When to Buy a Toddler Bed?

Leave them in cribs til they are 3--even if you have to borrow or buy a 2nd crib. Then go right to a regular bed with rails. Toddler beds are generally a waste of money.
Take it from moms who know because they've been there....a toddler running out of his room at night is not something you want to deal with before you have to!

I agree that they are a huge waste of money. Get a twin bed and add rails. My younger son had one of these and it worked out much better than the toddler bed that my oldest had.

I wouldn't buy a toddler bed. If you have the room, I would just buy a twin or double and start him right away in that. The toddler bed (our crib converted) really only fit our son until he was 3.5, so it wouldn't have been worth the money to buy one. Good luck!

My kids were both 18 months when they went into toddler beds ( Our Crib converted to a toddler bed) because, they were front flipping out of the crib in the night and hitting the floor. It went like this. Bang..... Scream.....We put up a tall child gate in the door of thier room and put them in toddler beds then they were safe and didn't escape.

We never bought toddler beds. IMO, waste of $.
Get a twin mattress and start that on the floor. Later add the box spring, and after that the frame.
The twin set you will need for years!! The toddler bed, not long enough to get your money's worth.
Unless you have 6 or 8 kids. LOL

Wait as long as you can!!! You've got 4 months yet, plus 4-5 months of baby being (I assume) in bed with you or in a bassinette/moses basket. That's a lot of growing up time for your son. With many changes in his life, at least he can snuggle down into his familiar crib and feel safe every night.

If he makes it to two you can include it in part of the "big boy" celebration or something, but you need your sleep right now, and putting a baby in a toddler bed will not help on that front!!

My oldest son turned 3 in Dec, he still sleeps in his crib and he loves it in there. I love it because I know he is safe! Youngest is now 16mo and he naps in a pack n play in our bedroom and sleeps at night in his crib in the room he shares with older brother.
I agree with the moms who posted with the advice of waiting to put him in a toddler bed. Unless he is climbing out, it is worth the peace of mind with a newborn that your older one is safe and confined.

Generally, the best thing to do would be to wait as long as possible... until the crib just won't work anymore. BUT, with a new baby needing that crib, that changes things. In order to keep your son from resenting the baby or feeling like the baby took his bed, it's best to do it 4-6 months in advance so he doesn't view the crib as his when you put baby into it. If you plan to put baby straight into the crib after birth, then I'd say, now is the time. If you plan to have baby in a basinette in your room for the first 4-5 months, then you can wait longer. In general, you don't want too many things to change at once for your older one. Trying to get him to move to a big boy bed (which is a HUGE change for him) too close to the time when he has to adjust to a new baby and sharing mommy would be a recipe for disaster. I'd say, now is the time.

I'd say skip a toddler bed and buy a twin mattress and put it on the floor for now. Kids outgrow them so fast and although it is nice because it is small, it is an extra expense especially when a twin mattress, up against a wall can do the same thing.
My friend moved her child at 19 months, because she had the new baby. The transition maybe easier before the baby comes, but if you can wait by utilizing a pack n play or bassinet for the new baby for a few months, I would do that.

My advice to you is to wait if you can. If you have a place for your new one to sleep, ie bassinet. speaking from experience I found that even waiting till they are two has its struggles. I think at 15 months he wouldn't have the will power to stay in bed. I'd wait till he is about 2. That worked for us.

My son was ready to transfer at 2, but there is no way I would move my (newly 2) daughter...so, it does depend on the kid. Another option - have the baby sleep in a bassinet or pack n play for up to the first 6 months - that buys you a little time...shouldn't move the big brother just because another one is on it's way! He will remember it more, especially if he isn't ready! When you do switch him, this is what worked for us...we had a queen sized mattress (that was extra) and we put it on the floor, no box spring...it was great, no falling out!

yeah I agree with Malea. My daugther got the same age because she was climbing out and actually fell out once and thankfully landed in the big laundry basket.

I put my kids, I have three, in a toddler bed around 18 mths., when they started to climb. Using the the crib mattresses from each child in the same toddler bed frame. You can buy them rather cheap from Walmart. I was reluctant to put them in a regular twin size bed because of potty-training and bed wetting issues. It is easier and cheaper to replace a crib mattress than a twin bed.

I honestly would not switch him out of a crib yet, he's so young. You really do not want your toddler up out of bed all night when you're already sleep-deprived from a newborn. Unless he is excessively climbing out, I would keep him in his crib for as long as possible (closer to 3 years old) and buy or borrow another crib for the new baby. I have a 26 month old and a 5 month old, and our oldest is still in his crib and the baby sleeps in a pack 'n play in our room. I can't tell you how amazing it has been to not have to deal with our son wandering around his room/the house/into our room all night and knowing he is safe and secure in his crib (which he absolutely loves and will probably sleep in until he's in kindergarten lol) while i was up with the baby at all hours of the night. My friend just had her second baby and switched her toddler to a toddler bed to free up the crib and she regrets it every single day. He will not stay in bed to nap and wakes up to run into their room and scream on average 6 times a night. Nobody is sleeping in their house---it is definitely worth it to just try and find another crib for the new baby, or pack 'n plays are pretty cheap too!

Hi S.,
All 3 of my kids moved into toddler beds at 15 months without any problems. :)

I agree! Don't waste the $ on a toddler bed...go straight to a twin. My daughter went from her crib to a bed (w/ box spring and frame) at 2.5. If I were to have done it earlier I probably would have put the mattress on the floor as previously suggested. Make sure the whole room is baby proofed and if he gets out of the room try to determine any dangers that may not have occured to you yet! Congrats on baby #2!

Here are things to consider before you take the advice to skip the toddler bed and go straight to a twin: Does your son climb out of the crib right now? How likely do you think he is to climb out of a twin or toddler bed? Will the new baby sleep with you or in a bassinet for a while, allowing your toddler to stay in the crib until a bit older? My personal opinion is that it is best/easiest to leave a child in a crib until they are endangering themselves by trying to climb out or until they are old enough to reasonably be expected to stay in a toddler/twin bed. I think 15 mos is a little young to expect that kind of behavior. The advantage to the toddler bed is size, and if you plan on rooming them together that might be important, especially with any extra baby furniture you might have in there. My suggestion is that you get a crib/toddler bed convertible, especially if you want to put the new baby in the crib right away. We had one that we transitioned my oldest into when the little one was born. They are 2 years apart, and we had him in there a few months before we converted it to a toddler bed. Then when the youngest is ready, you can move him/her into that and get a twin for big brother. Good luck and congrats on the growing family!