Through My Mistakes

Big Girl Bed

At 2 1/2 Cora is still in her crib.  We asked her pediatrician at her last appointment when she thought the best time to move her would be.  She said every kiddo is different and you’ll just know when it is time but a lot of kids are around the age of three or when a sibling comes along to kick them out.  Since the sibling thing isn’t true for us then we figured we would just let her tell us one day.  She has never made a move to climb out and really loves her crib so we just let it be.

We have occasionally asked her if she would like a big girl bed like her friends or her cousin and she always answered, no, I am fine with my crib.  We watched my nephew seamlessly go to a toddler bed a few months ago so we figured it would be simple when the day came.

Fast forward to our recent night of sleepless hell due to nightmares.  Top that with this weird habit she has with needing her feet perfectly covered at night.  Both things will wake her and Lord help me I’ll just assume I’m never sleeping through the night again.  Cora sleeps with 200 blankets but not a true comforter that fits her crib.  I got to thinking that maybe ordering her big girl bedding and transitioning her crib to the toddler stage would be a good idea.  Maybe it would solve some sort of problem.  Yes, I was reaching for anything.

So we ordered the bedding, made a big damn deal of it all, waited for the weekend and Daddy took down the front rail and put up the toddler railing.  Wonderful! She was pumped.  She talked about how she could get in and out of her crib by herself. She played in her room all day, taking her baby dolls in and out of her bed.  Then nap time rolled around.  Normally we stick her in her crib and that is that, she sleeps.  Not this time. Crying for an hour took place until I sat on the floor, in her room, and she finally fell asleep. Then bed time came around.  Bath, we read books, she talked excitedly about her big girl bed and then we laid her down and walked out.  Crying, tantrums, whining, pleading, negotiating, bribing, wine…..Three fucking hours later this child stood in the middle of her room and demanded that daddy put her crib railing back.  So 10:30 at night he put that thing back together and she fell asleep 3 minutes later.

Toddler-1

Parents-0

The next morning she asked to call daddy and the conversation went like this.  Daddy can you come home and put my big girl bed back up?

I can’t even with this kid.

We told her she has to wait two weeks before we try again.  I’ll let you know how that one goes.  On the positive side, the big girl bedding is a huge hit.

What is the game plan in your household for a crib to toddler bed transition?

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Comments

7 responses to “Big Girl Bed”

  1. Mamalife Avatar
    Mamalife

    Its the fear that she will fall out. You can buy one of those toddler bed railings, so she feels she is still safe.

    Reply
  2. My Perfect Breakdown Avatar
    My Perfect Breakdown

    We are also debating this transition, but have decided to put it off as long as possible. Currently Little MPB loves his crib and has never made any attempts to climb out, so we aren’t rushing the process along.
    I am curious that Cora asked for you to put her crib back and then asked for her bed the next day. Maybe she just needs some more time to warm up to the idea of the change.
    Also, as for the nighttime crying, we just went through that. We ended up having to do a few nights of hard CIO and we introduced a GroClock and explained that when the sun comes up its morning time. The combination of both did the trick and now he’s back to his normal sleeping self.

    Reply
    1. Sanibel Avatar
      Sanibel

      Cora definitely has problems with change. She likes things as is. So we are going to keep talking about a big girl bed and give it a go in two weeks. Her crib/toddler bed is exactly the one pictured in the post with the small railing there, I don’t think fear of falling out is so much the problem as just the change.
      We have certainly thought about the GroClock after knowing many people have good luck with it!

      Reply
  3. kiwinadian Avatar
    kiwinadian

    It sounds like, to her, the idea of having a big girl bed is huge and exciting and she totally wants to be down with it. But once she’s actually in the big girl bed, it isn’t what she had made it out to be and she misses the enclosed feeling of her crib. Kind of like how if you were used to going to sleep with a pile of warm, cozy blankets and then one day someone took 3/4 of them away and the comfort zone you had gotten used to was compromised and foreign. It wouldn’t feel right. I know that the crib has that half railing on it, but maybe look into one of those ones that tucks under the mattress and expands across the entire side of the bed and more encloses her and gives the illusion of a crib wall? I’m nowhere near ready to move H to a big boy bed, even though we have one in the garage ready to go, so my advice is coming from a completely clueless place. another alternative is to keep her in her crib until she’s a teenager. Seems like the easier option lol

    Reply
    1. Sanibel Avatar
      Sanibel

      That is such a head on the nail example! I’m with you on leaving her in there till she is a teenager. Sounds easier!!

      Reply
  4. Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Avatar
    Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

    Ugh hang in there! She won’t sleep in her crib forever and if you’re getting sleep when she’s in her crib then I say leave it!!

    Reply
  5. Growing up overnight | Through My Mistakes Avatar
    Growing up overnight | Through My Mistakes

    […] the great big girl bed fail? The weekend she decided she was done with diapers was the same weekend she asked for her big girl […]

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