Hello! Just have a quick question... ok maybe not quick, but it's a question.

We are going to start TTC#2 after my next AF which will be around July 11th. We are planning to use Rayna's crib for baby #2 and we'll buy her a toddler bed and do up her room in Disney Princess or Dora, or whatever she likes... we'll let her decide. We are planning to move her bedroom to the spare across the hall, since there is a dog that barks incessantly right outside her current window and it wakes her up a lot. We'll use her current room for the new baby, as babies can pretty well sleep through anything. This will give us a chance to decorate her new room the way she wants so she feels special, we don't want to make the new baby's room all fancy and cutesy and leave her with bare walls, KWIM? We moved last Oct. and we had painted/decorated her old room with purple and precious moments, so it was kind of sad to leave all that behind but it works out better this way anyway because now we can get her excited about her new "big girl" room and prepare the new baby's room for a girl or a boy.

Anyway, my question is, when is a good time to start working on the new room and make the big switch? Rayna is 19 months old now, and if everything goes as planned she'll be about 2 1/2 when the new baby makes his/her debut. We'd like to have her in the toddler bed at least a couple months before the baby comes so she doesn't feel like the new baby is taking over her room... At the moment she is really good with other babies, my best friend has a 6 month old that Rayna just loves to talk to, cuddle, kiss, give toys to, etc... She especially likes to put his soother back in his mouth when it falls. She has just recently started to dislike sharing with kids her age, but I know that's a phase... All in all I think she is going to be a natural at this big sister stuff, but I want to make sure I do everything I can to make her feel secure in knowing mommy and daddy love her and a new baby wont take us away from her.

Anyway, when did you/do you plan to make the switch, how did it go over, and I'll love you forever if you give me some good tips/advice!!!

Jacob turned 2 on May 4, and as of now he is still in his crib. But we have bought his toddler bed, and as soon as we are done painting his bedroom he will make the switch. I know that he does well in a toddler bed though, cause my mom bought one for her house when he stays there. And the very first day he was there, she showed him the bed and then once naptime came around he ran to the bed, got in, and went to sleep!

if i recall right - just after jordan turned 1 year old we switched her to a big girl bed. no more crib. tyler was about 16 months before we switched him. they did great with it. however, they kept wanting to get out of bed and come out of their room, so we turned the doorknob around to lock them in. it might be a week or 2 before they get used to it. goodluck!

I think for each kiddo it is different. Morgan was very active & was crawling out of cribs when she was 14-15 months old so I had to move her to her toddler bed when she was very young. But we were very consistent with it & she did super. GOOD LUCK!

I think it depends on the child. We moved the twins into their beds at 16 1/2 months because they are little monkeys and learned how to climb out. Last night was the first time one of them climbed out of the bed and left the room in the middle of the night...he went straight into his parents room and yanked his Mom's hair! Needless to say their door now has a gate on it.

I agree about the doorknob thing though...when we moved my little sister to her bed one day she was taking a nap, woke up, got out of bed, and locked herself in the room. It took us nearly an hour to get the doorknob off (there was no key or other way to open it). If the door has a lock I would turn it around.

My first 3 kids were moved to a toddler bed right after they turned one, Ella was almost 2 before I switched her. Most likely you will deal with her wanting to get out of bed but just be consistent with her, go back and put her in bed and say its time for bed and then leave. Good luck, I am sure she will do fine!

We've moved both of our boys right around when they turned 2. No problems, either. And it's good you'll do all this before she realizes that there's a baby "taking" her old room. That way, she'll feel special in her new big girl room before the baby's even in the picture (well, for her at least!).