My son is 20 months and he has outgrown I think his crib. At what age did you move on to the toddler bed. I’m worried that he wont sleep, he will just wonder in the room. Can anyone give me some advice?
I think the child will send signals when ready.
I had to laugh when I saw this, because I just went through this with my daughter on Sunday! lol I had the same questions. When I asked my pediatrician, she said that it’s advised to move them into a toddler bed at 18 months, or when your child starts to show signs that he/she can climb out of the crib. She also said that the reason you want to move them when they can climb out of the crib is because if they try to get out when they are sleepy, they can hurt themselves. If they can actually get out completely, your time is up no matter how old they are. By the way, my daughter is 24 months, but I didn’t ask this question until her 2 year appointment because she just started climbing out of the crib. We didn’t know we had passed the recommended time table! Our time was up so we had to move fast!
As for moving around and not sleeping, when I searched the web for what other mothers had experienced, some said that their child moved around in the dark a lot on the first night, then less and less as the room became less of a “wonderland”. One mother left a nightlight on so her child wouldn’t hurt himself while exploring.
Here’s what I did:
First I did an extra thorough check for child safety, like tethering dressers to the wall and such, sliding outlet covers, etc. (they sell great outlet covers at onestepahead.com) Then I had my daughter help with the transition. Since I have a convertible crib, she helped with changing the bed from a crib to a “big girl bed”. She helped loosen the screws and remove the front rail, etc. Then she did jump on it a bit because she was so excited. But then, when it’s been time for bed, I read to my daughter, and sing to her in the dark, our normal bedtime routine, until she gets REALLY sleepy before I would put her down. On the first night, by the time I put her in the bed, she was so tired, she didn’t feel like exploring I suppose! It’s only been a week, but so far she’s only gotten out of her bed once to get a book! Otherwise, she’s stayed there! I also chose not to use our nightlight, because she doesn’t normally use one, and I didn’t want her to suddenly become aware of all the things she can see in her room at night. I hope some of that helped! Good luck! 
Now I don’t feel so bad. Thanks for sharing with me. I know he is ready, he fell out one time but once is enough. It scared me silly! :ohmy: We have a toddler bed that matches his crib somewhat. We bought it when he was 9 months old so we have it, it’s just i thought he was to young. But I guess not. I have been letting him fall asleep in his room on a pile of blankets and pilllows to get him ready for his toddler bed. I even thought about leaving a camcorder in his room for the first week to see if he is actually sleeping. lol We plan on moving soon so I thought that would be a good time to switch the beds out, a new room, a new bed. He was upset when we started taking his toys, and stuffed animals out. I tried to explain it to him but i don’t think he got it yet. he is cranky today because of it.
Dear mother of faith,
It’s hard when you have to explain to little one about moving. You were right to say once is enough! That was good of you to trust your mommy instincts! If you have time to have him get used to his toddler bed before you move, that might help with the transition. Then he’d already be used to the bed before he had a new room. Then there would be something familiar in a new place. But if you don’t have time, remember that babies are still quite resiliant. He’ll be just fine. Especially with a mommy so attentive that she thought of putting a camera in his room to see if he was sleeping. (I would have thought the same thing.) Happy moving!
Thank you for the encouraging words. I have about 2 weeks to prepare for moving so I am going to place his new bed in tomorrow where daddy and granny will be here to help me keep an eye on him at night. I hope he sleeps well. Now I can give his old crib to his little brother, he’s crib isn’t as nice as big brothers. Thank you all for helping me and other moms.