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View Full Version : What is in your unconfined toddler's bedroom??



SASM
10-01-2004, 11:04 PM
YIKES!! I am sooooo NOT ready to post in this forum - I don't have time to catch up with one forum let alone TWO!!. My toddler is not even two yet - I still have 4 more months of Baby Bargains! Ok, Sharyn...think baby steps!!

Our family has been living in transition for 4 months, causing Ian to sleep in a pack-n-play. We will be moving next month (YEAH!!) to our final destination. Our dilemma is that we are going to TRY and transition Ian to a toddler bed or a twin mattress on the floor as soon as we are settled. At that point he will be ~21 months old. I am kind of freaked out by the amount of freedom Ian will suddenly have ~ being confined to a crib has been good for him. He occupies himself, somehow, before he falls asleep and when he wakes with a lovey, blanket and stuffed toy that we keep in his PNP; however, with the freedom of having no crib barriers I just envision him all over the place and finding him asleep in the closet! So...what have you found to be successful during this transition? What toys do you have in the room? What furniture? What "bed" did you find works best? I really would like to keep him in a crib BUT we REALLY do not want to buy another crib for our Baby No. 2 arriving in February, plus he has been away from a crib for so long that it seems like the right time. YIKES!!! Please help.

TIA!

houseof3boys
10-02-2004, 11:29 AM
I have no answers for you but I sure have the same concerns! We are "planning" on the twin mattress route as well. Ryan will be 20 months when the baby comes but we want to transition him before that. We figured that we'll have to do that with the crib though since he is way too little to start at 18 or 19 months w/o a crib. I figured that the new baby will sleep in our room for at least 2.5 months so that buys me a bit more time!

I have crazy visions just like you do and wonder how he'll ever get to sleep!

I hope someone can give us some answers. :)

SASM
10-03-2004, 09:13 AM
Hi!

I am 10 days behind you! :)

DH and I have been going back and forth between getting a toddler bed and a twin mattress on the floor. Ian has been away from his crib for so long that I do not want to turn it into a toddler bed to start the transition (I'm afraid that if we do that he'll get mad at the baby for taking away his bed). UGH! We are moving in a two weeks to a more populated area so hopefully we'll be able to do some bed/mattress shopping when we arrive - IKEA, PB Outlet, Cargo Kids.

PLEASE help!!

Jeanne
10-04-2004, 04:30 PM
We transitioned our first at 27 months because we needed the crib for our second. She took to it right away and loved it. We put her in a full size bed on the floor at first but one month later, put the frame on with a bedrail. She's not a roamer so I've never had to worry about that. Once she's out, she's really out.

We told her that she could not get out of bed unless she called for us. It worked so we haven't had to make any changes. I purposely didn't put many toys in her room to avoid waking/roaming/playing.

Not sure if that will work 100% for you as Ian is much younger than Charlotte was. But I don't think I'd buy another crib either.

We decided to put a full size bed in her room because we wanted the flexibility of being able to lay down with her, if needed. It definitely made the transition easy and we've found that on the two occasions that she's been sick, being next to her makes her rest easier. It's also good for cuddling after a bad dream, etc...

SASM
10-05-2004, 10:42 PM
Thank you so much :) You are a lucky gal! I cannot imagine Ian NOT roaming and actually OBEYING a command to stay put :)

Jeanne
10-06-2004, 11:28 AM
He just might surprise you!

sarsah
10-06-2004, 07:09 PM
My oldest was 27 months when we moved him out of his crib. He was and still is very tall for his age and he was falling over the rail of his crib.

We went right to a twin bed. We bought him bunk beds (got a super deal at Cargo Kids) and assembled the parts for the top bunk as a single bed on the floor, so there was a rail all the way around. Although he could climb in and out of the bed by himself, it took him almost 6 months before he would actually get out of the bed without us being there. He has always slept through the night and we've never had a problem with him roaming the house. If you think that will be a problem, I would put a gate at his door -- close it after he goes to sleep if necessary and remove it when you wake up (if he's like my son who freaks out when he's confined).

Be sure to baby proof his room -- remove all shampoo, lotions, baby wipes, etc. or put them up high and where he can not climb. My DS took great pleasure in squeezing out a whole tube of diaper rash creame in the middle of his floor and making 'snow' with baby powder. These were up on a shelf above his changing table, but he somehow managed to climb and get them when he woke up from his nap early and I didn't hear him right away. Also, make sure there are no pictures, clocks or other items hanging where he could stand on his bed and reach them.

The transition from crib to 'big boy bed' actually went a lot smoother than I thought it would.

Sarah.....mom to Jason (5/25/00) & Devin (5/12/04)

kmty
10-08-2004, 04:58 PM
Well, we have a baby due in a few months, so we moved over DS at about 23.5 months from a crib to a mattress on the floor. We had planned to move him over at 2 years - when the furniture arrived for his new room arrived, but a fall from the crib caused us to move up the plan. So, right now, his nursery contains a crib, a changing table/dresser, hamper, diaper genie, a sippy cup with water on the window sill, and mattress on the floor.

In the first few days, we did find him roaming for 20 minutes before going to bed (occasionally opening cabinets in the dresser), or going under the crib, but now that happens once a week, and he eventually ends up going to the mattress to sleep. He has always been a good sleeper, so when he wakes up, he will occasionally call to us/cry for us but more often just roll over and go back to sleep.

We also keep his closet door and bedroom door closed, and just have the monitor on. So, if he calls, we come to get him.

In the next week or so, we will be moving him into a new room, and put him in the bottom bunk of a bunk bed (ladder removed) and railings normally on top bunk on the bottom bunk. I'll let you know how that works out.

By the way, one thing that worked well for our move was getting character sheets for DS. He loves Nemo and Winnie and having both of those sheet sets makes him excited to go to bed.

Kathy
Mom to Ben (2) and expecting on 1/2005

naomi01
11-09-2004, 10:22 PM
So I have to ask - what happened? I am now in that same situation (my 23 month old just stuck his foot over the crib for the first time today) and fear he will run rampant all over the house once we move him to a bed... so to everyone who posted they were about to move their dear children - how did it work out?

Naomi
DS 12/02/02
DD 10/18/04

Momof3Labs
11-12-2004, 05:16 PM
Colin climbed out of his crib a couple of months ago, so we went out and bought a crib tent. He loves it, so we can rest peacefully for a while longer knowing that he can't escape!!

naomi01
11-12-2004, 09:59 PM
Hmmm... must look into a crib tent - hopefully it will buy us a few more weeks!

Naomi