Help, doing it all wrong (transfer from cot to bed)

[VinegarDrinker]

We are away for the BH weekend, DS (2y 1m) is in a cot at home but has been in a bed here, with a view to getting him in abed once we get home (DC2 due July).

Night 1 and 2 and both nap times were absolutely fine. He went down fine and stayed in the bed all night. This morning he twigged he could get out but just came through cheerfully to ours around 7.15 (new time).

He's refused to nap today - not too unusual (he probably naps 2/3 of days at home) so after 40 minutes I gave up and thought we'd go for an early bedtime. Ha ha ha.

Despite falling asleep over his macaroni cheese at 5.30 he is awake and getting increasingly silly. I have put him back in bed 30+ times already (no talking, no eye contact). I have resorted to leaving the room now and he is wide awake running around.O
Obviously the light is not helping at all. He isn't stupid and has been calling out "the sun is shining mummy! It's day time!"

So 2 questions I need help with kind MNers:

a) how the fuck do I get him to sleep tonight??
b) once we get home would you keep going with the bed or just chuck him back in the cot for the sake of an easier life?

Thanks in advance...

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

I would let him run round....he'll forget it all soon enough and go back to cot for a while at home. Then begin again.

[VinegarDrinker]

Argh, he has now totally stripped off including nappy and no nearer to going to sleep .... Grrr.

Thanks for your reply.

[Frawli]

It could well be that he's not in his usual bedroom rather than the bed, and being light isn't going to help. Once you're home and he's back to normal maybe try a bed then. One thing we did was to have a baby gate on the bedroom door because I didn't want him getting into the bathroom at night or tackling the stairs. Obv won't stop him stripping though!

[cassell]

Do you have a travel cot with you? When I moved ds1 into a 'big boys bed' I made a big deal of the 'big boy bed' and warned him that if he messed around/got out of bed etc he would be back in a baby's bed (ie cot). I only had to follow through and put him into the travel cot 1 night and since then he's been great about staying in his bed/not messing around. Might be worth a try?

[NAR4]

I made a big fuss with DD telling her that she was having a big girl bed because cots are for babies. I have a safety gate at the top of my stairs which is kept closed when she is in bed. I persisted with the putting her back to bed and using a sticker chart (she loves stickers) for rewards for staying in bed like a big girl.

What reward/bribe do you think would help persuade him to stay in bed?

You have a while until July and I would guess your baby will be in a moses basket to start with, which will give you even more time.

Ultimately only you know how tired you are and how soon you want to move him into a big bed. These things will make a difference on how stubbornly you can stick to just putting him back to bed constantly, without loosing your sanity.

Good luck.

[brettgirl2]

I honestly don't see the point in moving from cot If they sleep well in it. Leave it until he tries to climb out.

[VinegarDrinker]

Thanks all. Back home tonight and bedtime was a palaver again, probably due to late nap (but then yesterday I was blaming no nap....!). At least in the cot his faffing around strategies are limited!

Will let things settle down before taking the plunge definitely!

[MisForMumNotMaid]

We've just been through this with our youngest (of 3). DD is 2yrs 2 months. She was an absolute PITA once she realised she could get out the bed, got overtired and then was even more difficult to settle, don't even start me on what happened at nap times. We now have the cot sides propped against the bed. She sleeps well. When she wakes in the am she slides them out the way. Its bizarre but I guess she feels more secure with the sides there.

[BNmum]

My DS is like a monkey and would often try and climb out of his cot so we decided to change it into a cotbed for safety reasons when he was 22months. I got a bedguard and initially the switch was fine then after 3monts he suddenly realised he could get out and would appear at the side of my bed in the middle of the night or stupidly early in the morning. After a couple of weeks of trying tho settle him back in his own bed I bought a gro clock and he has settled back to sleeping through. No whining when it's bedtime and reasonable waking times. I'm not sure if it was coincidence but its certainly made my life easier!