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YOUR BABY'S A BIG GIRL NOW

Naptime is over how do you know? Your two-year old, for the first time ever, climbed out of her crib, came into the living room and said "Done!"

You didn't think it would happen. You thought you had plenty of time. You thought there would be some transition. No momma it's time!

If it's easy for your child to climb out of their crib, then for their own safety, it's time for a toddler bed. It's time for the switch.

Do you have options? Sure you can opt for a crib tent, but in my opinion you are only delaying the inevitable. Here are some ideas on how to make the switch.

If your child's crib is a convertible and you want to use it for a toddler bed; then make the switch right away. If instead you have decided to use a separate bed, keep the crib in the room until you have set up the "big girl" bed and your child is ready to transition.

You can help make this exciting by having your child pick out her new bedding. Find a way to have your toddler help out with the assembly or conversion of this new bed too.

Then it's time for the talk. Explain to your sweet angel that its time for her to be a "big girl" and sleep in her special "big girl" bed. Let her know how proud you are of her for helping pick out the bedding and putting it together. Let her know what is expected of her and that she will be sleeping in her "big girl" bed from now on.

You're probably saying, "what if she gets up in the middle of the night?" "I don't want her wandering around the house and I especially don't want to shut her door." This is a very common anxiety.

My suggestion is to make her room safe, and add a baby gate to her room. She can play and be safe if she wakes up, and you can also hear her and get to her if you need to.

From this point on, it's up to you as her loving parent to help guide her through this change. You may spend some time explaining to her that she needs to stay in bed, just like mommy does.

Keep the same routine to help make it easier whether it's a story, bath time or song. This also applies to naptime. If she decides not to nap, she will still have safe, quiet time in her room.

Just understand that this may not be easy. However you choose to introduce and implement this change, know that eventually she will learn to sleep in her bed. Stay strong and positive get ready momma, your baby's a big girl now!

Learn more about this author, Mikki McLeod.
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