How We Transitioned Hudson To A Toddler Bed

HUDSON IS OFFICIALLY SLEEPING IN A BIG BOY BED!! It’s very exciting news for us over here, and I wanted to document our steps and share our journey for other mamas about to take the leap. I realized there’s a lot I didn’t think about in this process, until now in hindsight.

It all started when we moved back in to our house. Hudson still sleeps with his binkie, and it became a pattern of him waking up throughout the night and “dropping” the binkie, and proceeding to scream at us to pick it up. For a few days we would go in his room about 1-2 times per night to pick it up for him – we couldn’t tell if he was accidentally dropping it or throwing it out, but we realized if we didn’t pick it up we’d lose a lot more sleep. One week into these fun and games, we decided we need to stop picking up the binkie for him, because we started to feel like we had a newborn, waking all night long. So we didn’t pick it up, and waited to see if he would fall back asleep. What he did next shocked us – HE CLIMBED OUT OF HIS CRIB. He had never done that before, so we were in disbelief. Once he climbed out once, that was it.

The following night he didn’t want to go to sleep, and he kept climbing out. We started to get nervous he’d hurt himself, and we knew that it was time. So, the next morning we set out to pick up his bed! Here’s a few steps we took:

1. BUILD THE EXCITEMENT: I woke him up the next morning and told him we were going to do something VERY SPECIAL!! I told him we were going to pick up his big boy bed, and he could also get a special treat after we picked it out! At first he wasn’t that excited about it at all, but once we got to IKEA and he was testing beds, he seemed more into it.
2. LET THEM PICK THEIR BED + A TREAT: I think having Hudson included in the process of getting the bed was a huge factor in him feeling more comfortable about it. He picked out a train set as a treat, and then he watched Matt build the bed. He kept telling me ” daddy built my big boy bed!!” and he knew where it came from, which made it less scary and new to him.
3. TELL THEM YOU’LL CELEBRATE AFTER THEIR FIRST NIGHT: I told Hudson if he slept in his big boy bed, we’d go to the diner the next morning and get skittles. Let me tell you – he woke up and asked if we were going, so he definitely knew we would celebrate him. We both told him we were sooo proud of him, and made night one a huge deal.

So, how did night one go you may be wondering?

It went almost the same as sleep training him for his crib when he was a baby. We kept his bed time routine consistent, read some books, rubbed his back, and left. There were definitely tears shed. I’d suggest getting a gate, or a door knob protector, because it worked in our favor that Hudson cannot open up his door. He turned on his lights, roamed his room for a bit, and eventually gave up and laid down in the bed. I think if your child can leave the room, THEY WILL. He would for sure leave and climb into our bed if he knew he could. By night number 2, he was already comfortable with the bed and climbed right in.

The biggest thing we learned from this experience is that Hudson likes sleeping with the lights on! He turns them on every night before he falls asleep! We got him a night light ,but he still turns them on. It’s funny, I guess he’s scared of the dark.

How did you transition your toddler? We’d love any tips in the comments!