Would you transition this toddler to a crib?

[anne-girl]

We are expecting DC2 in two months, and DS is 2y2m. He seems quite happy sleeping/napping in his crib and never tries to get out when he's getting up in the morning/after nap, even when we don't go get him right away. Sometimes he'll unzip and try to take off his sleep sack if he doesn't make much noise and I don't realize he's up, but he seems to be fine with rolling around in bed waiting for us. Speaking of rolling, he rolls around constantly at night and I'm sure he'd fall out a lot. We do put him down awake at night/naps so I have a feeling he would continue to fall right to sleep on his own in a regular bed, but I'm not sure.

The big problem is, he can climb out. I started putting him in his crib for time outs because every other spot is a game to him. He hated it for a week, then climbed right out. I've also seen him try to climb in.

He has a toddler convertible crib, so we've got a couple of choices: buy another crib for baby and leave him in his, buy another crib for baby and transition him to the toddler bed, or start him with a twin mattress on the floor.

I'm a little worried about transitioning him now because a) we are seriously pressed for time before baby comes and b) we're already giving him a different dresser and taking out the change table for the baby, so we don't want to change his entire room! Also, he's just figured out how to unlock the upstairs gate. *sigh*

Some of my friends told me to transition him the minute he can climb out; others told me he would probably be happy to wait a year. Thoughts?

[boltfam]

In order to avoid having to buy another crib, we have transitioned both of my DCs to a twin bed on the floor or close to the floor before new babies have come. DS always stayed in his bed until we would come in, and DD is a diff. story, but she at least stays in her room. We also have a monitor in her room so we can hear when she is up. She is 2y 2m. I wasn't sure about transitioning DD but it has been fine, and I have heard and agree that it's better to transition before the baby comes.

[BabbyO]

FWIW we didn't plan to transition DS1 out of his crib because he was happy, too. But then he started climbing out (after we already got the new crib). So we did transition him to his toddler bed. He was 2 at the time (DS2 arrived when he was 2yr2mo). This was our (unplanned, but successful schedule).

1yr11 mo - started climbing out of crib, transitioned to toddler bed in his current room.
2yr - moved him from the nursery to his new room (in his toddler bed - the only piece of furniture that stayed the same for him)
2yr 2mo - DS2 arrived and things were fine.

I would suggest if you transition spend a couple $$ on a pool noodle. Put the pool noodle under the mattress pad and sheet on the open side of his toddler bed. It is enough to prevent him from falling out at night (we had a roller too) but still allows him to get in on his own.

If you're going to transition, do it before baby #2 and highlight his NEW things. I think part of the reason that DS1's transition was totally successful was that his new room was bright and fun and he LOVED it. DH and I unveiled the nearly completed room for his 2nd birthday and DS thought it was the best thing ever. While your DS isn't getting a new room...he is getting NEW things, which you could get him excited about.

GL!

[anne-girl]

Good idea with the pool noodle--there's no lip on the edge of the toddler version of his crib. We even have one kicking around the basement from a car seat installation.

I guess my main worry is that there might be sleep re-training involved... we so do not have a week of evenings to throw at this transition. But then, it wouldn't be any easier with two kids around. LOL

[wendibird22]

When we were expecting #2 we put DD1 in a twin mattress on the floor. We started that transition at 25mos thinking it might be a long process (#2 was expected when DD1 turned 2.5). She loved the big girl bed and took to it right away. I think we left the mattress on the floor for several months and then put it on the box spring but no frame and left it that way for gosh, a yr. DD1 not only transitioned to a new bed but to a new room and new dressers too. She loved having her new (hand me down but new to her) furniture and new room. DH and I couldn't believe how easy it was. Oh, and she never got out of bed. She'd call to us that she was awake. We were amazed to say the least. Me personally, I'd be worried about my child if they could climb in/out of a crib. But I'm a worrier about stuff like that.

[mom2binsd]

I wouldn't mess with it...and at two he might perceive baby as taking his crib...DD was 2.5 when DS arrived, she was a great sleeper in her crib...she stayed in her crib until age 4. I bought a cute crib at Kmart for 99.00, it coverted to a toddler bed and we're now using the head board for his double bed...so it was worth it.

You can find an expensive crib for the new one, and leave the older one in his crib.

[KpbS]

I too would leave him in his crib. Have you tried putting the sleepsack on backwards? Works pretty well for all but the total houdini babies bound and determined to escape no matter what. With a sleepsack on, mine never attempted to climb out b/c they can't get a leg over the rails. Dealing with sleep issues with a toddler while suffering the sleep deprivation that is the newborn stage is torture!

[fedoragirl]

DD is not a climber and we have left her in her crib. She is 2.5. We tried to transition her crib to her toddler bed and it did not go over well. She played in her room till the wee hours and we found her asleep in strange positions. This would have been fine for a few days but she kept it up for a month before we decided to move her back to her crib. We bought an identical crib for DS from Ikea.