Moving your little one to a BIG kid bed

Transitions can be really tough, both on mommies and children alike. Bittersweetly, the whole first two years of a kids life are predominately learning your way through developmental stages and transitioning from one milestone to another.

Nursing to bottle-feeding to eating purees and solids.

Being held and cuddled all the time to crawling, to standing, to walking, to running.

Sleeping in a basinet right next to you, to sleeping in a crib several rooms away, to sleeping in a big-kid-bed.

There are so many changes that at times, it seems like I just can't keep up with them all!

I swear, Pax progresses and does something new almost every day. I love watching him grow and laughing at his joyful - adventure seeking personality. I find myself in awe and utter surprise somedays with how much he has accomplished and grown!

Being a parent is all about trial-and-error, being flexible, and then sticking with what works for your kid. It's important to take transitions slowly and gradually instead of pushing your child into something totally new and more than likely, terrifying to them. I've learned a lot over the past year about how to best handle these transitions, but the most significant thing I've added to my parenting repertoire, is to simply let Pax decide when he's ready for something new.

With Pax, we've introduced new things to him over a period of a few days to a week or two, depending on how he responds. Most recently, we have made the big move from Pax sleeping in his crib to sleeping in a BIG BOY BED. We started by simply buying a toddler bed and putting it in Pax's rom. We let him "help" pick out sheets and a blanket (he LOVES dogs so we went with a Paw Patrol set) and put the bed together in his room.

We kept the crib in his room and started by just laying him in the bed for a few minutes before putting him back in the crib just during nap time. After a few days, we started giving him the choice of napping in his bed or crib. Giving kids, even really young kids, a choice is an excellent way of empowering them and avoiding battles or meltdowns because they are not getting what they want. We would point to both the crib and bed and say, "Where would you like to sleep today? The crib or the bed?" Most often during the first few weeks of this transition, Pax would choose to sleep in his crib. We made sure to celebrate the fact that he made a choice, no matter which one. It is important not to make a child feel like they made the "wrong" or "bad" choice when giving them an option, but instead to appreciate them for making a decision!

After a few weeks, Pax began to start choosing the bed for nap time! The first few days he needed some extra comfort and snuggles, as he just wasn't quite sure about himself in this new place. But, within a week or so, he was napping like a CHAMP in the toddler bed! So, we moved onto the next big step...sleeping in the bed all night. We followed the same pattern as when moving him to the toddler bed for nap time, and for several weeks Pax continued to choose sleeping in his crib during the night. (Again, celebrate those choices!)

Then, last week, Pax decided he wanted to try sleeping in the big bed! This was probably the most difficult for him as his room was dark and it still felt new to him.

{Side-note: ALWAYS make sure everything in your child's room is baby proofed, dressers are sturdy and cannot be tipped over, and medicines are locked away. If they get up at any time during the night or nap time, you don't want to risk them getting into something dangerous!)

We found that giving him some extra time for snuggles, reading a few more books, and even giving him a bottle for the first few nights really helped him. Even though Pax hasn't needed a bottle at night time for several months, we wanted to provide him with the comfort and familiarity that would reduce his fears and assure him everything was okay. After all, we wanted Paxton to know sleeping in a big bed isn't a scary thing, it's an exciting milestone! We also moved some of his toys into his room from the living room so that if he got up he would have something to do in his room, until he was ready to get back in bed or we were ready to come get him.

We're more than a week into Pax sleeping in his "big boy bed" full time now, and I could not be more proud of how he has handled such a major transition! I know there are many more changes and transitions coming our way, each with their own unique challenges. But with a lot of patience, flexibility, and taking things just one step at a time, I know we will make our way through this crazy adventure called parenthood.