pillows and blankets?

[migirl]

I'm thinking of moving DS to his 'big boy' bed after the baby comes, probably when he's about 2.5 yo. He'll be moving to a full-size bed, with the mattress on the floor. I'm looking at bedding now b/c we're having the room painted soon and I need to match the colors, so I'm trying to figure out if he really needs all the coordinated bedding (sheets, blankets, comforters, etc.).

Right now, DS is a *crazy* sleeper in his crib. He thrashes around and sleeps in all sorts of crazy positions ... I really can't imagine him sleeping in the same direction in his 'big boy' bed (head on pillows, feet toward the bottom) let alone keeping covers on! He doesn't sleep with a blanket now, it's just him and the crib sheet in there.

So I guess my question is: when were your kids ready to sleep with a pillow and sheets/blankets? And how did you transition them?

Re: pillows and blankets?

Anna sleeps on a toddler bed and that helps keep her in a little more oriented to the head and foot of the bed. Still, she is a mover and a shaker. Having a bed sheet and a thinner comforter might work for you. She has a pillow, bed sheet, blankie, and thin quilt. Every morning at least one of those is on the floor.

[samssugarmomma]

Re: pillows and blankets?

DD is about 2.5 and just now keeping her head on the pillow and allowing herself to be covered with a sheet/blanket/comforter. We moved her to her big girl bed about a year ago and she's spent the last year with no covers on and her pillow thrown on the floor. We had them on the bed, she just refused to use them.

Re: pillows and blankets?

Mine have had blankets since they were around 2.5-ish.

Just a suggestion: you may want to try that move a bit before the baby comes. Sometimes kids think the baby is taking over their space if it happens after the arrival of their competition.

[Flynn]

Re: pillows and blankets?

DD - -moved to twin bed and box spring on floor when she was 20 months old. She thought it was a HUGE treat and loved it. Sheets and blankets were not an issue. She just moved them when necessary.

DS -- moved to full bed and box spring on floor at 26 months. DS is a much more restless sleeper but had no problem. He likes his duvet at his feet all folded up with his favorite kid blanket and sheet on him at night. I cover him up with the heavier blanket when I go to bed.


I had fun with the bedding and found some clearanced items at PBK.

[Flynn]

Re: pillows and blankets?

Mine have had blankets since they were around 2.5-ish.

Just a suggestion: you may want to try that move a bit before the baby comes. Sometimes kids think the baby is taking over their space if it happens after the arrival of their competition.

ITA! Great advice.


We moved DD at 20 months in anticipation for DS coming when she was two. When he came and used "her crib" it was NO big deal because she had had her big girl bed for four months. She said she was sharing and "explained" the finer points of crib safety to DS when he was four days old.

[DCJenn]

Re: pillows and blankets?

Nikolai had a mini pillow and some blankets in his crib from the minute we brought him back at 13 months. He rarely used them though and even now just uses a thin blanket and thin regular pillow. He is always warm- my brother used to call him "Clammy Man" when we first got him home.

He doesn't move when he's asleep. There have been many mornings when he's in the exact same position as when I last checked him before I went to sleep.

In Russia, those babies are tucked in TIGHT under blankets. Of course they also have to share the cribs in the orphanages, too. I can't imagine how uncomfortable the babies were since they also keep the heat cranked up. I invariably ended up stripping off all of my layers except the bottom one. Yuck.

Jenn

[migirl]

Re: pillows and blankets?

Mine have had blankets since they were around 2.5-ish.

Just a suggestion: you may want to try that move a bit before the baby comes. Sometimes kids think the baby is taking over their space if it happens after the arrival of their competition.

ITA! Great advice.

I've heard it's best to move the older child out of the crib either around 4 months before the new baby comes OR around 4 months after. We're going to try moving DS after the baby comes because 4 months before would be, well, right about now and I'm really not ready for that step yet!

Thanks for the input, everyone. I guess it'll take him a while to get used to it, hopefully it won't be a problem. My bigger fear is getting him to stay in his bed, but that's another thread.

Re: pillows and blankets?

with the delay you should be fine. it's the "look who's here - now give up your bed!" that causes problems, I think.

Re: pillows and blankets?

I moved Ds into a normal twin bed at 18 months and put a cot side on the bed so he didn't fall out. I used a hypoallergenic pillow recommend as a first pillow from the equivalent of babies r us here, instead of a comforter I had DS is either a gro-bag or else his pj's underneath a fleece sleep suit so he was warm enough as was a restless sleeper and god only knows what direction he'd end up in his sleep.