Big Kids Bed

My daughter is 16 months. I know this is quite young to start training her
on a big kids bed, but my younger daughter (3 months) is outgrowing her
cradle. We cannot afford a second crib, so we need to start my oldest on a
big kids bed. Does anyone have suggestions on how to do this?

dragonlady...

I don't think she's too young for a regular bed.

However, the one thing I WOULD recommend is that you take the crib down
and leave it out of sight for a short time (at her age, a week might be
enough, but month would be better.) -- long enough so that she has at
least BEGUN to think of the big bed as "hers". Most kids I know have a
pretty hard time with feeling displaced by the baby if they are "kicked
out" of anything and it's turned right over to the baby -- even when
they like the baby.

-L....

We transitioned DS (now 2.25) to his own room and own twin bed at 18
mos. Prior to that he was in the crib in our nursery which is
connected to our master bedroom - either that or he coslept. We put
the crib matress on the floor as a stepping platform so that he could
get himself into and out of bed, and if he fell out, it would break his
fall. He never fell out, never had any problem, and really only had
three nights of waking and getting up - the first being fussy. After
that, he took to it like a fish to water. One thing I did was I
decorated his room in Pooh and he was delighted with the Pooh bedding.
I also arranged all of his stuffed babies up on the bed. It
immediately became his "special place" and he will often now go there
to play by himself.

xkatx...

I don't think 16 months is too young for a bed... Especially with the
circumstances you have with a little one needing a crib...
I would start with just a mattress on the floor, as margaret said. I would
also try using HER crib bedding, if possible. I wouldn't use it for her
baby sister's bed when she moves into the older one's crib. I'd just use
older one's bedding to make her feel like she's not getting kicked out of
what is hers and having the baby take it all over. If you are using a
toddler bed for the older, her crib bedding should fit on a toddler bed
mattress, and if this isn't possible, if you're using a regular bed and
mattress, at least try using her crib blanket.
Try to transition her a bit before her baby sister will move into her crib.
As much in advance as you can and she will.
DS was definitely no more than 18 months when he went into a toddler bed
from his crib... He was climbing out of his crib so there wasn't much choice
;)
Good luck with however you do it!

Rosalie B....

Put the mattress on the floor (don't assemble the bed yet)