Making the transition from Cot to Toddler bed during LOCKDOWN

My name is Jo and run Kub with my husband Daniel. I am also mum to Maisy, 8 and Florence, 2 and like many of you I am continuing to learn how we balance work, house and looking after 2 kids with varying demands.

Taking you back to week 6 of lockdown – 2 year old becomes “pro cot climber”. Time for a big girl bed. Now I know that all kids are different and we shouldn’t compare…but we do, well, at least I do. My eldest never attempted to climb out of her cot and it wasn’t until she was 3 that we decided maybe it was time for the sides to come off. Even when they came off and we were so excited for her, she hardly noticed, not once attempting to get out of her bed. She’d wake in the morning and call for us rather than come into our room.

Second child, not so much……

The day the junior bed arrived (the Kub Dulcia in white) she watched as Dad built it and seemed quite excited. Until bedtime! As a bit of background, we are extremely lucky that she is a great sleeper. Bath, story, bed, sleep. We’ve never had to stay in her room until she’s asleep and only when she’s poorly would she wake in the night. First night in her “big girl bed” was quite different. As I dressed her into her pj’s and we talked about which story she would like to read, she looked so sad and even a little worried at the thought of this new bed. There was a lot of “how exciting that you have a new bed” “I love your new bed” but she was having none of it. I was met with “I don’t want to be a big girl; I want to be a baby in my cot” and genuine tears.

And so, for the following 3 nights I stayed with her until she fell asleep, laying on the floor, eyes shut. Lots of encouragement and enthusiasm leading up to bed time. We are now around 2 weeks in and whilst I still stay with her, its now only for a minute before saying goodnight.

In those first few nights there were moments when I could have easily given in, taken the sides out of the box and given her back the security of the cot but I knew I needed to stick with it. I once read that it takes 3 days to change a child’s habit and whilst I’m sure that’s not always the case, I’m so pleased that in this instance, it seems it was.

Now when is that dummy fairy arriving…