How do you know when your child is ready to move from the crib to a big bed?
Each child is different, some parents can hold off on this transition until age 3 while others show signs of readiness by as early as 18 months. Keeping safety in mind, it is time to make the move if your child is demonstrating the ability to get out of the crib on their own. The twins began climbing / jumping out at age 19 months. We have wood floors in the nursery, making this move a priority to beds a priority.
Princess Crib Bedding
What are the things I should do to prepare for this move?
Now's the time to make doubly sure baby /toddler proofing is fully ready for a child (or two children in this case) being alone and free in the room. Secure any furniture that could tip of climbed on, add drawer locks where needed, inspect for missing plug covers, make any cords unreachable, check blind and curtain cords, and place a safety gate at their door to prevent wandering. The diaper pail can be a big toddler magnet, so make sure your pail is either locked in a closet, placed up on the changing table at night, or is one that you feel confident is toddler tamper proof. We recently switched to this new Munchkin Diaper Pail and have yet to have an issue.
I'd also suggest you consider a placing video baby monitor in the room especially for twins or more. A video monitor enables you to view what they are doing without going in and upsetting the mood unnecessarily. On the flip side, it can also show you times you should go in such as when one is sitting on the other's leg. We are using the Safety1st Prism Video Baby Monitor to keep an eye on our twins when alone in their room and are quite pleased with it.
How does one ease into this big move from crib to bed?
Some experts suggest you start slowly by napping in new bed and sleeping overnight in the crib, but sometimes this isn't possible especially with twins. The space required for all those beds usually isn't there. Plus, if you are making the move due to safety concerns, why delay?
I'd suggest making the new beds as exciting, special, and comfortingly familiar as possible. If your move is to a toddler bed, use the same bedding, but add a special new pillowcase and or blanket. If you are moving your child to a twin or larger bed, consider allowing your child to pick out the new sheets or making an accent pillow from the old bedding.
Any Toddler terrific finds for this move?
We found the absolute perfect pillowcases for this important move, Milo & Gabby Cozy Companions. They sent us a couple of their animal shaped pillowcases for review and the twins along with the rest of us adore them. They are made from ultra-soft 100% cotton with soft poly fill in in the tails, ears, fins or feet. You just put them on any standard sized pillow you already own. The twins are very into all dog things right now, so two of the "Harold the Dog" style pillowcases were a huge success. Other styles include a cat, a bunny, a dinosaur, a horse, and a fish. ( Watch for a giveaway of the cat style pillow soon!)
Toddler Beds or Twin Beds?
We personally went with inexpensive toddler beds from Ikea for the twins. Our cribs actually convert to twin beds, but we decided not to move straight into those just yet. We felt the twins would benefit from the extra room to play right now. We also liked the smaller cozier aspect of toddler beds since they are making this move fairly young.
We currently have the two toddler beds pushed together with a bolster / body style pillow in the middle (not pictured) to keep them from falling in the crack or rolling on the other. We actually re-purposed our two much beloved nursing pillows for this bolster, by placing both nesting pillows in a single body pillowcase. If you do decide to go with twin beds, look into bed rails to keep them from rolling off. Other options are lots of pillows on the floor or even just using the mattress at first.
Other basic needs?
Don't forget to leave a spot in bed or near the bed for other comfort items your child might want. Their stuffed dog, favorite blankie, pacifier if still being used, and even a water filled sippy cup by the bed. A nightlight is also a good idea, although my plug into the socket style seem to be a bit too interesting to curious toddlers. I just spotted one of those "take with you" style nightlights by Munchkin in a dog style the other day. I may just have to hit Target to snag a couple as Valentine gifts to the little guys. (That way, I can place them on a dresser and hide the cord.)
Last minute tips?
Stick with your evening / bedtime routine as much as possible. Follow all of the same procedures for going to bed as you would when they were going down in their cribs. Only now, perhaps you can sit on the edge of the bed to sing or read.
Our routine goes something like this... After dinner, daddy and one of the siblings bring the twins upstairs to bathe, put on jammies, and brush teeth while the rest of us do downstairs clean up. The twins then come into our room to play quietly while the family plays with them and catches up a tad on a favorite T.V. show. Eventually the twins mellow fully and we move into their room for storytime and some cuddles.
Remember this is a process that takes time. I've done this with my 3 older children and now it is time for the twins. Each child was different and thus each transition took a different length of time and had unique adjustments that had to be made. Remain patient and consistent, good luck!