Transitioning from Crib to Bed - Fort Lauderdale,FL

Hi H.,
I just moved my 2 1/2 year old to a full size bed. I didn't transition him at all. I prepared him by showing him his friends have big boy beds or big girl beds and I read him books about it. I got a full size mattress with a Bunkie board. He gave me problems for about a week and now he loves it. We got sheets and a comforter together. I use a baby gate at his door and he doesn't mind it. After he falls asleep I open it and he loves coming into my room in the morning. Its all up to the kid. My son started to get his legs caught in the crib slates and he twisted his ankle so it was time and I also am expecting another child in December and didn't want to throw everything at once on him. Its not worth it. Good Luck

Rather than rush into a bed, I would try a crib tent. My dd was getting out of her crib at about the same age, but I wasn't ready to give her the freedom to roam the house at that age. So, we got her a crib tent. It fits right over the crib and has a zip front on it to get them in and out. I set ours up in the living room at first and got my dd's blanket and elmo toy and we played camping under it. Then we moved it to her bed so that she could "camp" in her crib. She was perfectly happy under it until we converted her crib to a bed at age 2 1/2. You can get them at Babies-r-us for about $50. A little pricey but cheaper than a toddler bed (and will extend the life of your crib.

H. this is a difficult stage because they all are just so curious and ready to explore. it sounds as if your daughter may be ready for a bed. My son did the same thing only I wasn't so lucky to get there in time. He climbed over and fell straight to the floor. It all depends on the child if they are ready or how easy or difficult that it is going to be. I would suggest keeping her as involved in the process as you can. Obviously you will want to pick out the actual bed what is going to work well for you as far as safety or size. But your daughter can be involved by picking out new sheets and a blanket or maybe a new stuffed animal to sleep in her new big girl bed. The first couple nights were the hardest for me when my son got his bed. Not that he was scared. He just now had the freedom to get up and play. There really is no stopping that just know that eventually it isn't a new thing and it stops. My son goes to bed now and doesn't get out of bed anymore. Good luck with everything I H. it all works out well!

Hi H., my son was (surprisingly) over 2 1/2 when he finally 'escaped' -at that point I already had a toddler bed in his room and would switch the crib mattress back and forth to get him used to the idea. I have always been of the mineset that once they climb ut, get them in a bed -it is so dangerous to climb out. If you are ready to try to transition, my suggestion is to try the crib mattress on the floor and see how it goes (let her lay on it,maybe pretend to sleep on it,etc. and then she will eventually choose the big girl bed over the crib-maybe just for naps in the bginning) -there's no where to fall out and you will not waste your money on a toddler bed (like I did)-my son never slept in his, we had months of having to put him back to bed over and over -the toddler bed he would slide off through the tiny part the safety rails didn't cover and wake up hysterical. Coincidentally, this is when monsters and bad dreams started happening, so we go thim all kinds of nightlights and "bug/monster magic spray", let him pick out new bedding and a new blanket, etc. Once he got into his full size bed, everything was fine, the toddler bed really held up his (and our) getting good sleep. Even his full mattress was on the floor a few weeks before we bought a bed for it, to mkae sure he couldn't fallout (far) and see how he did.

I know this is getting long but we bought him the MOBI tykelight, it's a chargeable nightlight that looks like an abstract person but stays lit all night and goes inthe bed with them -he loved it and was only allowed to use it and a speical new flashlight if he slept in the big boy bed.

Another thought is if you are ready to buy a twin/full bed and have the room, put the new mattress on the floor and let her get used to it and the idea is she will eventually choose the bigger bed -it opens up a new set of problems with bedtime for most people but climbing out of the crib is more dangerous and scary, in my opinion.

Good luck!

Hello H.~

My son is only 11 months old, so I don’t really know the tricks yet but I loved reading about how to handle this when it should arrive! When my son was about 8 months old he was still napping (I know I know not a good Idea) in his swing, well one morning he some how figured out how to pull himself out of it (they need to have a 5 point harness, in my opinion) (I totally had a cow!) at that very moment I sat down on the internet and searched high and low for a crib tent, and to be quiet honest I truly thought he would have tried getting out of his crib already (knock on wood). Best of luck! Thanks for asking that question!

There is no "transitioning" from crib to bed. Simply remove the side rail if that is the kind of crib you have or remove the mattress from the crib and place it on the floor. Your daughter might wake up and wander around the house regardless of her age so just make sure you have adequate night lights in various places, keep the doors properly child proofed, and don't worry about it. My 2 year old wanders around the house, sometimes he cries out for me or his daddy, but usually he makes his way back to where he belongs, where lately has been the couch.

Has the mattress already been moved down to its LOWEST level? Are all bumpers, stuffed animals, etc... out of the crib? (Our daughter climbed out of her crib at 1 year old because her crib wasn't low enough.) If your crib is as low as it can be, maybe it is time to transition.
We didn't start transitioning our daughter until she was about 20 months old. We had a crib that transitioned to a toddler bed (3 sided) and she spent 3 months in that before we went out and bought her a twin bed. (Our son was "on the way" and we wanted to use the crib for him.) She had a few nights of wandering, but we were firm and she has slept just fine in her bed ever since!
Good luck.
T.

My daughter is 19 months and his been in a bed since she was 14 months. We chose a mattress on the floor since she likes to stand on things I didn't want her to have to fall far. When she gets up in the evenings I just take her back and lay her back down. If her room is far from yours and you are worried about her cruising the house put an inexpensive baby gate on her door. She'll get it the idea of what she is supposed to do over time. If my daughter wakes up she now just sits on her bed and yells out to me but doesn't get out anymore. Good Luck, K.

Hi, H.. Well, it looks like your daughter is already starting to transition herself from crib to bed! It's really not that difficult to do.

What I did was get my son a single bed (although youth beds, which are a little smaller, are OK too), and then to keep him from falling out of bed, I got one of those aluminum bed rails that just tucks under the mattress. It does not prevent the child from climbing out of bed, but it does prevent the child from falling. I had the other side of my son's bed up against the wall, so I only had to be concerned about one side. He was a very tall child, so he had to leave the crib a little earlier than we expected, plus I wasn't going to be able to sleep knowing he could climb out and hurt himself! The bed rail was a godsend.

It wasn't difficult for my son to feel comfortable in a bed because he sometimes fell asleep with me in my bed. Most kids like having a "big kid's" bed anyway; rarely do kids experience any kind of fear of a bigger bed.

Well, now that the little one isn't confined to a crib anymore, you have to be careful to always be awake when she is awake.

Peace,
Syl

this is a difficult stage! At this age they just want to go, go, go! It is definitely time for a toddler bed. Get one that is low enough to the ground that if she falls or climbs out she won't get hurt. Then really baby proof her room if you haven't already done so. Get down on the floor and imagine her walking around the room unsupervised....are there lamp cords she can pull on or anything else she can reach? Next thing to do is get a baby gate for the door to her room....some people use these gates for pets. I have found that the best one had up and down rails like a fence, not a webbing that is easy to climb. I had to order it online, but it was totally worth it. Otherwise my daughter would have climbed right out and had access to the whole house at night! (A scary thought)

When you put her to bed in the big-girl bed, read her a story and rub her back or tummy....make a nightime ritual. When this is over it is bedtime....you close her door and leave the room. She might quickly get out of bed and cry at the gate for you to come back! But you gently but firmly tell her that it is time for sleep. (of course you are listening to her by baby monitor, I assume)She may explore her safe surroundings for awhile...I would wait a few minutes (15-20) and then put her back in bed.(WITHOUT the ritual) Eventually she will tire of this and go to sleep. It will take some getting used to this phase for both of you, and requires patience, but it is an important step in her learning to self-discipline. It is hard for us as parents to give freedom to one so small, yet this is the natural course of growing up. Just keep it as safe as possible. But she needs a new bed TODAY...even a mattress on the floor. The crib is no longer safe for her.

this is me. I would NOT put her in a bed yet!
I would get a crib tent.
check ebay, craig's list, froogle, etc to find best deal.
My friend used one w/ both her kids.

my son climbed out once. he was about that age. I acted STRONGLY. I put him back in the crib, said "NO CLIMBING!" not yelling, just FIRMLY. I kept doing it as he tried to climb. He stopped. If that did not work I would have gotten a crib tent.

People are very quick to get their babies into toddler beds. Not me.