When did you make the switch to a bed?

[jojo2324]

And did most of you go with a toddler bed, or twin bed? I would rather not get the toddler bed, as we have a twin bed already.

I really don't know what to do...I don't want to get a second crib for the baby, but I also have reservations about her sleeping in a PNP or cradle (which probably won't even last that long) for many months...And I don't know when Gannon's going to be ready to make the move.

[twins r fun]

Funny you should ask this right now! We used this past week when DH and I were both home all week to try to transition the boys to beds. We tried it for a week and after lots of late nights, early mornings, and nonexistent naps they are now back in their cribs!! We did toddler beds becuase I decided to switch them on a whim and didn't feel like going out bed shopping, rearranging the room, and figuring out what kind of bed linens I wanted. I got two used race car toddler beds for $50 total and the boys really loved their car beds. We took all the toys and books out of their room, locked all the dresser drawers, got a more childproof nightlight, and used the baby gate we already had on their door. They seemed fine with getting rid of the crib, but we just could not get them to stay in their beds. It was taking them forever to get to sleep at night because they were up playing, they were getting up in the middle of the night to play, and then getting up for good about 2 hours before their normal wake up time. They would stay in their room for their whole naptime but most days they wouldn't sleep. It started turning into a huge fight to try and get them to stay in bed as opposed to playing. They were cranky all day due to lask of sleep (as was I) and after 7 days I gave up on it! They seem happy back in their cribs again and are back to sleeping well. I would have thought with nothing to play with in their room they would have fairly quickly tired of wandering around the room and gotten into bed and gone to sleep. However in part, our problem was that we couldn't take away the coolest plaything-their brother.

I think they just were not ready for beds and I wasn't ready for the effort it was going to take to make it work. I did it because Caleb had fallen out of his crib recently and gotten stuck midway out once, but I think I'll try a crib tent instead if he keeps doing this. I'm not willing to give up the good sleep that confinement in a crib brings!

Good luck if you try it!

[emmiem]

I am writing this after spending 2 hours to try to get my almost 3 year old to bed in her toddler bed. We tried to move her to a twin bed three months ago and she fell out with two guard rails. We waited and ordered a Davinci Lauren toddler bed (which is gorgeous by the way) and set it up. She rushed through her bath and wanted to go to bed way too early. Finally, we started her night time routine and OMG..delay tactics, hitting, temper tandrum galore. I asked if she wanted the crib and she kept saying no. Finally at 11:20, we wheeled the toddler bed out and put the mattress back in the crib. We rocked her for 5 minutes and she went into the crib. I guess we will try again in a few months. I have a baby coming in the fall so we have plenty of time. In fact, I have no opposition to buying a second crib if need be.

Anybody know the height and weight limit on a Simmons crib? Does anyone make cribs for 10 year olds?????
Emmie

[brubeck]

We switched Amy at 18 months and skipped the toddler bed. We actually went to a full bed because it was my bachelorette bed that we had lying around unused, and it had the advantage of being only 18 inches off the ground.

Now we didn't just say, "Hey, here's your new bed, jump in!" First I left the mattress in her playroom. When I left her there at naptime (she would usually nap on the floor) she decided that she liked the comfort of the mattress and slept there. After a few days of this I put the mattress in her room, but she still slept in the crib. Granted, it was a tight fit, but at least she got used to seeing it in her room. Then after about a week of this we put her to sleep (mattress was still on the floor) on the mattress, but the crib was still in the room. After a week of sleeping on the mattress we took the crib out. A month or so after that we put the mattress on the frame and she had a real bed. We didn't use a bedrail. Instead we just put the full bed in the corner and put her to sleep in that corner (as far away from the edge as possible).

On the bed we used some old sheets and an old, stained (but clean) comforter so we didn't care if there were problems or accidents. This was very foresighted as we have had a few nighttime potty disasters!

I think some kids just can't be switched overnight, they need time to get used to the new bed and warm up to it.

The other big factor with Amy was comfort. Ever since I gave her her first pillow at about 15 months she decided that it was better sleeping on that than a hard crib mattress. So moving to a 'big girl' mattress was another comfort step up.

Another thing that might have helped is that as part of Amy's bedtime ritual I would usually sit with her in the master bed and watch the news at night before she went down. We would snuggle under the covers and lie back on the pillows and I think she got used to the idea that a bed is a place for sleeping and relaxing. In fact we kept up this ritual until a month or two ago when she started going to bed at 8 pm because she is now napless (another LONG story).

Anyhow, I know this is a jumble of thoughts, but I HTH!

[jojo2324]

Rut-ro...Now I'm even more confused!! :) My fears are exactly what Nicole described...Gannon's going to be hopping in and out of bed non-stop. And we still struggle (especially the last couple of weeks, ugh!) with naps and bedtime, so I KNOW that it's going to be a battle.

The reason I don't want to get another crib is because of their spacing...I'm sure the instant I get another one, Gannon will suddenly be ready for a bed, and we'll be out a couple hundred bucks that we don't really have. And then even if I did get another crib, is it worth it for the few months Gannon will theoretically have left there?

We have a cradle (which was really dumb, but I can't exchange it now...should've gotten a co-sleeper), and a PNP. I have no idea how long the cradle will be good for...three months? And then she'll probably be sleeping with us and in the PNP. But I don't like the idea of her sleeping in the PNP for too long. I know people do use them as a primary sleeping space, but it's just something that weirds me out.

I guess time will tell! :) Thanks for the replies!

[twins r fun]

Joanne,

I know Rachel W. has kept Arielle in her crib and bought the baby a portacrib. Not a PNP, but a wooden portacrib. I don't know how much cheaper a portacrib is than a regular crib, but I know Rachel had considered moving Arielle to a bed, but decided not to. Maybe this would be an option for you? Also we bought our cribs new at BRU for $199, which isn't too horrible (and the cribs seem great to me). After my experience moving to beds, I certainly would not want to be doing that while dealing with a newborn. Though to be honest, I now don't want to deal with it ever-I like that idea of a 10 year old in a crib!

[suzska]

Our ped told us to try switching either 3 months before or 3 months after baby #2 arrives. We got Evan his "big boy bed" in November and set it up before we went on vacation. We got the VISDALEN daybed from IKEA--it's a twin bed that has a pull-out section (not really a trundle, but sort of) that doubles the size of the bed if you get 2 of their thin foam mattresses--which we did, although we may never use it that way--plus it has three large storage drawers in the pull-out section. And it has "backs" on three sides, not just the ends. That leaves Evan only one way to fall out. The end panels are also the reason you have to get the 2 thin mattresses if you want to use the pull-out part--stacking two regular mattresses would make it too high. When you double the bed size, you separate the mattresses. There is no box spring. Don't know if you wanted the full description of the bed, but there it is.

Back to the sleeping part. We didn't really push Evan to use the bed. We would try to get him to nap there a few times. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn't. I like having the twin size bed because someone can lay down with Evan--he's use to usually having someone lay down with him until he falls asleep, whether for a nap or at night. Before we got the bed, DH would lay down with him on the floor at night until he fell asleep, and then DH would move him to the crib. The bed just happens to be placed in the same spot on the floor where they use to lay down. (Yeah, I know, the kid doesn't fall asleep on his own, but that's another issue for another time, right?) So about a week after we came back from vacation, DH would lay down with Evan on the twin bed. Sometimes Evan would ask to go in the crib before he fell asleep, sometimes DH would just move him to the crib after he fell asleep. After about a week of that, I think DH just started leaving him in the "big bed." We don't use a rail. Evan's pretty good about staying away from the edge so far. We just put a couple pillows between him and the edge. I also try to make sure there aren't any toys or anything that could hurt him on the floor if he did happen to fall out. We have a gate in his doorway, so he can't get out of the room if he does get up.

The only bad thing is now when he wakes up around 6am and sits up, he gets out of bed and comes to the gate instead of going back to sleep. Often when he did that in the crib, he would just lay back down and sleep until 7:30 or 8am. I think he slept until 7:30 this morning though, so hopefully we're back to "normal."

I do have a portable bassinet (that I won, otherwise I wouldn't have it) that I plan to use at the beginning for baby #2. I also figure if things get bad (with baby #2 keeping Evan up or something since they're in the same room), Evan can sleep with DH in our room, and I'll sleep in the twin and baby in the crib for awhile. I'm trying to get Evan to understand that Baby needs his crib, but I don't know how much sinks in.

Like most things, Evan just decided one day that he would sleep in the big bed, and that was that. He's been that way with getting rid of binkies, switching from bottles to sippies, being able to use a straw, and reading. Hopefully one day he will decide to be potty trained, and that will be that. I can hope, can't I?

[khakismom]

Maybe it's a girl thing, but Kathleen moved to a big girl bed (also a double bed) with no problems when she was about 22 months--ACK, just about a year ago. (My how time flies...) OK, back to topic. We moved her toys and all her stuff into this room for a few weeks before she ever slept in it. We called it her new room and she got dressed in there and played in there, even though she was still sleeping in her crib. Then one day we decided it was time--combined with her asking to sleep in her big girl bed. Once we layed her down, she cried for about 30 seconds and that was it--no more that night and not since then. She never once moved back to the crib, nor has she fallen out. We have it against 2 sides and started out with a crib rail on the long side. We took the rail down a few months ago.

We've also never had any problems with her getting out of bed. She knows how to get down but for some reason won't get off the bed until one of us comes into her room. Then she hops off. Very strange, but I don't question it too much. :) You never know, maybe Gannon won't know that he can get out of a bed without rails. I've had a couple of friends' kids be this way--or maybe they were too scared to get out without the parents.

I've rambled enough. We just knew that we wanted her in her new bed at least 3 months before Ellen's arrival.

Good luck, I'm sure it will all work out! :)

[suzska]

Of course Evan has gotten up around 3-3:30am the past two nights/mornings. UGH! The first time I just gave up and brought him into our room. But last night I told him we were all sleeping and he had to go back to bed. His doorway is directly opposite the door to our room, and he comes to the gate and asks to get out. Being very pregnant, I had to use the bathroom soon after he got up. I peeked in his room and he was standing next to his bed, with his head on the bed, when I went into the bathroom. When I came out, I peeked in again, and he was curled up with Elmo on his Pooh beanbag next to the bed. I gave him another 10-15 minutes to make sure he was asleep, and then somehow managed to lift him back into his bed by myself. He was fine until morning.

[Melanie]

We're co-sleepers in the process of making the switch to a full-sized bed. Ds is just over 2.

I don't see the benefits of using a toddler bed if you already have a twin...

[emmiem]

The benefits of a toddler bed is that it is low to the ground. There are side rails built into the bed. My DD fell out of a twin bed although we bought two side rails and pushed them in. There was still a gap by the head. Also, with a toddler bed, you don't have to buy new linen or yet. I know that I am having a tough time matching new twin size linen with her wallpaper and Jack and Jill bath paint job. My DD is very small- 25 lbs and 34 inches at 3 years old so a toddler bed is the way we will go even though we tried the twin.
Emmie

[egoldber]

Well, we got Sarah a toddler bed this summer. After a couple months sitting in our basement :( I got DH to set it up. For a few days, I talked about the big girl bed, etc. and get her used to the idea. One day I asked if she wanted to sleep in it, she said yes, and she slept in it for a week. Hooray!

BUT! Then we went to Disneyworld for a week (where she slept in a double bed in the same room with us and fell out of bed 2-3 times :( ), cam ehome and she REFUSED to have anything to do with the toddler bed. That was the middle of Novemeber.

After that, I gradually moved all her clothes and her toys into the new room. We bought a train table and set it up in there. I asked her nearly every day if she wanted to sleep in her big girl bed and she kept saying no, no, no...

While we were away this last couple weeks, we stayed at my in-laws. There she slept on a small fold out bed (slightly largere than a toddler bed), but pushed into a corner, so it was all cozy and snug and enclosed. She really dug that and slept pretty well there.

FINALLY, this week, she wanted to nap in her big girl bed. So the last few days she has been taking her nap in the toddler bed. One night she actually asked to sleep in it, but that only lasted until 3 am, when she screamed to go back in the crib. So at this point we are napping in the toddler bed and night sleeping in the crib.

Funny little buggers aren't they???

[Lynnie]

Just recently at 21 months - I got a toddler bed off e-bay in august, but my son never seemed interested, and the two times we tried to put him in there to sleep, he would just get out and walk back to the family room. The day he turned 21 months old, just a couple of days ago, he apparently decided that he was ready for the toddler bed. He had started screaming at bedtime, which was unusual, cause he had been a great sleeper, and constantly stood at the side of his crib, shaking the rails. So the other night, when I went in to calm him down, I took him to his new room to rock with him in the glider, and he said "no" and pointed to the toddler bed. I put him in it, and he was asleep in 10 minutes and slept peacefully through the night.

I was regretting the purchase of a toddler bed, but now that he is sleeping in it, i think it was probably worth the $100 or so i spent for bed and mattress combined (toddler bed from e-bay, mattress from bru). I do want to get a twin bed soon, so i can totally decorate his room before the second baby comes, but will probably live with the toddler bed a little longer. it is good to know that he won't have far to fall if he rolls out at night !

[Elisa]

I have two, a 3 year old girl (Cecilia) and a 2 year old boy (Julian). Cecilia dropped her nap at 18 months but continued with afternoon quiet times. She slept in a crib that converted to a toddler bed and then to a full sized bed.
I kept the railings down in her crib and she was able to climb in and out by herself. When she stayed in her crib at night I knew she was ready for her toddler bed. I decided to switch her crib to a toddler bed when I was getting big with my second pregnancy, so she could get in and out by herself. The day I switched, I made her room more like a little girl's room and removed the baby decorations. It also happened to line up with her potty training. She was thrilled to have her big bed.
Just recently, we switched to a full bed and she loves it. She has not fallen out out of it except when her brother slept with her in it! I guess we had it easy with her.
Julian is still in a crib but I leave the railings down for the most part. He can get in and out of it by himself. I haven't switched to a bed yet because I don't want to give him incentive to drop his nap now! At night, he does not climb out of his crib but he does cry when we put him to bed (he calms down after a few minutes and talks himself to sleep). He will sometimes get out of his crib during naptime but goes back in and stays in to sleep after I tell him to. Sometimes, he will want to get in bed with his sister. Only once has he fallen asleep with her. One time, I found him awake in her bed chatting and singing while his sister was out cold. This was a huge hint that he may start wandering around if I were to switch him to a bed now. Plus I think at this age, he likes the small area the crib provides--it's like a cubby hole for him.
For Julian, I will probably go straight to a twin bed. He has no problems climbing up and down things, so the height should not be a problem. I would like to use his toddler bedding longer and a toddler bed would allow that, but I won't buy one unless I find a really good deal because he is as tall as his sister and would outgrow one quite soon.

[jal]

Age 16 months!

For various reasons, we had been letting Patrick sleep with us from about the time of his 1st d'day til age 16 months.

We had had enough and finally DW agreed to make Patrick sleep in his own room even if it did mean letting him cry it out (something she never allowed up to this point).

Well we quickly discovered that he WAS NOT GOING TO SLEEP IN A CRIB ever again. We tried the mattress on the floor trick. DW had to spend the first few nights with him, but within a week, he was sleeping ON HIS OWN AND SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT (something that rarely ever occured before this time).

At this point, we have the mattress on a box spring (box spring currently on the floor). He fell out of bed once, but hasn't ever since.

[JP4]

My first 2 sons are 21 months apart and their room was downstairs and ours was upstairs. We used a monitor, but didn't want our toddler wandering around at night. We decided to just get another crib and let our older son stay in the crib. It worked very well for us and was well worth the expense of another crib. Our children have all stayed in the crib until about age 3.