My 7 month old son is VERY big and weighs almost 25 lbs and is also tall. I am very short and can barely lift him in/out of his crib anymore without straining myself. The crib is already on the higest setting and when he is able to stand I will have to lower it making it probably impossible for me to get him in/out. Not sure if it's my crib (I have a round crib) but other short mothers have told they also had problems with their cribs being a bit high for them too.
I am wondering if I can move my 7 month old son to a toddler bed this early. Any suggestions on making this transition and of course dealing with him getting out of his bed when he is able to walk.
Thank you for any advice.
I, too, would be nervous about a toddler bed so soon. Does the side of the crib collapse to help get him out? I kept my kids in cribs as long as possible for the peace of mind in knowing they couldn't get out. The stool is a good idea.
We began teaching our daughter how to safely get off the bed very early (before she was crawling). Any time she wanted to get off the bed I'd place her so her feet were near the edge of the bed (or sofa or anything I wanted her to safely get down from) roll her onto her tummy and help her feel what it was like to slide down onto her feet. Sometimes she would hold on to the sheets or reach for one of our hands as we did this.
We did this for months and then one day she did it by herself. Now when she wants down she gets down that way. Only occasionally do we have to say "how do you get off the bed"
About the sleeping thing. You can use a pack n play. They'll keep the kid contained and you don't have the height issue. Or you can put a mattress on the floor and let him sleep on it. If he rolls off he won't really hurt himself. You could put a baby gate at his doorway and just keep things that are toddler safe in the room with him - then it's like a big crib - he's safe and you don't have to lean up to lean over.
I have a friend who covered the floor in those squishy floor puzzles so that there was padding all over the room
Ooh, you could get a little step stool - you'll need one for the toddler time anyway. Just make sure you wear shoes if you are going to be holding a wiggler and climbing up and down.
I was going to get one of those bed rails for our girl but every one I looked at said ages 2 and up. I think they aren't sturdy enough to stand up to full weight on them.
Good luck!
Hi A.,
Well if it is easier for you there are no rules on when to move your baby to a toddler bed but I would be sure to get one with the rails all the way down the side of the bed being he may move around the bed a bit and some of them only have half rails. Also if he isn't walking yet then you have a great chance of teaching him to stay in bed because he will not know that he can and when he does eventually climb out it most likely will not be hard to teach him to stay in bed until mommy comes to get him and be sure when he does start walking that you have some toys or items he likes to play with next to the bed for him to keep his self occupied until you do come in. I hope this all makes sense and helps with your concerns. Good luck! PS my son was in a toddler bed at 10mths so that's not far off. A. www.busymomsworkathome.com
as long as its a bed with side rails, he should be fine. i couldn't use our crib either( i too am short) good luck
I wouldnt move to a toddler bed yet. I have (had) big kids and quite honestly my daughter hurt my back coming out so putting them to bed has been a task for me. I have done two things. One - daddy. Two - if i have to actually do it. I lower the handrail and then get some other things that they can climb on progressively getting them into the crib. It alleviates the strain on my back. And, it keeps them safely locked away in a crib. (i have to worry about my daughter being up at night without me).
why not try a steping stool or maybe even a nice playpen would help. i used to do that with my daughter, i would just place extra blankets in the bottom of the playpen to make it a little softer. that made it easier for me to reach her & i didn't have to worry about her rolling out.
I think it is a little soon to be moving your son to a toddler bed, for no other reason then he can possibly get out and hurt himself. Have you thought about putting a step stool next to his crib so you can better access him? I think before I put him in a toddler bed, I'd put him on a mattress on the floor with pillows around. I dont know it is just a thought. Good luck!
Hi A., I thought my baby was big at year he weighed 25 pounds. If he is already 25 pounds at 7 months, Get a small todler bed with the rails on the side so he won't roll out. As far as him getting up when he can walk, jsut walk him back to his bed evertime he gets up. My 3 year old still gets up at night out of his toddler bed.
I hope this helps.
K. S
I personally think that putting a 7 month old (I have a 8 month old) in a toddler bed, it poses risk of the child falling out during sleep or getting out and hurting himself while ur asleep. You could use the railing for a toddler bed but I personally still don't think he's old enough to be put in such an unprotected space such as a toddler bed. He could get his legs,head,or other parts stuck in the sides and becomes trapped while ur asleep. They put age ranges on them b/c only when the child is that age is it safe for them to use it. I would recommend doing what the other mother suggested by using a playpen for now until he's old enough. Also I dont know about ur crib but on mine one side of the crib can be slid down to open one side of the crib to get the baby out. Maybe u can get one that does that so that all you have to do is slide it down and pick up ur son, that's certainly more safe tha a toddler bed for a child that still has atleast 3 yrs before meeting the safety requirements.
It seems like the risk of putting your son in a toddler bed at this age is too great and it would be a lot more cost effective to get sturdy foot stool like my grandmother has in her kitchen for the high shelves. If your son is walking already I can't imagine what he would think is a good idea at 3 o'clock in the morning when you two are fast asleep because he is only 7 months old and has no idea of the dangers he can get in. Of course your highest priority is to keep him safe and it seems to me that he is best in a crib for a little longer.
Well I am not sure what is a good age for moving to a toddler bed....
We moved my little one to a toddler bed at about 2 years old. I was nervous about him falling out of bed and of course him getting up in the middle of the night. So here are the things that we did....
1. put extra pillows around the floor by the bed
2. put smaller pillows next to his head and where the little ends are
3. put one of the safety gates up at his door way so that if he did get up that he would not be able to get out of his room. Then once he understood to come to our room when he got up we took the gate down.
4. Put a night light in the hall so that he would not get scared of the big room at night and so that he would be able to see and not trip over anything.
5. We used the baby monitor for the first few months so that we would hear if he fell out of bed or started crying
Hope that this helps
