A huge thanks to our friends at Step2 for sponsoring today’s post.
Hello, friends!
I am a little sad about today’s post because it’s all about our transition with Levi from crib to bed. I can’t believe my last little one is in a big boy bed now! I’ve done this transition twice, and I’ve learned a few things in the process that I wish I would have known before, so naturally I’m sharing these with you!
1 | Starting with the Mattress
One of the first things we did was purchase a twin size mattress and remove the crib from Levi’s room. Instead of doing the crib to toddler bed to twin bed transition like we did with Wyatt, we decided to skip right to the twin sized bed. Levi was born with Clubfoot and wears special boots and a bar at night, so when he flips and turns at night he needs more room.
2 | Choosing the Bedding
The bedding is such a special part about transitioning to a big boy bed. Levi loves Finding Nemo, so we purchased a bedding set for his new mattress. We let him sleep in his new mattress with the new bedding for a few nights before setting up his big boy bed. This gave him some time to get comfortable with the new mattress size first, before putting him straight in the twin sized bed.
3 | Choosing the Bed
Choosing the bed is something your little one can get involved in, too. Of course, every boy’s dream is to have a race car bed, the Step2 Corvette Z06 Toddler To Twin Bed was exactly what we were looking for!
Corvette Zo6 Toddler to Twin Bed Features:
- Very detailed Corvette rums, boxy, and decals.
- Accommodates both a toddler (crib) mattress and twin-sized mattress, so if you’re wanting to start off using the crib mattress, you can!
- When using the crib mattress, the additional space transforms into a race track for your kiddo to play with!
- The headlights WORK! You can easily turn them on to use as a night light!
- Step2 has matching Corvette Dresser and Corvette Room Organizer (sold separately) in case you’re wanting to have a completely themed Corvette room.
4 | Baby Gate
A baby gate is a must-have because when little ones go to bed outside of the crib, they get more freedom. For us, we have a large staircase so gating off Levi’s room was a necessity so we didn’t have to worry about him exploring or wandering when everyone was asleep.
5 | Wear Them Out
If your little one is nervous about sleeping in their big bed for the first time, make sure they’re extra sleepy before putting them to bed. For us, this meant playing outside for a good hour at the park. When we put Levi into his big boy bed for the first night he went right to sleep after about 20 minutes of me sitting with him. My husband and I explained to him that this was a big deal, and that now he was a big boy and big boy’s slept in their big boy beds. He was all about being a “big boy”!
Levi is absolutely loving sleeping in hisย Step2 Corvette Z06 Toddler To Twin Bed (in blue), and going to bed each night is something he gets excited about! Although now our bedtime routine has changed a bit because he likes to turn on the headlights before tucking in for the night :).
Do YOU have any other tips for making the transition as smooth as possible?
Leave them in the comments below!
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These are great tips. My kids transitioned to their beds fairly easily, but I have a friend who had a terrible time. I wish she’d had this a year ago!
Aww! Too cute, it seems like we were just in this stage!
My son had a car bed too and he loved it!
Now he’s 12 and we can’t get him to go to bed or get out of it when it’s time to get up! LOL!!
Great tips! We made a date on the calendar and talked it up all week long until the big day. We let them pick out blankets, pillows and made a big deal about it. They loved it and we never had any problem.
Such Great Ideas & Tips Thank God I Never Had That Problem!! LOL!
This can be such a hard transition to make when the kids are moving from crib to bed. These are great tips.
So cute! That super cool bed helps for sure! These are all great tips.
He is adorable! This is a great resource, especially for the new moms out there.
I love your tips. The concept of these kind of bed will make my kids enjoy. Thanks for sharing this.
You have a wonderful ideas. I love your kid’s crib.. So cute and comfy. This is great bed.
These are fantastic tips! We got pretty lucky and had a super easy transition from crib to bed! We did use a pool noodle under the sheet to stop her from rolling out though!
These are all a great tips I would love to give it a try
Letting the kids pick the bedding is a great idea. I have a few friends that are at this stage. I will have to share this with them.
I remember these days with my girls. It was surprisingly not that hard with my girls. There were times when they would keep coming to sleep with my husband and I at night though. We just kept putting them in their beds when they’d wake up, and sooner or later they finally got use to it.
We took the rail off my son’s crib and turned it into a toddler bed. Then one year he asked for a big boy bed or Christmas with Ninja Turtle Covers. He was ready. I think including them in the process helps a ton.
Your little on is too cute! Looks like he’s loving his big boy bed.
These are some great tips!!! I was convinced it was going to be a total nightmare to tradition my daughter. We have it a try one day expecting the worst… and she transitioned so easily!!!! I’m still in shock lol
These are such great tips!!! Your little boy is SO CUTE! I love these pictures – such great tips – my nephew is going to be in a big boy bed soon so I can’t wait to show these to my SIL!
A fun bed is definitely a way to entice them. We cosleep, so we transition from our bed to their bed and make it fun.
We have had a rough time with this when the kids were little. These tips would have really saved us from some sleepless nights!
Great tips. My biggest help was to develop a big boy routine, making them feel they have even a little more control in the process. Also love that you didnt forget the baby gate.
That toddler bed is just the cutest! Any toddler would love to sleep in such a cute bed. ๐ Great tips!
I love your son’s new car bed. In addition to the baby gate on the room we also used bed rails for my daughter so she wouldn’t roll out of the bed during the night.
oh man! do I remember those days or what? my kids are now 8yrs old and 7yrs old, and are in bunkbeds… but I do remember the transition phase from crib to bed, great tips for those parents in need of advise : )
My son had a train bed similar to this one, and he really loved it. It was hard on me since I was worried he would get up and just walk around the house at night, lol.
My son also had this same bed. It really helped when he loved his bed to get him to sleep in it. These are great suggestions for a big transition.
We bought a lot of crib stuff for our baby (the other now a kid) but wasn’t able to use them much because they co-sleep with me (I am sensitive to sounds so don’t worry). Anyway, that’s sure a great idea to lure them to transfer to another bed! ๐ I would transfer there myself if I have the same stuff (that was if I was a kid). LOL!