Not too long ago I wrote a post full of helpful tips about helping a child to transition from cot to toddler bed. Erin has now made that move herself and did so quite easily.
Here’s what we did:
We bought Erin’s bed a long time before we actually needed it. I think we bought it at the beginning of the year when Erin had only just turned 1. I knew she wasn’t ready to move over into the bed at this point but I really wanted her to get used to what it was and why it was in her bedroom.
Erin tended to play on the bed for quite some time before she started sleeping in it. I had made the bed up with a sheet and pillow so she could recognise that it was the same as where she slept already. We didn’t have a guard on the bed at this point so she could climb on and off as she pleased and she was happy enough to do so, especially with the duvet on there!
As we co-slept for such a long time, getting Erin to sleep on her own and get to sleep on her own was a big deal. However, once we mastered Erin napping on her own I felt as though we were ready to make the transition.
Before making the move though I wanted to get Erin something special for her new bed. As a child I used to have a ‘poorly cover’, something I could take to bed with me and also something I could lay on the couch with when I wasn’t feeling very well. I wanted something like this for Erin.
Before putting it on her bed, I gave Erin her new Love Bird Cot Bed Quilt from Room to Grow while we sat and watched some cartoons. As soon as I took it out of the packaging, Erin got really excited. She wanted to know what it was and spent ages looking at the fantastic embroidered detailing.
Erin understood what the blanket was very quickly. As you can see from the second picture below, she’s giving it a hug and saying ‘awww’. This is what she does when she likes something and wants to be cosy and cuddly with it!
Erin has a very neutral bedroom with a woodland design so pink doesn’t feature too much. The main body of the quilt is mainly white but it also has a really nice, soft pink edge to it. The quilt has a tree, birds and butterflies embroidered on the main body and the detail is absolutely amazing. Erin quite often spends some time tracing around the pictures and figuring out what they are. She knows birds and butterflies really well now so the quilt is also helping her to learn.
Although Erin has had a few broken nights since we moved her into her big bed, she has settled quite well and transitioned pretty easily from cot to toddler bed. Erin wakes up each morning wrapped up in her quilt and if she sits on the bed while we’re in her bedroom, she gives it a hug and tries to get cosy.
I truly believe that getting Erin used to the idea of a bed quite a while before she slept in it was a good idea. I also think Erin having her own special quilt is really important. This is something she’ll grow up with now and something I hope she keeps for many years to come!
The Love Bird Cot Bed Quilt retails at £55 and it is worth every penny for us.
Disclaimer: We were sent the quilt for the purpose of this post. All opinions are our own.