the Night I Left My Crib: a Montessori Book about Moving from Crib, Bedtime Feelings, and Settling into Big-Kid Bed

The first bedtime after the crib disappears tends to be the one that tests everyone. What looked like a simple furniture change reveals itself as something your child was not quite prepared for: no rails, more space, a different smell, and a body that knew how to fall asleep in one place now has to learn all over again. For toddlers making the crib-to-bed transition, difficulty at bedtime almost always points back to something sensory and deeply real. A young child's nervous system learned to settle within the specific containment of a crib's walls, and without them, the whole experience of falling asleep has to be relearned from the beginning. Feelings of excitement at being a big kid, fear of the open space, and a quiet grief for the familiar can all arrive together, which is more than enough to unravel even a child who usually settles easily. The Night I Left My Crib follows a child through exactly this moment. This book works well in the days before the crib comes down, as part of a calm bedtime routine during the adjustment period, or on any night when settling feels harder than usual. Montessori educators, pediatric sleep consultants, and early childhood therapists find books like this one useful for helping toddlers approach sleep transitions with language and calm rather than resistance. Part of the Transitions with Me series, helping young children move through change with words, connection, and confidence.