Debating on Buying a Crib for the Newborn or Moving Toddler into Big Girl Bed

I have a 2 yr old little girl and we puy her in a toddler bed about 4 months ago. She loves it it makes her feel like a big girl. She also has 4 older brothers 10,11,19, &20. But the first night we put her in it she fell asleep almost immediately and has slepy in it every night since. But maybe it just depe nds on the kid. If she seems interested try it.

I would suggest going with the twin bed with siderails for the toddler and use the crib for the new baby. my daughter was just 3 when we moved her to a bed w/ rails when my son came along.

I would switch her to the toddler bed. She is at that age anyway. You can get that and try it now, to see if she will do well with it. That way you will be all ready when the baby comes.

I had this same situation when my youngest was born. My decision was to move my 2 yo into a bed w/ a mesh guardrail. I had the bed up against a wall, and originally I only used the box spring and mattress on the floor - so it was lower and there were no hard surfaces to bump against. This worked so well, that it is how I moved my youngest as well.

I also moved her from the crib a few months before the baby came, so she wouldn't feel that the baby was 'stealing' her crib. I let her be involved in the process and pick out new sheets, etc.

One point - my 2 yo was tall and I felt that she would have needed to move out the crib anyway as she could reach her leg over the top - so I would have had to move her out anyway.

Final note - by moving them onto the mattress w/o the bed, it also allowed me to use the baby furnishings a little longer while they grew into a age that I could buy them each their own bedroom set.

Close to the same situation as you....
My daughter is two and half and we are expecting are new baby in June. I was torn on the subject too but I figured we would try the bed route and see how it went. We could always buy another crib in June if we needed too. We bought a twin bed (no box spring so it is close to the ground) and my daughter has not looked back. She has slept in the bed every night but one. I still have the crib set up in her room because I didn't want to seem like I was pushing her out but she has no interest. If you ask her who's crib is it? She says baby!
Good luck!

My daughter turned two last March and my second daughter was born June 29 so you're basically right where we were. We went with a toddler bed and started slowly with it. We explained to her that her new sister was going to need a place to sleep so we got her a new bed. It didn't take long before she was happy with her toddler bed. I would have loved to skip right to a twin bed, but we didn't really have the space or money for it at the time. We got the toddler bed for $30 from a friend so it was a much better choice for us. Either way, it's probably more economical to buy a toddler bed or twin bed than it is to buy a second crib.

I have a son who just turned three today and a baby due in 3 weeks. We did not want him to resent being moved out of "his room" by the baby, so we made a HUGE deal out of painting his room new "big boy room" and letting him pick out some of the decorations (he selected Thomas decorations, so I bought him the removable decals to place on his walls & we put them on the newly painted walls together).

We set up the new room and slowly moved his toys in (with him helping). I think we gave him a week or two to play in there during the day & start taking naps. We also started referring to the crib as a baby bed & he asked to sleep in the big boy bed.

Just whatever you do, please make sure you do it in enough time so that she doesn't look at the baby as stealing her place. I hope that helped =O}

I'm speaking from experience when I say dont move her yet! I also had my children close together. My son was 18 months old when I had my daughter I made the mistake of moving him into a big boy bed when she was born and it took me about 4 months to get him back to his normal sleeping paterns. I think he felt like everything he knew was being taken away from him when i took the crib out of his room and put it in the new babies room. you could also keep the new baby in a bassinette for a couple of months while you transition your daughter into her new room keeping the crib in her room for a while. Then go get the big girl bed with her and let her pick out the comforter set, she will feel involvedand get more excited about the transition. She is going to feel like she doesnt have mommy & daddy all to herself anymore and may take that out on the new baby especially if it will get all of her things. my son said" who ordered this baby when can we send her back?"

I have two girls and am pregnant. I'm going through the same debate because I'm pregnant. My youngest turned 2 yesterday and I'm due in mid-May. My oldest went to a bed right at 2 because she asked (I wasn't even pregnant at the time). The transition itself was fine, but she stopped taking naps when she was about 2 and a half or so. Because of that and that I just don't want to deal with the possibility of my two year old getting up in the middle of the night (in addition to my newborn), I'm trying to keep her in a crib as long as possible. She sleeps well and hasn't asked for a bed, so I'm hoping that'll last. It is an expense, but I think it'll be worth it if I get a year (or even 6 months) less of hassles :) Good luck!

.

Go out and buy the twin bed, you will get a lot more use out of it. Toddler beds are expensive and you get so little real use out of them. Unless you are really room constricted, I wouldn't bother with a toddler bed. If you are worried about them falling out put the bed on the floor until they are older

Hi J.,

My girls are 2yrs apart (2 1/2 & 7months). When I was pregnant we also debated this issue, and the advice I received was to transition our older daughter to a bed BEFORE the baby came, take down crib for a while (out of sight, out of mind), and not to bother buying a toddler bed and opt for a longer lasting twin or double bed. My sister said her kids all grew out of the small toddler beds so quickly that they weren't worth the $$. We bought pink butterfly (her favorite) bedding & pillows for what would be our daughters new bed. We then read her stories on it, and had some quiet "playtime" on it for a few weeks before asking her to sleep in it, all while referring to as her new "big girl bed". We also bought gaurdrails for both sides of the bed, since she was just 22 months when we moved her from a crib. The transition (2 months before baby's arrival) went very smoothly, and she loved her big girl bed from the start! Also, a stool to get in & out of the bed is helpful for little toddlers.
If your daughter resists the change, perhaps you could put your infant in a bassinett for a few months after he/she arrives. I was told to avoid this since it may cause jealousy issues when the new baby takes what the older child thinks is "their crib."
Best wishes!

Hi:
I adopted 2 children at the same time, when they were 2.5 years and 16 months. We only had one crib and we don't like toddler beds, so we decided to put our son in a regular twin bed. We didn't use the box spring, though, so the bed was low. We never had any problems. Maybe that would work for you too.

Good luck!
S.

Hi, I just went through the same with my son, he just turned 2 and my daughter now is 3 wks. We moved my son right to a twin bed. Why waste money on a toddler bed. We got him thomas the train sheets for his bed (it's his favorite) and he loves his bed. Just don't wait till the baby comes to move your daughter, she will need time to loose her attatchment with the crib.

Hi J.,

We transitioned my son from a crib to toddler bed just before he turned 2 and he did great. He transitioned all at once - but I have friends who did it gradually - doing naps first and then nighttime. If you can make her room fun and make it about her moving into a big-girl bed (and not about the new baby needing her crib), then your transition should be pretty painless.

Good luck! And congrats on your baby-to-be.

J.

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Hi J., it sounds like we are in the exact same boat!! My daughter will be 2 in April, and we have another baby coming in August. Personally for us, I decided to keep my daughter in her crib. We are borrowing another crib from a family member who is done with it. Is there any possibility of borrowing one from a friend or family? My thing is, she sleeps so well in her crib, she hasn't attempted to crawl out of it. I really don't feel like dealing with that transition while also dealing with getting up to feed a newborn. She might be fine with it, but who knows. The boy that I nanny for moved to a toddler bed shortly after he turned 2 because he kept crawling out of his crib, and it was a horror!! So I guess I'm scarred from that. Besides, my daughter's crib can be made into a daybed. When she is ready, we will convert it, and then eventually go straight to a twin bed. Congratulations on the new one on the way!!

I had the very same problem. My duaghter was 18 months when my son was born. I bought a little time by using the bassinette and then when the baby got too big I started using the pack and play to bridge us. I ended up having a crib given to me by someone, but I never really used it. Soon my daugher was climbing out of the crib anyway and I switched her to a big girl bed. I am due with my 3rd in May and my son will be 2 in March. He is still not climbing out of the crib yet so I intend to do the same thing this time around. Good luck!

She's at a good age to transfer into a big girl bed. I transferred my son into a full size bed @ a little over 2 yrs. old when I was due with my daughter & now I'm in the process of transferring her into a full size for baby #3 due in June. She's 2 1/2.

Good luck & congrats on baby #2.

If you can, I would recommend you get another toddler bed for you new baby so they won't fight over it later :)

If you want to go cost effective, buy a twin for your 2yo. That would be the cheapest bet because it can be used for years.

You can always see how she does transitioning into a "big girl bed" and if you don't think she is ready, borrow or buy a crib. I am sort of in the same situation - I am due in May, my daughter is going to be 2 years old in september. Every child is different, your daughter may do really well in a big bed. I wouldn't waste money on the toddler bed. You can even just buy a twin mattress and set it on the floor for now and eventually buy a bed to put the mattress on when she gets bigger. Good luck!

Of course, all children are different, but my neighbor is now dealing with the same thing, and here is what they did-- To avoid any [more] jealousy that is likely to come with the 2nd baby, at least for a little while, keep the older child in her crib. To save money, see if you can borrow a crib from a friend/family member, or purchase one in a consignment shop. You might even just use the portable crib for a while for the baby. (After all, when they are newborns, they are so tiny in the full sized cribs and there is no risk of them climbing out.)

Then, after your daughter is used to and has accepted the baby, you could make getting a new bed about her, and not about giving the crib to the baby. Then, you can spin it like "well, since you are a big girl now and have this cool big girl bed, let's give your baby bed to the baby"

I hope that helps!

Dear J.,

If it were me I would invest in a cradle for your newborn. They are pretty reasonable in price. This way your daughter will be able to stay in her crib for a little longer. I don't about you but I want to keep my two year old daughter in her crib as long as I can.

M.

There is no need for you to buy a new crib. Eventually, you will have to buy a bed anyway for your daughter. I recommend you move your daughter to a twin bed now and use the crib for the new baby when she arrives in July. At two years old, your daughter is old enough for a regular bed. Place one side of the bed against the wall and buy a bed rail for the other side. You can make moving from the crib to a bed a new exciting adventure for your daughter.

I have three kids. I only ever had one crib. I never bought a toddler bed for the older two and the youngest is still in the crib at 1 year old. I have no intentions on buying a toddler bed for her either. A toddler bed is, in my opinion, an unnecessary expense. Both my 7 year old and my 2 year old did just fine when I moved them to a twin bed when they were each about 18 months old. I hope this helps you make your decision.

We are in the same situation except our baby is due at the end of April. So at the beginning of January we put a toddler bed in the room with the crib - our son would play in it but not sleep in it. So one day at the beginning at February we took the crib and put it into the baby's room (and kept the door closed so he didn't see it) - and he jumped right into his bed and went to sleep. He's been happily sleeping in the bed ever since.

I think the key is to make sure that you give your daughter plenty of time to get used to the new bed before the baby comes - and so she doesn't feel like she's had to give up her crib for the baby.

Hi J.! I had the same dilema with my children being that they were only 1 1/2yrs apart. The best advice I could give is to move your two yr old to a big girl bed if she is ready and give the old crib to the new baby. I didn't like having a toddler bed. They grow out of it very quickly, and I never felt like there was enough room for them to move around (they were always banging into the sides)at night. That being said If I were you I'd just go ahead and get a twin bed. You can always dress the bed up in what ever theme you choose to use with a bed skirt, just leave the boxspring and mattress on the floor for a little while till she's use to getting in and out of her new bed. You can still use bed rails if need be. It will save you from spending all the extra money on the toddler bed and bedding which is a pain when a couple of months later you'll be wishing you had that twin. Hope this was helpful. Good Luck. D.

hi Jeannette, I can sure tell you what we did with our babies. My daughter was 21 months old when I had my twin boys. We decided to get her a big girl bed so that the boys could share the crib while they were real small. I feel it was the best choice. The cost was a factor, but also that my daughter felt special getting a new bed. She went thru alot with the addition of her brothers and the big girl bed made her feel really special and grown up. Good luck to you.

Hi J.! Congratulations on your expanding family. I was in a similar situation when my daughter was born (5 1/2 years ago). Her big brother had just turned 2 and we weren't sure that he was ready for a big boy bed. Our solution was to use the bassinet from our first for about 6 weeks while we trialed a big boy bed. It was a success (Spongebob bedding and bed rails helped). If you have a bassinet, I'd recommend using that while you evaluate your daughter's readiness. I'd also recommend going straight for the twin instead of a toddler bed. It's less costly in the long run because you don't have to buy 2 beds. Good luck!!

Hi J.,

I can understand your dilemma. I have not been put into that situation yet, but I would suggest just buying the twin mattress, boxspring and the trundle portion of the daybed with the mesh guardrails. This way you have the bottom part of the daybed for when you will need it for future sleepovers, but you aren't pushing your daughter into a true big girl bed. Just don't put the trundle up to regular height until she is ready. This way she gets used to it without it being really high up off of the ground. I hope that this helps.

I have a 2 month old and a 2 year, 4 month old. My toddler sleeps well in his crib so we decided not to move him just yet. We borrowed another crib from a friend and will move him at a later date. We decided not to mess with his sleep habits when he is going to have other adjustments to make with a new baby in the house. FYI, When we move him to a big bed, we will go with a twin instead of a toddler bed.
V.

I have a crib that converts to a bed as well and I have learned that these do not make good toddler beds. They are just a little higher off the ground than your average toddler bed. You will have no problem moving your child into a toddler bed at this age. Both mine were in a toddler bed at 2.(I had to move them due to a bad back, could not lift them in or out of crib anymore) I know alot of moms are pushing you to a twin bed for ecconomic reasons but I do not recomend this, here is why. First you can get a toddler bed at a reasonable price by checking out consignment shops, e-bay and yard sales. Also toddler beds are close to the ground. Your child WILL roll out of bed at least once or twice, they all do it. You could use a rail to hold them in, but this is a problem when you start to potty train. (They can not run to the bathroom if they are fenced into a bed). You could put the mattress directly on the floor.....However I have found the earlier you try to move from a crib to a bed the more difficult it is to keep them in their beds at night. It IS possible, I have done it very successfuly. However if you put a mattress on the floor they are not going to take sleeping seriously. It will become a trampoline or a campout rather than a place to sleep. What ever you decide, it will be ok, kids adjust to every situation, but this is what I have learned works best for me. Good luck.

i would put her in a twin bed as why buy a toddler bed and then later have to buy a twin when she ougrows that . plus less for her to have to adjust to. my oldest went right into a twin and was fine . my youngest however i wasted the money on a toddler bed for her not realy to use and then still needing the twin anyway. so why waste the money inbetween and buying 2nd crib would be foolish as you realy don't need 2 and of not much use later

I put all of my children in toddler beds for teh same reason - they are all close together. They went into a toddler bed between 18 months to 2 years old. They felt very special and were very excited. We were able to get our last girl new sheets as a present for the occassion. The draw back is that you must train them to stay in bed. I would move your little girl into her new bed around her birthday. This would give you time to train her. If she's very compliant then it will be simple. If she's a little hard headed you might have to hang out outside her door for a couple of nights. If you catch her quickly so she has no gratification of getting up to play (even for a couple of minutes) and be consistent, then she'll give up and get into the routine of staying in bed quickly. My youngest is 2 and she only took a couple of days and now never gets up (right now I'm teaching her numbers so she can tell on the digital clock when she can get up in the morning).

I was in your same position about a year agao..My daughter was 16 months when I decided to move her to a big gilr bed and I think it was the best decision I could have made. She was young so the transition was easy and she treated her bed like a crib (meaning she didn't get out). I used bed rails and must say that I did not have any of the problems switching to a bed that my friends had.. Probably b/c my daughter was so young. Good luck!

We went through this with out son when he was about 15 months old. We took the advice of my sister's friend (a professor who teaches child development). We moved him to a big bed. We didn't use the whole bed at first. First we moved him to a mattress on the floor. That way if he rolled out he wasn't going to get hurt. Then a few months later we put the mattress on a low lying bed with bed rails (they don't go with the bed. they are the kind you can buy at Walmart or Target). He did fine and it was an expense we would have incurred anyway. A new crib was not.

My suggestion is that you do it now so she doesn't associate the move with the new baby. Also, I would put the crib away for a couple of months. Then she may not even realize that it is her old crib when you put it up for the new baby. If she does realize it later, then you can tell her that she doesn't need it anymore because she is a big girl with a big girl bed so the new baby is going to use it now.

Hope my story helps a little. Good luck.

I was in the same situation as you. I got my son a toddler bed when he was 21 months and my newborn girl got the crib. It worked out quite well. I started him out with just the toddler/crib matress on the floor til he got use to the idea and to give me piece of mind from falls. Then I gave him the frame with matress on it. My son actually prefered sleeping on the floor and he did this for eight months. Everyone said not to worry since he didn't complain and he would grow out of it...which he did. I suggest though getting a new matress for the baby and letting your toddler keep the old matress since she's use to the feel of it.

Good luck!

A. W.

We just went through this with my two boys. I have a son that is 2.5 and a 4 month old.

I didn't want to buy another crib for the new baby, so I tried to move my older son to a toddler bed for months. He had NO desire and when he would sleep in his Big Boy Bed, he would get up and play in the middle on the night.

Luckily, we had the baby in the co-sleeper.

Two weeks ago, I found this car from little tikes that is a pop up tent designed to go over the toddler bed. As soon as I put it on the bed, our sleeping problem was solved. He has been in the toddler bed ever since. It is kind of like a crib tent, which he was used to, so he feels safe and comfortable. I believe that they have princess tents for little girls.

Hope that helps

Good luck.

-Jenn

I am/was in very similar situation. Daughter turned 2 in February and #2 is due in May. We moved her from the crib to a twin bed in her big girl room. We set up the big girl room first around 18-20 months and let her play in there for a week or 2 before we put her in the bed for a nap. The next day we did nap time & bed time and she has been in a twin bed ever since.

Hi. I am in a similar situation. My daughter will be 2 in May and my son will be born in May. We recently converted her crib to a toddler bed (we wanted her to have time to adjust before the baby comes). Her bed converts to a daybed and a double bed. We bought our new baby a similar convertable bedroom set. I figure that both kids will have their own sets for a long time since they convert to a double bed. Our daughter knows where her stuff is and has taken to her toddler bed very well. The conversion to a toddler bed is not so drastic since it still looks like her crib, but without 1 high side. This is a one time purchase and you never need to take the money or time to look for additional furntiture anytime soon. The convertable sets (converts from crib, toddler bed, daybed, then double) may be more costly, but once again it seems well worth it for the long haul. Good luck.
J.

Hi! When my second daughter was born we came home from the hospital 3 days before my oldest's second birthday. For the first few months the new baby slept in our room in a cradle. While the baby slept in the cradle we bought a toddler bed for our oldest and it worked out great. Now, when we had the second one she wanted to sleep in her big sister's twin bed and only used the toddler bed for naps. Our youngest never used the toddler bed at all...she went from crib to twin bed. It's all in what you want to do. I felt more comfortable with the toddler bed at first. But by the time we got to the third one we were so much more relaxed. Good luck and best wishes.

My advice to you would be to buy your toddler a crib that converts into a regular bed so that she can transition into a bed when she's ready. I was in the same boat. I just don't think it's fair to force a child into a bed before she's ready for one. Why invite a whole host of new problems when you will be contending with a newborn? I bought a line from Morigeau lepine that converts into a full bed. My son is now 2.5 and he is not even close to wanting to be in a bed! good luck.

Hi J.,

truthfully it depends on your daughter and how attatched she is to her crib. I personally think it would be a waiste of money to buy another crib now at her age. I would choose the bed of your option for her... start even before you buy the bed and talk about what a big girl she is now etc etc... take her along and let her be a process of getting the new big girl bed and switch her into the new bed way before the baby comes... Take the crib down and put it in a closet or something... don't put it up until you are almost ready to have the baby and say to her that now that she is a Big Girl she can let the baby use the crib... so it looks to her like its her idea and you are not taking her bed away to give it to the baby...

good luck and God Bless,
S.

I would put her in a twin and use rails or just put the box spring and mattress on the floor. I think toddler beds are a waste of money because the child will need a twin eventually anyway.

I have 3 kids they all went to a twin bed around 1 year old because of climbing out of the crib. It is silly to buy a toddler bed and ANOTHER crib matress for it. You can get a twin bed for the same price and it will stay with her longer. I suggest bunkbeds that can be used as 2 twin beds. Thats what I have so now my oldest has graduated to a double and the other two have the twin bunkbed but as twins in seperate rooms. Very versatile and space saving! I always check craigslist.org for solid wood second hand furniture! I got my bunkbeds for $100! matresses can run $50 each, depending on the quality....and sales! We are military and have moved alot so I needed sturdy cost effective furniture! Good luck. Let her pick her NEW big girl sheets! It will make it feel like HER bed! And really play up to how nice it is for her to give her BABY crib to the baby!

First of all, congratulations on your upcoming arrival:).

We had a second DS in November and our older DS was 18 months at the time. We moved him into a toddler bed only because they are sharing a small room and we had a gift certificate that would buy a toddler bed, but not a twin bed, otherwise we may have gone with a twin.

He LOVES it and sleeps in it every night. We didn't move him into it until almost 2 months after the baby was born and a good 5 weeks or so before the baby moved into the crib (he was sleeping in a bassinet in our room). He is very excited about his big boy bed and sometimes goes in there to read and play.

If you have a pack and play or a similar bed, you could let the baby sleep in that for awhile as well.

A lot will depend on your daughter though. Best of luck!

I would just buy a toddler bed since the older child will need 1 soon anyway and put the baby in the crib.

My daughter will also be 2 in March. We moved her to a regular twin bed when she was 18 months old so that her baby sister who is now 3 months old could have the crib. I think toddler beds are a waste of money because before you know it they out grow it and it's time for a twin bed. I also put bed rails on her bed so she wouldn't fall out. She took to the bed with no problems. I started her out napping in there and putting her in the crib at night. She was sleeping in the bed after a week of just napping in there. I recommend putting familiar things that were in her crib in the bed with her. If she listened to music when she was falling asleep put that same music player in the room too. I would also recommend a night light. Make sure you give her enough time to adjust to the bed before the baby comes. I had the baby in Novemeber and started my older daughter in the bed in September (2 months prior). Make sure there aren't any other big changes going on before you put her in a new bed. Too much change at one time can be really hard on them. Don't let anyone on here tell you that you are doing the wrong thing. You know what will work for you and your daughter.

My son was a september baby and his younger sister was july, 22 months later. We moved my son into a toddler bed at about 20 months for the same reason, to save money buying a new crib. We knew doing it 2 months before his sister was born gave us about 5 months for him to get use to it, because we kept his sister in a bassinet in our room until she was three months old. He surprisingly adapted very quickly in just a week and a half. We let him sleep on the floor next to his toddler bed for a couple of days til we found that he crawled into at nap time by himself one day and then was in it for a full night the next week. I think you would be better off moving her to a toddler bed around her birthday...maybe make a big deal about her becoming a big girl now, not saying you need her crib for the new baby. Then she won't feel she is being forced out and this can give her time to adjust before the baby comes.
I hope this helps

C.

I would buy her a twin bed (and buy protective rails)and keep the crib for the baby.

I was in a simalar situation when my youngest came along. My daughter's are now 3 and 5. I found it best and the least coast effective to simply purchase a twin/full sized bed for my oldest daughter. I did not go the route of purchasing a toddler bed simply because I knew I would still have to buy another bed a few years later. Thus, I simply eliminated the middle man. I bought side rallys for the "big sis" bed. SHE LOVED IT?

Hope this helps.

I think buying a separate toddler bed is a waste of money. If you'd prefer the toddler bed, I'd just convert the crib she has now and buy the new baby another convertible crib. I ended up putting my daughter in a big bed with mesh guardrails and that worked out fine.

I would use the crib for the new baby and buy a twin bed for the two-year-old. We moved when my son was two and a half. We took him from his crib and put him right into a twin, with removable side rails, and didn't bother with the toddler bed.