Need Toddler Bed Advice

I never liked toddler beds unless you have a crib that coverts. I like twins becuase the toddler size only lasts a few years. My daughter and my niece went straight to twin and helped pick out bed linen based on their favorite subjects or cartoon characters, which helped them own their beds. If you're afraid of them falling out of bed try what I did for a while: I lined my big floor pillows alongside the bed.

I put my first baby on a mattress on the floor until I felt comfortable with a toddler bed. Good Luck !

I have a 18 month old grandson he has been in a toddler bed now going on 3 months . He does just fine in it. He loves his big boy bed.

Hi Jennifer , I switched both of my children out of their cribs well before 18 months. I wouldn't waste the money on getting a toddler bed honestly , all we did was use a twin size air mattress that way if they do fall off the florr is right there. Plus the transition was really easy. Good luck with switching him and with your new baby.

Whenever you fell is comfortable to you, both my kids were sleeping in toddler beds at 11 months.

My oldest was twenty months when we moved her in anticipation of baby #2. She did great. I can't remember how old our middle child was, but then our youngest - our only son - was 23 months. We put up his toddler bed instead of his crib as we made a move. If he is already comfortable with that cot, his toddler bed will probably be a fun adventure anytime in the next month or so.

Hi Jennifer - -
We were in the smae shoes as you when it comes to using nursery furniture for my newborn. We were trying to figure out what would be the most cost effective too. We already had a full size mattress and decided to buy a low profile boxspring (4 inches thick vs. 8) which made it sit lower. We also put up the side rails (that you can buy at babies-r-us, etc). We liked this idea for several reasons -
(1) We can take the side rails with us when we go on vacation and to see grandparents.
(2) We don't have to spend the extra money in another couple of years on a bigger bed

Anyway - We made the transition when he was 21 months old and he did great. He really thought he was a "big kid."
We found that it was a great way for him to feel like the "big brother" with the new baby coming too. Good luck with your decision. I hope this info helps.
A.

He CAN sleep in a toddler bed. They are low to the ground, with rails, almost like a short crib. This biggest thing I would consider - will he stay in a toddler bed? Or everytime he wakes up will he come looking for you? Will he get up 10 times at night when you are trying to put him to bed? You will be dealing with a new baby at night, so sleep with be very important. I would think about his sleep habits before deciding. If necessary - could you borrow a crib for 6 months or a year?

I moved my daughter to a big bed at 16 months and my son at about the same age. They both started out with the mattress on the floor at first then we moved it up on the box springs then put it all together. This way they had no problems with falling off the bed. We had a bad experience with a mesh bedrail at one point so we didn't want to trust them again! Good luck getting him moved and Congratulations on your upcoming new addition!!

I moved my 3yr old to a big boy bed at 11 months old. The important thing is that they can walk, climb, etc. My 17 month old and 3 yr old share a twin bed for now till I get another mattress.

I believe your elder son will do just fine in a toddler bed, especially if he's already had some experience (the cot at school) with not sleeping in a crib. I do believe my youngest brother was about the same age as your son when my parents bought him his first toddler bed. They basically had to because he bagan climbing out of his crib and they figured the toddler bed would be safer since it's closer to the ground. Plus by the time the baby arrives he'll be even older. I say go ahead and at least try it for few nights. If you are uncomfortable with the situation after that time then you and your husband can begin coming up with a new plan with plenty of time before the baby gets here.

Well, my parents only ever used twin mattresses with us when we were little. We're planning on using a twin mattress when we move our son to a big bed, to save on money in the long run. I read in John Rosemond's "Making the 'Terrible' Twos Terrific!" that a twin mattress placed on the floor is good enough for letting a kid learn how to stay on the mattress without crib rails. If you like to leave his door open, you can put a baby gate in his doorway at night if you don't want him wandering around at night. We're having another kid in February ourselves, so we'll be making the same transition!

Our daughter was 18 months old when we switched her from the crib to a toddler bed. She didn't seem to want to sleep in her crib anymore, just my husband's and my bed. Anyway, the toddler bed has sides on it so she can't fall out and we put the side that doesn't have anything to hold her in against the wall. She loves being a big girl and sleeping in her own bed. She sleeps soundly and we have no trouble with her getting up in the middle of the night. We tuck her covers into the sides of her bed so she can't put them over her head. She started out with no pillow, but now has one at age 2. I would probably move your little one to their own bed before the baby arrives so they can get used to it first.

About me: I am a 31 year old stay at home Mom of 3 wonderful children, ages 2, 8, and 9. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 3 years now. Our family makes me so happy!

It completely depends upon your child. Our first moved to a "big girl" bed (we used a full size bed w/ a rail because that is what we already had) at about 21 months. We took down the baby bed and put it away for a couple of months so that it would not seem that the new baby was taking her bed. The funny thing with her was that the big covers scared her. We put a fitted sheet on and used her baby blankets for a while and slowly transitioned to the "big" covers. When she got up in the morning, she would still call us to come get her. It took about six months for her to figure out that she could actually get out of bed on her own. Our second child refused to sleep in the full size bed with her sister (that took a while to figure out). She liked her own space. We loaned the big bed to my brother and bought a twin bed and got the toddler bed that my younger brothers used. We made a big deal of daddy painting the bed. She was 2 years 6 months when she moved. Once we figured out that she wanted her own space, the transition was very easy. Since it was so low, we didn't put a rail on it. She rolled out a few times, but the bed was less than a foot off of the floor. She is now in a big bed and the third child is in the toddler bed. I suggest taking cues from your child and try to have him moved to the new bed by a couple of months before the baby comes. Good luck!

I think there is no problem with switching beds now. It's a good sign that he has no problem at school. The only problem might be in keeping him in it...he might want to wander so be on the lookout for that. I know my daughter's son would get out and start playing. Good luck and congrats on your blessing to come.

W. Q

Jennifer B~

I moved my son into a 'big boy bed' at 16 months when my daughter was born. It worked out really well, he was so happy to be a 'big boy'!
this is the bed we chose:
http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1340
He loved the fort underneath and he never jumped/fell out until 2.5 and now he jumps out regularly, but it is recommended for 3+ years :P
Good Luck

It really depends on the child, but since your son goes to school and sleeps on a cot, it sounds like he'll have no problem. I know that we had issues with our little one getting out of the toddler bed, which of course I was terrified that they could come out of their room in the middle of the night; so what we did was take the crib matress out in front of our daughter and placed it in her toddler bed. We then told her that if she got out of bed, she'd have to go back in her crib. We'd let her have one warning and then we would put her matress back in her crib (again in front of her) and she'd sleep in her crib for the rest of the night. Of course she wanted to sleep in her big-girl bed (Dora, of course), so it only took a few days to get her to stay in bed. We haven't had a problem since! Hope this helps and congrats on your new addition! ;0)

Yes, most kids are ready to move to a toddler bed around 18 mos. Most toddler beds are only about 12-18 inches off the floor so even if they roll out, it's not usually a big deal. Try getting a drop rail that fits under the mattress. The one we had years ago when our kids were little (the youngest of our 3 kids is now 11) was blue around the frame and white mesh for airflow in the middle. Some of the best advice I got was to move the older child to the new bed early in your pregnancy so he doesn't think he is giving up his bed for a new baby bro/sis. In other words, don't give him any reason to think he's been displaced in favor of the new baby. Hope it helps!! Good luck. Jennifer R

I got pregnant with my second when my first was eighteen months old. We moved her to a "big girl" bed very soon after we found out. After she had been sleeping in the twin (with rails) for about a month, we took down the crib and packed it away until after her little sister was born, since the baby slept in a bassinet at first. We then unpacked the crib, and our first no longer thought of that as her bed since it had not been in her room for about 7 months. We did this because we did not want her to feel like the baby had "taken" something away from her.

I have a 20 month old son and we're expecting in April. We plan to get our son a big boy bed for his 2nd birthday. I have a girlfriend that moved her son into a bed at 18 months old. I think it just depends on if he knows how to get down from a bed safely. Congrats on your second!

The sooner you switch beds is probably better. You don't want to wait until the last minute to take his bed and give it to the new baby. He'll be going through enough as it is. 19 months is a good age. Mine have always been between 18 and 21 months. Just be consistant with making him stay in it and he'll do just fine. Congrats on your pregnancy!!
A. K

We had a house fire when my daughter was 9 months old. We rented a crib for 6 months as our house was being repaired.. So at 15 months we had a dilemma... what to buy? a crib? a toddler bed?
We ended up buying a twin, top bunk with all the rails all the way around. She loved it and felt safe (and was too scared to climb out). Then we could buy the bottom bunk to the set when she got older for sleep over days. She is 3-1.2 now and she likes one side rail off, and it is a standard twin, so you can use the mattress later. It should save you $ in the long run without compromising safety!

Hi. I think a tod bed is fine right now. It is low if he does fall. Hope not, but use the push rail under the mattress if u are afraid he will fall. Toys r us have them inexpensive. Good luck with ur next, one more time around i have a girl, u got to try again. Take care.

My response is really going to be more of the same - I moved my first to a big bed when she was 16 months old because I was two weeks away from having baby number 2 and we needed the crib. We did use a toddler bed just because a regular twin seemed so big (and you can pick up toddler beds for $40 or $50). I moved her first for her naps and then after about a week, we put her in for the night. We never had a problem. In fact, it went so smoothly that we moved our second daughter at about the same time, even though there was NOT a third one on the way (yet). It went equally well. Both stayed in their beds through the night and dd not get up and wander through the house. I have heard a lot of "horror" stories from others who waited and moved thier children at 2 or 3 when they were starting to try to climb out of the crib. I absolutely would recommend the earlier choice. When the third one came along, we did the same for him and, again, had no problems.

If you do decide to go straight to a twin bed, you can always by a portable bed rail. We had one that folded up small and flat so that we could take it with us on trips and vacations.

Good Luck!

My daughter got a Dora the Explorer toddler bed for Christmas from her grandmother when she was about 10 months old (her older cousin had gotten the bedroom set but didn't need the bed). A few months later, I set up the bed in our living room, just to see how she would react to it. She liked playing on it and learned to climb on it. Then we started letting her take naps on it. After she got used to that, I moved the toddler bed into the middle of her bedroom, with the crib still in there. Once she seemed comfortable with sleeping on the toddler bed, we took the crib out.

I would suggest you put his toddler bed in his room, with the crib still there so it is not such a drastic change for him, and also if you have problems you can easily put him in the crib again. Try letting him nap on it at first until you think he is ok with it. Then get him to sleep on it at night. I think you will have plenty of time for him to get used to the toddler bed before his brother arrives!

Also, be sure to put pillows on the floor on both sides of the bed in case he falls off! My daughter fell off a few times, but only during the first couple weeks or so.

Jennifer,

Congratulations on your growing family!

We moved our daughter to her big girl bed as soon as she turned 2. It is a double and we've never used rails and falling out has never been a problem. Our neighbor moved her son to a toddler bed before his second birthday and she used rails and never had a problem. I don't think 19 mos is too young, especially since you have a dire need for his crib. My best advice would be to make the transition sooner rather than later. Although our daughter was excited about her big girl bed, there were many nights at first when she wanted the comfort and reassurance of her crib. Also, you don't want a jealousy issue to happen. We are expecting a baby boy in two months and our daughter has now been out of the crib for several months and she knows that the crib is now for her to give to her little brother.

Good luck!

well, we just moved our son right at his second birthday to a regular twin bed. He loved it. At first I was worried and wanted to buy one of those railings to put on the bed, but he's never once fallen out of it. I usually just put a couple of (regular) pillows on the side so that IF he wiggles or 'swims' in his sleep, he'll run into the pillows and not fall directly onto the floor.

Our house is a split floor plan, so his room is far from ours. But when he gets up at night, (sometimes not but sometimes once) he comes directly to our room and wakes me up and I just tuck him back in and he's fine.

I was worried about him wandering around the house too. I first put a babygate across his door so he could yell for me, but not wander around the house, but that was only a week.

My 19 month old son has been in a toddler bed for a few weeks now. Our crib converted but he didn't like it. I went down to the local superstore and bought a toddler bed with built in siderails. I started by putting him in it for naps. Now he sleeps in it exclusively.
We had to make the switch because he was becoming houdini and trying to get over the top rail.