Baby Bed ??

My little girl was 13 months old when I caught her trying to climb out of crib. I put her in a toddler bed and she did great. I think you can do that and it would be ok.

I moved mine to toddler beds at about 18 months because they had learned to climb out of the crib even with the mattress as low as it could go and the rail up, they are part monkey though and still climb on things all the time. lol

My daughter moved to a toddler bed at 13 months. She was a climber and I was afraid she would fall so I just went ahead and moved her. She did fine other than it gave her the freedom to come and go as she pleased so we would wake to find her looking at us. haha But you will have that at whatever age you decide to move her.

My dd has a convertible crib that does a crib, daybed, toddler bed, and a full size bed and last month before she turned 20 mths i moved it to a daybed and after a week she started going to bed in it with no problems. I'm currently preg with #2 and it was getting hard to get her in and out of her crib. this baby will also have a convertible crib b/c for the price it's easier and you get your use out of it and money out of it. you may want to look into getting one of those. if youre going to transition her do it now before baby comes so she won't feel like baby is taking her crib

HI A.

Every kid is different. My first never slept in a crib. He slept with us until he was a year, then we bought him a toddler bed and he sleeps in it in our room.
My second is now 15 months and really likes his crib in his own room...so I don't plan on moving him out of it until he is 2+.
All kids and situations are differnt. My kids were 18 months apart. And so very different. You will know what works for you when the time gets closer.
J.

A.,

I am facing the toddler bed transition question myself, but for a different reason. My 18 month old daughter actually fell out of her crib a couple of nights ago. I'm still not exactly sure how she managed to do it, but obviously she has figured out some way to clear the railing. Most of the research that I've done on this indicated that most children switch sometime between 18months and 3yrs old, with the majority switching around the age of 2 or 2 1/2 yrs old. I'm sure a lot depends on your child's readiness. You have to consider what other issues may arise with your child's new 'freedom'. I don't feel that my child at 18mnths is ready to move out of her crib, so we are taking measures to make her crib 'climb/fall proof' as opposed to transitioning her at this time. Maybe your pediatrician can offer some advice on whether your child is develpmentally ready to move on yet.

The rule that the old grandmothers told me was if the child can climb in and out of the bed alone, the child is ready for a bed. I would be very comfortable with a tobbler bed that is lower to the ground for your little lady. She gets to be a big girl and a big sister and a little princes all at the same time. How fun is that?
Enjoy.

Hi.

My first was in his crib until 2 when our second son was born. Our second son actually started climbing out of the crib at 13 months and we moved him to a toddler bed. He did great and never, to my knowledge, fell out of it. It really depends on how she feels about it. Let her pick out some new bedding for it. They have pretty cheap sets at Walmart. Good luck and get her out of the crib BEFORE the baby is born so she doesn't feel like your taking away her bed for the new baby.

K.

You can start her now, you just must put her a bed rail so that she doesn't roll out and put the other side of the bed against a wall that way she feels secure. Put her a night light and her tv with her favorite movie or cartoons and sit next to her bed until she falls asleep and leave her monitor on incase she wakes up you can hear her and go see about her. Congratulations on your new son. His name is unique, your husband must like to fish.. My friend named her lil girl Laken Nacol cause her husband is the out doorszy type. Hope this helps.

we got my daughter her bed ( a twin bed, and didn't put a boxspring on it, but a monkey board, so it's low to the ground and we wouldn't have to buy a toddler then a twin) for her 2nd birthday and she did really well, but most of my friends thought that was young and kept their kids in a crib longer. of course my son didn't get out of his crib until closer to 3, but girls are usually more mature. If you are set on having her out of the crib before the baby gets here, i'd start now trying to get her used to it, and just see how she does, but you may change your mind....since she'll be able to get up anytime, come to your room in the middle of the night, etc....i remember it taking a lot longer to get her to sleep, since i'd have to stay in there, but eventually, once she understood, i'd have to tell her if she got up, she'd be in trouble, which may end up causing more stress than it's worth. you may end up wanting to find a used crib for short term. good luck!

In reality your new baby can be in a bassinette or packnplay in your room until they are 4 months or so. By then your daughter might be ready for a big bed. Mine are 16 months apart and we bought another crib only to have the older one climb out of her crib and move to a big bed right as the new baby was going into his. We could have saved $700!

FYI, my son was sleeping through the night in his crib until we changed him to a toddler bed and he would never stay in there. He was about 18mo or so when we did that. Of course the toddler bed was too small for us to lay down with him so we then bought a twin bed. So my advice if you go ahead and move her at least buy a twin bed so you can lay in there with her unless you want her in the bed with you.

We went through the same thing w/ my two girls. They were 16 months apart. We started our oldest girl in her bed about a month and half before the baby arrived to get her use to it. We got her one w/ the rails that come half way down and also w/ got her a Dora bedset. At first she was scared of it so we kept in the baby bed until she was ready which was like a week later. Good Luck w/ the new bed and also the new addition.

We had the same situation when our 3rd child was born. He is 22 months younger than our twins. Part of the decision will depend on how well your daughter is walking and climbing. When she can walk confidently and crawl to climb up things about as tall as the toddler bed, then go for it. I'll bet that won't be until about the time you're ready to deliver!

One alternative would be to buy a bassinet. You can use it for several months after your son is born. That would let your daughter get to be about 18 months before you switch her to a toddler bed. You could also start with the mattress on the floor instead of the toddler bed.

A suggestion for when you make the switch. Let your daughter help you set up the crib for your son. Make a BIG deal about helping get it ready for him. I usually let my toddler help with speical new sheets and maybe pick out a new stuffed animal to put on it. Then wait a week or more before you move your son into it (if you can). I've found that our kids have each gotten excited about the change instead of feeling like they were "kicked out" of their old bed.

Finally, the switch to a bed, toddler of otherwise, takes training. It's natural for them to want to explore their new freedom and maybe be a little nervous at the same time. Be firm and keep putting her back into her new bed, explaining that it's not playtime, etc. If it becomes a willful disobedience issue, then you have to discipline as appropriate. Expect a lot of trips to her room the first few nights, but it will get less and less if you're consistent. The benefits of taking the time to do the training up front will save you countless hassle as she gets older.

I don't know the "normal" time to put your baby in a toddler bed but my son is currently 15 months old and he has been in a toddler bed for about a month or two. He does great but sometimes he gets into bed with us. He was staying in the bed all night and when he got put in the hospital for a few days at Thanksgiving he got spoiled with us sleeping with him and now sometimes he gets in our bed. I've heard of some people not putting their child into a toddler bed until they are 2-3; I guess what really matters is what you feel comfortable doing.

My son slept with us or in his crib until he was just shy of 2, my daughter slept in her crib until she was 2 1/2 ....It really just depends on your child. If you are looking at toddler beds as opposed to a twin bed you may be able to find a convertable crib instead. It will most likely cost a bit more but that way you can keep dd safely in a crib until you are sure she is ready to move on to the toddler bed. Both my kids had cribs that converted and my dd's is set up like a day bed now and she loves it. Plus when your new little one is ready to move to a toddler bed, your dd should be ready to move on to a twin size bed (or whatever size you would get her), and you could just transfer your son to the toddler bed. That way you would definetly get enough use out of it to justify the expense.
Good luck with the new baby!

My daughter was in a toddler bed at 14 months. My son is bout to be 21 months and still in crib. But difference is we now live in a 2 story house (big mistake) and we are putting off as long as possible.
So go for it your child will be fine.

My daughter was 16 months when we moved her to a daybed. She was a climber so we were afraid she would climb out of her crib. We purchased a bed rail, and have had no problems with her since.

That worked fine for my children, and will probably work for yours. If your daughter will obey you and stay in bed when you tell her to, then it will work fine. If she won't stay in bed, she could get into some dangerous things. In that case, try to borrow a crib for a few months.

i'd go ahead with the baby bed and get side rails.

My daughter was given a toddler bed (one of those plastic Dora the Explorer ones) last Christmas. She was 10 months old at the time. A week or so later I couldn't wait any longer and put the toddler bed together! haha We set it up with it's own crib mattress & a sheet and put it in our living room. I thought, we'll just let her play on it, and maybe sometimes take a nap on it. She loved to sit & play on it, and to practice getting on and off of it (we had to put a step stool beside it haha). I think we left it in the living room for a month or 2. Then I thought, what would she do if I put it in her room and laid her there for the night?? So, I put the toddler bed in her room beside her crib. For the first few nights, she would fall off the bed just once (& I'd put her back). After that, she did great! I took the crib down and put the toddler bed in it's place. Now she is 22 months old and still loves her toddler bed!

I'd say you have plenty of time to get your daughter used to a toddler bed before her little brother arrives!

Oh, if you get one of the toddler beds that uses a crib mattress, you might try putting HER crib mattress on it because she is used to the firmness/softness of it.

I put my child in a big bed when he was 1 and a half. But it was the top part of a bunk bed (put the be don the floor) so it has rails all the way around it. he had no problems. He actually hated his crib. My second child went to the big bed when he was almost 2 and has had no problems. I guess try it and see what happens. My 4 year old moved to a normal queen size bed when he was 3. We called it grandma's bed since that was the bed she used when she came over and he wanted to sleep in her bed. So that was a huge deal!
Hope all goes well

Our daughter started using a toddler bed about 6-7 months ago. She'll be two in April. I got it because she fell out of the crib. I gave her the toddler bed and took the crib away (but not forgotten just in case) and she loved the toddler bed. She has slept well since that first day. I think it depends on your child and what you feel she is ready for. Keep the crib handy though cause if she starts having separation issues you might not want to give up the crib quite yet. Hope this helps.

My daughter was about 14 mths. old when we got her a big girl bed. She absolutely loved it. They have the sides on them, so unless she sleeps all over the crib she should be just fine in a toddler bed now.
Congrats on David Lake. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.