Opinions please - is it time for a big boy bed?

[CharlotteMommy]

22 mo DS will be a big brother this September. He will be 27 mo when the baby is born. He is very content in his crib, and I had thought that we would buy the baby a crib, and keep DS in his own crib until he was about 2.5 – 3 yo. Recently, however, I have heard from several friends about very successful crib to bed transitions of LO’s starting as young as 15 mo, and of course, this got me rethinking my original plan. DS’ current crib transitions to a toddler bed and also to a full size bed.

I’m looking for opinions on what to do. Is it time for a big boy bed or should we keep him in his crib? If it’s time to transition, should we move to the toddler bed, the full bed, or buy him a new bed so the baby can have the current crib?

DS is a very mild mannered and content little guy. He so far has never tried to climb out of his crib (knock on wood!), but I know a bed offers more freedom. So, how should we proceed here? Opinions please! TIA!

[elektra]

He is very content in his crib

KEEP THE CRIB.

I was so thankful that DD was still in her crib when DS was born when she was 26 months.
I still regret moving her at closer to 2 and 1/2 because she had only tried to climb out once and she has only slept through the night in her big girl bed like once.

[WolfpackMom]

You can take this with a grain of salt, since DS is only 14months. My DN switched to a big boy bed at 21/22 months and it made his parents lives so much easier. He stopped waking up during the night (he was moving aorund and hitting the sides etc). They have had no issues with him getting out of the bed etc. If its something you want to do, I think it can be done. It all depends on the temperment of the kid (and perhaps, of the parents if said kid decides to get out of bed). I would consider since you say you were planning on putting DS in a bed at 2.5-3 yrs old and thats just 3 months after you baby is expected to arrive. I think the transition would be harder post-baby than pre-baby.
FWIW I have two friends who also just switched their 2 yr old and 23 month old to big boy beds pre-baby's arrival and it has gone fine for them as well, they both made it into a big event of getting a big boy room etc and the baby having a baby room.

[gobadgers]

My DD was only 22 months when DS was born, but I was also really happy to have her still in a crib when DS was an infant. We bought a cheap second crib for DS at IKEA, used it for a year and sold it. Everyone told us to keep them in their cribs as long as we could - if he's not trying to climb out I'd stick with a crib if it were me.

[justlearning]

My DS1 was 2 1/2 when DS2 was born. Our crib didn't convert into a toddler or full size bed, so we moved DS1 into a twin bed before DS2 was born. We kept the mattress on the floor and also used a snugtuck pillow with it.

DS1 started coming out of his room all the time, so we put a gate up on his doorway. Although he wasn't happy about that for the first few nights, he actually started wanting the gate closed. In fact, he would close it himself when he went to his room at night.

So that situation worked well for us, but every kid is different. In your case, considering that you can convert his crib into a bed, I can see the benefits of keeping him in the crib and buying another for your baby.

[scrooks]

Another vote for buy a second crib. DD was 26 months old and still very happy in her crib when DS was born. At the last minute we bought a second crib at target for DS. Great decision! DD is STILL happily sleeping in her crib- at 3.5! But now I must get her out as DS2 will be arriving in August. I draw the line at 3 cribs!

[Pear]

DD is 2 and she has had her big girl bed for about 6 months. We wanted her to be able to get in an out safely on her own so for now the mattress and boxspring are on the floor. We will add the frame when we think she can handle the height. She is pretty tiny so she just reaches right now.

[chozen]

my niece moved her lo out around 20 mo. or so and good bye went her naps, so i vote keep your lo in crib as long as you can.

[ABO Mama]

KEEP THE CRIB.

[HIU8]

My DS was 26 months when he moved to a big boy bed. HOWEVER, he was ready to be done with the crib. One day around 24 months he just up and asked us for a real bed. Seriously, it threw us but DS was persisent. Plus I was PG and I figured it would be a good time to transition BEFORE DD was born (new bed and new room). It worked out well for us. DS really wanted it. We had no issues with him getting out of bed all the time. No issues with naps or anything. This does not work for everyone though.