This weekend, TC and I decided to finally tackle the hurdle of getting Hudson to sleep in his big boy bed. All of the furniture is in the room and we’re just waiting on all the bedding and the curtains, but he has sheets and his favorite blankies, so we knew it was time.
Hudson had been napping in his big boy bed for about a week and it was going as well as can be expected. He is used to a pitch black room with his black out curtains and he just wasn’t always completely understanding that it was time to sleep. And this is the new place where he is supposed to sleep.
In a few weeks, I will be trying to tackle the challenge of getting a newborn on a good eating and sleeping schedule and it is really important to me that Hudson be well-adjusted in his new room and new bed before the baby arrives. I need to have at least one great sleeper!
For those that have been interested, here’s how the nights unfolded for us, starting with Friday.
Friday Night
TC and I put Hudson in his new bed. He has a big daybed with a rail on the open side. We lifted him into the bed and read Goodnight Moon to him- just as we did every night in the nursery. We put the book away, gave Hudson a kiss, and turned out the light. Then we closed the door and walked out.
And he cried. And cried. And cried. So I went back into his room and he stopped crying. I rubbed his back and sat on the edge of the bed, but he never dozed off. So I left the room again.
And he cried. And cried. And cried. This time, TC went into his room and rubbed his back and ended up sitting on the floor of Hudson’s room for about 45 minutes until Hudson fell asleep. And TC may have fallen asleep, too.
During the night, Hudson may have woken up once, but he got himself back to sleep easily without our help.
The next morning, we praised him for sleeping in his big boy bed and doing such a great job!
Saturday Night
We followed the previous night’s routine where we read Goodnight Moon, kissed Hudson goodnight, turned out the light, and shut the door. And I watched Hudson in the monitor as he climbed out of bed where there’s an opening in the rail.
I ran into his room and told him that he couldn’t get out of bed until Mommy or Daddy came to get him out. Then I left.
And he cried and got out of bed again. So TC went back in to put him back in bed.
For about 30 minutes, we went through this routine of us putting Hudson in his bed, Hudson getting out of his bed, us putting back in his bed and Hudson crying and trying the whole thing again.
TC ended up sitting on the floor of Hudson’s room again for 45 minutes until he fell asleep.
Sunday Night
I put Hudson in bed, read Goodnight Moon, turned off the light, and he was fine. He was fine until I closed the door. So I opened the door and he stopped crying.
I sat on the floor just outside his room as I watched him sitting up in bed looking at his lovies, but not getting out of bed. Because I had reminded him that he’s not supposed to get out of bed. After about 30 minutes, he fell asleep. He played for a while before falling asleep, but he did it on his own and it was drama free.
The key was leaving the door open so he didn’t feel trapped. But we didn’t want to put up a gate because we have enough gates in our house and didn’t want to deal with having a gate there if Hudson wasn’t going to be getting out of bed without our help anyway.
Sunday afternoon nap in church clothes
Monday Night and Tuesday Night
We followed the same routine with Goodnight Moon, kisses, lights out, and walking out. We didn’t shut the door and he never cried. He was asleep on Monday night and Tuesday night within 5 minutes.
We stayed consistent, never moved him back to his crib, and he figured it out.
Tuesday night at bed time. Finally understanding that there’s a head and a foot to the bed.
Challenges
Our only challenge now is that when Hudson wakes up in the night, he is crying for about 10 seconds before he lies back down and falls asleep in a new position. I know this won’t last forever and he is likely just confused about where he is when he’s waking up. He never cries for long at all, but I want him to get comfortable in his new room and be aware of where he is when he wakes up.
Thank you all for your suggestions on my first post about this. I just thought I’d give an update on the whole process and how it worked for us.
Edited to Add: I forgot to mention that we do close the door when Hudson falls asleep. We have a video monitor and watch him closely and then once he seems to be asleep, we confirm it by peeking in on him. Then we close the door. Our house isn’t big by any means and Hudson’s bedroom is very close to our living room. It has been a bit of a challenge for us to keep our noise (dogs, talking, TV) down so we don’t disturb Hudson. So we just shut the door after he falls asleep and that works out well.
I think you just once again proved that children need consistency for a few days before it becomes routine. Congrats to you and TC for being strong and crossing another parenting hurdle.
Am glad to see that the adjustment is going well! I get so tickled at all the positions (and blankets and lovies) that accumulate in “big” beds… my daughter is never in the same spot and neither are her babies! Hayley has been in her big girl bed for about a year now, and some nights she still needs the door to be open/cracked (especially if we’ve been out of routine or away from home that evening)…but sometimes (like last night when she got up 5 times because she didn’t want to go to bed… and then of course, was a zombie this morning) we shut it completely until she goes to sleep and then crack it when we go to bed or wake up in the morning so that she can get out when she wakes up. Sometimes you just never know! haha
Great post! Are you able to close the door after Hudson falls asleep? I am not looking forward to this process with my sweet girl, STUBBORN! lol
I don’t have kids yet but found this to be very interesting and helpful! It sounds like your consistency paid off and you were able to be firm without leaving your little one scared. I hope it continues to be smooth sailing!!
My son is 2 days older than Hudson and we are going to switch him soon. I was just wondering if your using blackout curtains in his new room or just in the nursery?
Go Hudson!! Consistency is always the key with children…as you know. My son hates change but once he realizes that it’s the new norm and we stay consistent with it… it works! Do you have a small night light in his room. That helped my son adjust quicker I think. We put a small step beside his bed too…. it’s plastic (from Target I think) and makes it easier from him to get in and out. I know you don’t WANT Hudson getting out of bed now but when you don’t mind…. it’s a thought.
Glad the transition is going so well for all of you! Love the picture of him asleep with his rosy cheeks and his little lovie. Precious boy!
Aw, he looks so precious — especially in that last picture. Good job Hudson!
So glad the transition went well!
We aren’t quite ready for the big girl bed just yet, but I am so thankful for this post. I am sure I will refer to it when that time comes:) Way to go Hudson!
I have a little girl just a little younger than Hudson and am also expecting our second in just about three weeks. We moved her to her big girl bed about a month or so ago. We also ran into problems the first night with crying, but after that she did really well too. It’s amazing how quickly she adjusted and started calling her new room “my room.” One thought if climbing out of bed becomes an issue again, I piled pillows up at the foot of the bed where the rails don’t go all the way down. So far she hasn’t figured out that getting out is an option!
When my son went from crib to toddler bed we went through the same thing but my son will not sleep with the door closed. We would close the door and he would get up in the middle of the night and open it. Our living area is close to his room but we figured out the noise doesn’t bother him. I also worried that in the mornings if I was up before him if would wake him up but it hasn’t.
Consistency is such a key to everything with kids, isn’t it? So do you think this is a good age to transition to a big boy/girl bed?? I don’t really have to worry about it until we get pregnant, but I’m always thinking about the “next step” with Amelia. Right now it’s the paci and how am I going to get her to hand it over. 🙂
He is SUCH a sweetheart and good little big boy! And kudos to you and TC..its a lot of work for the parents and working as a team is so important! Thanks for this post, I am sure i will be referring to it in a few years with Charlotte. We always close C’s door too, its a lot easier for us to relax in the evenings so we can have “our time” without worrying about waking her up. Monitors are the best!
Yay Hudson! I have to stay, I bookmark all of your parenting posts for reference when (in the very distant future) I have my own children! I still have your post about getting Hudson to sleep through the night… Thanks for sharing your experiences!
I see the reference on getting a baby to sleep through the night and would love to know when you wrote it (if you know?)
Hudson is too cute, especially with those rosy sleep cheeks!
Thank you for sharing your experiences! We’re researching video monitors for baby #1… which one do you use?
sounds like things are going great! congratulations! he will be all settled when baby comes for sure.
So are you putting black out curtains in his big boy room or is he adjusting to the light in his room during naps? My daughter is 25 months, we’re expecting #2 at the beginning of June and we haven’t moved her to her new room yet because I don’t think she’s quite ready. But, I’m debating whether we’re going to keep her room dark, like the nursery is. I’m kind of hoping she’ll adjust to more light. Just wondering how Hudson has done with the light during the day.
Love the sheets you have on his bed! Do you mind me asking who makes them?