nap for several hours at the same time every day kind of kid and very well never will be. But she also just loves to lounge, hang out with her buddies and snack in it. So we put it in her new twin bed and that is actually what she's been sleeping in on the bed.
And maybe most importantly, we kept everything else the same. We have a very established bedtime routine that has worked well for us for quite awhile. You can read about it here but the overview is bath (every other night), brush teeth + oils, relax and watch TV/read books then upstairs to turn on the heater (or fan) and diffuser, rock for a few minutes and then go to sleep. We use 3 rollers made of essential oils, Thieves for immune support on bottoms of feet, Lavender + Cedarwood on toes for the sweetest dreams and Peace & Calming behind the ears to wind down for the night. We typically diffuse Lavender + Peace & Calming + Gentle Baby as we've learned that's her favorite blend to fall asleep to!
The first night I was prepared for her to protest when I put her in the new bed. She didn't. I came downstairs and turned on the monitor fully expecting her to get up and out of bed. She didn't. She went to sleep as she normally would and I went to bed expecting to be woken up in the middle of the night because she was scared or confused or just missed the familiarity of her crib. Nope. She woke up around her normal time and did get out of bed but did not try to get out of her room. I made a huge deal when I went in to get her, acting very excited and praising her for being such a big girl and sleeping in her new bed. Then we ate donuts. The rest of the week, including daddy being home a couple nights (he works nights so usually I put her to bed solo) and even a sleepover with her aunt, went just as smoothly as that first time.
The first night I was prepared for her to protest when I put her in the new bed. She didn't. I came downstairs and turned on the monitor fully expecting her to get up and out of bed. She didn't. She went to sleep as she normally would and I went to bed expecting to be woken up in the middle of the night because she was scared or confused or just missed the familiarity of her crib. Nope. She woke up around her normal time and did get out of bed but did not try to get out of her room. I made a huge deal when I went in to get her, acting very excited and praising her for being such a big girl and sleeping in her new bed. Then we ate donuts. The rest of the week, including daddy being home a couple nights (he works nights so usually I put her to bed solo) and even a sleepover with her aunt, went just as smoothly as that first time.
We are still shocked. And still expecting problems to arise. But right now we are celebrating this as a win. A big win.
A few things to note. We decided to go straight to the twin bed because with Fallon, you just go big or go home. The DockATot will stay for a little while until we are sure this first week wasn't just a lucky fluke. It keeps her from falling out and is comforting to her and if we have to leave it there for awhile, that's fine! There are some toys in her room that she's been playing with when she gets up, exactly what we hoped for instead of her trying to just leave the room. Currently there isn't anything stopping her from escaping but we will make adjustments if necessary.
This is what has been working for us. It won't work for every kid. I stand by the belief that the biggest factor is in this success was the fact that she was clearly ready. We just followed her lead!
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