Bed Rails

Hi K.. Congrats on new baby! I have 2 sons (23 months apart) when oldest was 18 months he switched to a toddler bed, in anticipation of new baby. Did great, stayed in it, no issues. Then when new baby came he started getting out of bed. We took the bedframe away and put the mattress on the floor and he LOVES IT! No worries about falling out of bed and I can sit by him if he needs a little comforting. If I had to do it again I would get a single mattress and leave it on the floor. Just my story. Good luck!

my son just turned 2, about 2 weeks before his birthday we got him a car bed, he absolutly loved it stayed in it. In his crib he was a rough sleeper, always up against the bars. Im the big boy bed he fell out twice within the first 2 weeks and doesn't fall anymore. We still have the pillows on the floor, but he's doing very well. I would say just to put a few pillows down and keep an eye on him, he should be fine.

Can you cancel the order for the big boy bed and go shopping at a new place? I recommend Kiddie World in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ -- they have great juvenile furniture, and I found a twin bed with the guardrails already built in, they're wood, and there's just one small opening at the foot of the bed for your son to climb in and out of. My son is younger, he was just turning 2 when I got him that bed, so I have the opening against the wall so he's guarded all around, and in the beginning when I was still nervous about it I still put pillows on the floor, "just in case." Well, that was not necessary, he's very secure in the bed.

I just got the info out, and I do see they have a website, www.kiddieworldonline.com, and the furniture brand I bought was called "maxtrix". Look into it if it's not too late, I recommend it highly. Oh, and as he grows, you can have the bedrails removed.

Good luck, and if you need any more info, don't hesitate to contact me!

D.

Hi K.,
First I have to say, I understand your worries. But I also want to assure you that the chances of that happening are low.
I had 2 toddlers at the same time, so I had a chance to use a few of these rails. I loved all of mine. For the most part, I have 2 with mesh see through in the middle and they worked just fine. Another one that I purchased new at Toys R Us was made by Safety 1st. It has a higher side with a belt that goes and fits on the other side of the mattress to keep it up. Despite the lack of that part on the other two older ones, neither of them fell out. My son was usually all over the place when sleeping as well and at one time he DID get rolled in between the mattress and the safety first rail. Honestly- he slept right through it and I rolled him right back onto the bed.
No worries.

Good luck and email me back if you'd like my old ones. I am in Corning and would be happy to give them away to someone who can use them.

-K.
____@____.com

Hello,

We put the bed up against the wall and use a body pillow for the space between the bed and the wall and use the crib mattress on the floor next to the bed in case he falls out. My son is also all over the place when he sleeps, but in the past 2 years has fallen out of bed maybe twice.

at that age, he shouldnt have any safety concern over using the rail. i like them, but suggest you keep it up at all times. the easiest time to fall will be when playing or not paying attention. we use a mesh one from Bru, it was arouind 20, and folds down. its one of those things that you dont know if you will need it or not, depending on your kid.

I have a bed rail that the "feet" slide under the mattress. It worked great for my now 7yo. The 2yo just yesterday climbed out of her crib so I know I'm close to going to a big bed for her too. I have the same rail and will use it again. However, the 2yo peed her bed one night twice and I was out of sheets for the crib. Her sister was sleeping at Grandmas so I put the 2yo in the big bed. I went back to bed and worried that she would fall out. She normally moves all over the crib and where her head was her feet will be there soon! She slept soundly and didn't move in the big bed. I got very little sleep from checking on her so often but she slept GREAT! The oldest was the same way. She still wiggles enough to put the sheets out but she has only fallen out of bed once since removing the rail. You will probably be surprised how the moving around lessens in the big bed. A.

The brain is a wonderful thing. After he falls out of bed a couple of times his sleeping brain will prevent him from falling out. you can put a soft comforter next to his bed, but I wouldnt put pillows there. They are too soft and might suffocate him. I doubt they would, but theres always that risk. He really wouldnt get hurt falling from a youth bed, but it would wake him up. The thing with the rails is once you take them off the child will still fall out of bed, until the sleeping brain tells him not to.

K.,
Since you are worried about your son falling out of the bed you might want to consider putting a twin mattress on the floor for a while and let him get used to the feel. And if he does fall out of bed it will be no big deal at all. In fact, he won't even wake up. My son (4)just fell out of his big boy bed just the other night and fell to the floor. When I went in he was still sound asleep on the floor. :-) Kids are tough.
Regarding bedrails - check out One Step Ahead online. They sell inflatable bedrails that attach to the ends of the bed. Doesn't look like your son would be able to get caught between that and the bed.

Hope this helps. Best of luck and congrats on your upcoming baby!

~A.
A little about me - married, stay at home mom with 2 boys, ages 4 and 18 months.

Hi K., I have 2 boys ages 4 and 5 and we never used bedrails. Each of them fell out of bed once or twice, but very quickly learned to stay away from the edge. All kids have to learn that eventually, and we never had a problem with the falling after the first one or two times. Their beds were low to the floor so we were not worried about major injuries. I agree with the other posters that, if the bed you are planning to use is high, maybe start him with a mattress on the floor. I wouldn't bother with the bed rails since they seem to be an added expense that is not really necessary....

hi K.,

My son will also be 3 in january. He went into a toddler bed right after his second birthday, and when he was around 2 1/2, he went right into a twin bed- no bed rails!! I put a few blankets on the floor in case he fell out, but he never did.....they learn quickly! He loves his twin bed and i am so happy he adjusted well. Good luck with that and with the new baby.....i myself am due at the beginning of june with my second!! Our kids will be the same age apart!! take care, A.

For both of my boys, I forgo the rail. I just laid pillows on the floor for a while. My oldest is still all over the bed at night but hasn't fallen out. My youngest falls out but just gets back up and goes back to sleep. My husband and I also opted for an IKEA bed since they are so low to the ground; however, you said you already ordered the bed. I would just put pillows on the ground. The rails are annoying when you have to make the bed.

Hi,
My daughter (2 yo at the time) slept in the twin bed she inherited from her father. The bed is a trundle bed (mattress hidden underneath). That means the bed is pretty high up.

We debated about the rail, but decided not to do it. Yes, my daughter fell out a few times (with pillows on the floor) but she learned not to fall out. There's been times that she's fallen but climbs right back in. She never cried when she fell out. She's now 3 1/2 and never falls out anymore. She's probably fallen out say - a total of 5 times. Kids are resilient...I would save your money. :)

We started our son on a mattress on the floor for about a year, then moved him to the big bed and he did fine.