Help with toddler sleeping arrangements! Moving temporarily (long).

[nitaghei]

Thought I'd toss this out in this forum, and see if the toddler mamas had any suggestions for me.

This is our situation: I'm moving to Chicago for the next academic year with DS, while DH stays put with the dog. After looking at rents in downtown Chicago, I think all I'll be able to afford is a 1 bedroom apartment.

DS still sleeps in his crib. He's climbed out a couple of times, but mostly he's content. But, given that he's just about two and half, I really don't to buy another crib now. So, would just having a twin mattress on the floor be a reasonable solution, or am I deluding myself? He is an extremely restless sleeper, and I worry about him being any height off the ground without the protection of the crib. Also, co-sleeping isn't an option, because he just wants to wake up and play when we try that.

My current, very tentative plan right now is to :

1) Use the bedroom in the apartment as his room. Put a twin mattress on the floor, and also a little table and chairs, and whatever toys we take. Toddler proof as thoroughly as I can.

2) Basically give up the idea of having a "living room", and use the living room as my room/home-office. I plan on taking a futon with a frame that folds up in a couch, FWIW, for my own bed.

How realistic is this? I would appreciate any help/feedback/advice from anyone who does the apartment living with a toddler thing. The last time I was in an apartment was 12 years ago, and I was single.

Should we try to transition him to a twin at home before the move? Or just leave the crib as is? It is convertible to a toddler bed, so we have that option, too. DS is used to sleeping in a cot at daycare, if that matters at all.

Can you tell I'm beginning to freak over the move? Especially since my single biggest worry - finding daycare that will use cloth diapers - has been taken of?

TIA

Nita (fleece is my friend)
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a PWD and a cocker (at the Rainbow Bridge)

[em_jon98]

Nita,

I would probably convert the crib to a toddler bed and put a twin mattress (if you have an extra) on the floor next to it. We did this with Lindsey at 18 months, which was way too early to move her from a crib but we needed to have her out of a crib because I had to have back surgery and I was not allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds for six weeks afterwards. Mostly, she ended up on the twin mattress on the floor because she rolled out of the toddler bed, but eventually she stayed in the toddler bed and we moved her to a regular twin day bed when we moved into our new house eight months later. She was fine in the twin. Of course, all kids are different, but he will probably be fine on a twin on the floor if he is used to sleeping that way.

We are in the suburbs, and I'm not sure how it would work out logistically, but I would be happy to loan you our crib, which converts into a toddler bed, for the year you are here. It is just in storage in the garage attic right now, so it isn't doing anyone any good up there, lol ;). It was a hand me down to us, but meets all the current safety standards and we purchased a new crib mattress for Lindsey. Email me and LMK if you want to borrow it. I'm sure we can work out something to get it out to you :).

HTH