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9 Moms Share How They’ve Transitioned their Toddler From Crib to Bed

Updated on January 21, 2025

Our youngest, Polly is 2, almost 3 (in August) and she’s still in a crib. But not just in a crib. Last year she tried to climb out…

Our youngest, Polly is 2, almost 3 (in August) and she’s still in a crib. But not just in a crib. Last year she tried to climb out of her crib and we got this crib tent that she absolutely loves and even asks “mom! zip me!” every night, but I kind of feel like we are even deeper into this crib thing when we should be going the opposite direction.

She’s getting very tall, very fast and I know we are going to have to make the transition soon, but I’m nervous she’ll stop napping and sleeping 13 hours a night! One thing that amazes me daily is how easily I forget how to do this. How I did this twice before. (How?!) With every milestone, it’s almost like experiencing it for the first time. Maybe it’s that our girls are each 4 years apart, or I just have a bad memory. But I also know that every child is different and every situation is different, so we thought today it would be fun to chat with 9 moms who are going through (or who have gone through) the crib to bed transition and have them share their experience. I’m taking notes and we’d love for you to weigh in with your experience in the comments!

1. Yellow Brick Home             2. Pretty Real Blog             3. Almost Makes Perfect

4. In Honor of Design        5. Alice on Sunday             6. Garvin and Co

7.  @burtsbrisplease               8. @andiandreastudio        9. A Beautiful Mess

 

1. Kim from Yellow Brick Home – THE CONVERTIBLE CRIB 

After going into Lucy’s room to get her up from a nap and finding her playing with toys (and not in the crib!), we knew she was ready for the big move. Lucy has just turned 2 when we made the transition, and it could not have gone better. We warmed her up to the idea for a couple of days before putting the toddler rail on her bed, and she woke up from her first night saying, I love it!, in that sweet raspy way that ‘big girls’ talk. In fact, she enjoys sleeping in her big kid bed so much, that she no longer tries to get out of bed in the mornings. She lays there until we come and get her! Lucy’s room is very, very small, so once we feel more comfortable without a rail, we’ll transition her to a twin bed. Maybe this will happen within a year? Honestly, we look to her and follow her lead when it comes to these leaps, as we want her to feel comfortable and motivated by the changes.

2. Tiffany from Pretty Real Blog – No Rush!

We transitioned our kids as late as humanly possible. Ha. My children slept very well and I did not want to disturb that! It was around 3 years old for each of them. For my girls, we transitioned them into a toddler bed. They shared a very small room and other than bunk beds, it was the only set up that would work. I loved that I could still use a crib mattress and that they were close to the floor and protected by the side rails. Plus have you ever seen a shared room with 2 toddler beds? It’s pretty cute! For my son, I used a regular bed, pushed against the wall for extra security. I fought using a side rail (speaking of cute- they aren’t!) but after he fell out (#oops), I bought one.

My first tip is to make sure to have all the basics of kids’ bedtime covered before transitioning to sharing- blackout curtains, a nightlight, and a white noise machine (this is even helpful with older children who have trouble calming their minds) are all helpful in our home. I also suggest having little or few toys in the room. The fewer distractions, the better right?

Whether sharing a room is a necessity or because we want our kids to have the magical experience of falling asleep next to one another each night, it will be an adjustment for all. If it’s the latter, my advice is to wait until they are old enough to handle it, especially if you have a good sleeper paired with one who’s up at the crack of dawn [raises hand]. In that vein, a clock is a must-have to set limits on not only her wake time but when she is allowed to wake her sibling.

Another tip? Have a backup plan. For instance, if we’ve had consecutive nights of late-night talking (followed by hard-to-wake mornings!), we separate our girls for a few nights to re-set. It works like a charm. Lastly, don’t be married to the idea of sharing. It may work for years; it may work for months- you can always shift your plans, even temporarily! My daughters are 8 and 10 and I can already see that my oldest will need her space, soon. We can cross that bridge when we come to it. At the end of the day, my best tip is to remember that they are only little once, for a short time, but the memories they make and the bond they forge while sharing a room will last a lifetime. ♥

I think it’s assumed that once mom gets pregnant with baby #2, it’s time for baby #1 to transition to a bed. But that’s not always the case! If you need to hear it, it’s ok to have multiple cribs in your home! My oldest was 2 when my second was born- so many friends assumed I’d transition her to a toddler bed but I knew she wasn’t ready. I bought another crib and let my oldest remain peacefully in her crib for another year 1/2. So much was about to change for our little family- that one constant felt like some security for all of us.

 

3. Molly from Almost Makes Perfect– THE WAITING GAME

Arlo turns 3 in june (*or this month) so obviously it’s on my mind but i’ve always been one of those if it ain’t broke type of moms instead of the moms who are obsessed with milestones (that also might just make me lazy lol). Since he still sleeps so well in his crib, I’ve just kept him in it since I’ve heard horror stories about them suddenly getting out of bed all night once they’re “free”. I know I’m going to have to transition him eventually but I’m totally dreading it hahaha.

I am leaning towards a daybed because I had one as a kid and I loved how it felt like a big cozy sofa. He loves all his stuffies so he could set them up on there and he loooves to cuddle with us so it seems like the best type for that versus those tiny little toddler beds. I am thinking a rattan one! I was also considering a bunk bed so my dad can come have slumber parties with him since he’ll be out of a guest room if we decided to have another baby, but he’s probably too little for that–arlo, not my dad.

 

4. Anna from In Honor of Design- BUNK BUDDIES

We usually transition our kids somewhere between 2 to 3 yrs old depending on the child, and depending on the room scenario! It has been different for each of my kiddos, so I usually wait till they are sleeping well, and are night potty trained. Or if they are crawling out of their crib! Sometimes it’s easier to keep them in their own room for that transition to a big kid bed. There have been a few of my kids however, who feel much more confident and excited about the transition if there is an older sibling sharing the room with them.

For most of them we first transitioned to a small trundle bed that can slide under a bunk bed. It was a great way to see if they could sleep in their bed without falling out. Since it is so low to the ground, and usually on a rug or carpet it is a safe landing if they do. It also is a good solution for room sharing since it is a space saver. My daughter Azelie is the 5th child though, and she was just born ready for life;) She transitioned to the lower bunk bed straight from her crib because she wanted to be just like her big sister. She was motivated to do everything right so she could stay in that big girl bed at 2 yrs old, and she did! It is so important not to worry about different milestones taking longer for some children than others. Kids are all so wonderfully different, and trusting your gut as the parent to know when they are ready is the key!
 
Make sure you give it a little bit of time. Those first few nights are not an indicator of how it will always be! They most likely will want to stay up late and play in their new environment, but as you are consistent with boundaries and rules, they will slowly adapt to their new room and schedule. By getting the older siblings on board too as helpers, everyone works towards the same goal. Having minimal toys and distractions really helps when they are transitioning to a new room so they know it’s time to rest at bedtime.
 

5. Ashly from Alice on Sunday – Every Child is Different

 
 
 
Because my son was older, we bought him a standard twin size bed, mattress, and box spring. He is 7 now and still sleeps in that bed. Since my daughter was so young, her transition was two-fold. We converted her crib into a toddler bed and when she was around 3 and a half, we bought her a twin bed but opted to buy a low-profile box spring because she was still such an active sleeper.
 
Anyone who has multiple children knows that no two children’s development is alike! The decisions we made worked well for each kid and for the space that we were working with at the time. When my son was born, we lived in a small one-bedroom apartment so he started in a co-sleeper which is a three-sided cot that attaches to an actual bed. After we moved, RJ, finally, had his own room so we bought a crib and he was happy to sleep in a crib until he was 3. By that time, I had my second child and they shared a room so he transitioned into a twin-sized bed although I wish I had been able to transition him into a full (or even a queen!). I say this because RJ has always been above average in height and weight; he is 7 but the average size of a 9-year-old! I am 5’9″ and my husband is 6’5″ so we know he will not be able to sleep in a twin through high school like a lot of kids do.
 

I would have loved to transition the kids from cribs into their “forever” beds. I don’t believe in cycling out furniture for the hell of it so, even though they have their separate rooms now, I plan to keep them in their twin beds until they get too big and then transition them again.

My kids shared a room until they were 4 and 5 years old. The room was small and it needed to function as space to sleep, yes, but mostly play!  We pushed the beds up against the same wall with the beds meeting at the footboard. This left the most floor space available for them to play. I think it’s harder for younger children to understand the idea of personal space in a shared room situation. My kids always wanted to be a part of what the other was doing and that caused a lot of toddler arguments in our house. I put together a small basket of toys/books for each of them that sat on the floor next to the head of each bed and explained that everything in RJ’s basket belonged to RJ and everything in Milly’s basket belonged to Milly. If they wanted to play without sharing, those were the toys that belonged specifically to them. They never had to share those toys; if they wanted to share that would be wonderful but they would never have to. Then I explained that everything else in the room was shared! I think this empowered them and they learned that if the other was playing with “basket toys” to give them their space. It helped their shared bedroom situation so much!
 

Our oldest two were two years old when we transitioned them and both of them did great right away, they always stayed in their beds! My youngest was three, and got out of her bed to come to ours every single night, in fact, she still does and she is almost five now.  Each of them went from cribs to twin beds, I think it really helped them feel like they were big kid status. A twin bed is also something that will last them for years, rather than a convertible crib or a toddler bed. Our girls have always shared a room & we love it for so many reasons! Obviously they feel safer when they are in there together, but also it makes traveling so much easier since they’re already used to sleeping together. Yes they keep each other awake chatting & giggling before bed often, but that’s what childhood is all about!

With a new responsibility of learning how to stay in their big kid bed, we found that lots of positive reinforcement & an “ok to wake” clock were the most helpful! The clock lights up at a certain time that you set it to, so when kids wake up in the morning, they know they have to stay in their beds until their clock lights up! If they stay in their bed until their clock lights up for a full week, they would get something special like an ice cream date!
 
Are bribes an acceptable form of parenting? We think so! :)
 

7. Bri from @burtsbrisplease – Transition Before it’s Too Late

 
 
I moved my older two (Leo is 5 and Amos is 3) right before they turned 2. We’ve just started talking about when we want to transition Jude, who is currently 16 months. My main priority has always been getting them moved before they can climb out themselves. We’ve always gone straight to twin beds-I love that antique pine beds have the high side rails built in, so no addition to the bed is necessary!
 

Thinking back to Amos, what worked the best was keeping as much the same as we could. Nothing changed about his bedtime routine or life in general except the place he slept. They’re little creatures of habit and I think keeping as much the same as you can is a kindness for them! We’ve also had a lot of success with them sharing a room, which we started right when Amos was out of his crib. It was great to have everything modeled by his older brother right beside him and everyone’s bedtime could happen all at once, all together. We love it so much, in fact, that Jude will be heading into the same room soon to share with his brothers. 3 peas in a pod!

8. Andi from @andiandreastudio – Finding the Sleep Cure

We moved to Idaho from Monterrey, Mexico last fall and only brought things that can fit in a rental car and suit cases. David had just turned 2 and buying a new crib at that age felt like a step backwards. At the same time, I couldn’t picture him already sleeping in a twin bed. So—we made the decision to buy a “toddler bed.” Have you seen these? It’s like buying dollhouse furniture. It’s a little bed frame but you still use a crib mattress in it. So you’re not getting more real estate on the sleep front, it’s just getting them used to getting in and out of bed, and you know…falling off of a bed. *face palm* To be fair it only happened once with the toddler bed!

Within a few months, we felt like he was struggling to get a good night’s sleep in general. He would wake up a couple times during the night and was getting up around 6:00am, instead of 7:00. When he would nap at my sister’s house, he seemed to have the best naps of his life in a queen sized bed. She would have to wake him up when he was going on a 3 hour slumber. David is so tall he’s commonly mistaken for a four year old. We knew he just needed more space to snooze. Because of the size of his little room, we upgraded to a twin and there has been little to no transition going from a toddler to a twin bed. The main differences are, the height off the ground, and no half rail on the side. I especially love that I now FIT in a bed with him for story time! With his toddler bed, he didn’t have “bedding” per se. He had a two-sided comfortable that just went on top of his fitted sheet. Now that he has a sheet, quilt, and extra blanket, I think the added weight also helps him sleep better. We’re happy to report he’s back to sleeping 12 hours a night!

 

9. Elsi from A Beautiful Mess- It’s OK to Splurge

We adopted Nova at age two and a half, and she immediately was climbing out of her crib so we ended up transitioning her immediately and never even using the brand new crib we had for her room. Luckily, just two years later we ended up adopting a one year old girl who has been using the crib ever since! We’re of the mindset that we will keep using the crib until it is no longer practical.  But we don’t rush the transition!
 
We transitioned Nova to a twin bed, and after we moved we swapped her to a queen because it is more multi-functional (can be a guest room in a pinch, her cousins can sleep over etc…) I switched bed frames a couple times when Nova started using the twin. At first I was trying to save money but in the end I ended up buying the bed I had *really* wanted all along. So I guess my advice is that a kids bed (or crib) is worth a bit of a splurge because even though it seems like a short time you’ll be using it it’s actually a long and important stage in life. I still remember my childhood bed. :))
 
With Marigold we will keep using the crib until she either starts to climb out (which is why she wears a sleep sack still) or until we know she can understand the concept of staying in bed during sleep time. I see no reason to rush it.
 
 
 
 
Any favorite tips to add? Looking back through the blog, I realized we’ve done it differently every time. Greta went to convertible crib first and then a twin bed. And Faye went from Crib to Bunk room with Greta (I miss those bunk beds we built!)
 
 

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  1. Hi!
    I loved this post so much! It’s all so interesting to read the stories of multiple parents and how their little ones have been transitioned.
    Thanks.

    Reply

  2. It’s so great to read the experiences of different mums and how they transitioned their little ones.
    I especially appreciate Tiffany’s tips to have the mandatory elements of a bedtime routine and a backup plan. Sticking to the normal routine even with the changes from the crib might just be the stability the little one needs to handle the transition like a champ.

    Reply

  3. Wow, thanks A LOT! It’s a helpful piece.
    I still remember transitioning from our bed to the crib! We’ve used HWL sleep training (Susan Urban’s method) – how short it took and how silent it was. I hope now it’ll be the same!

    Reply

  4. Does anyone have a suggestion for affordable toddler bedding (convertible crib)? I’d love to change up my daughter’s bedding, but I don’t want to spend a fortune knowing she will be transitioning from her toddler bed to a full size bed in the near future.

    Reply

  5. Hi Chris and Julia! We are about to transition our >3 year old. He’s big for his age and capable of climbing out, but he doesn’t bother to act on it and he’s a great sleeper, so we just haven’t rocked the boat. He just started showing interest in a big boy bed so we are getting ready. I was wondering if you have a recommendation of a mattress for kids? I think you have a sleep number in your room but wondering what you have used for your kids. Thank you!

    Reply

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