switching to toddler bed

britishbride05

Abby's crib has been recalled and with her trying to climb out the other day, i think it's a sign to move her over already.  What did you do when you switched in terms of baby proofing?  Did you put a gate in front of their bedroom door?  Child proof the door knob?  I've gotten some good advice switching her into the actual bed and different techniques, but what about prepping the room?  

i figured we'll do it this weekend.  peter has the next week off and will be home from monday-friday, so at least we'll be able to take turns with the inevitable wakeups!

MrsLeanna

major baby-proofing b/c I didn't want to have to worry about her getting into stuff in the middle of the night.  Basically took everything off the dresser, we used to keep books there b/c I didn't want her getting any ideas about climbing  to grab them. Put locks on the drawers and the closet doors.  And anything else that she could get into or get hurt, we either removed or locked.  We do not have a gate by the door, I didn't want her to feel trapped, plus I felt it wasn't safe, so we leave her door partially open.  She would get up and leave the room the first week or so when we first put her down, but we just put her back in every time and now she doesn't leave the room, she plays with her toys quietly for a little while before falling asleep but she stays there.  She has appeared in our room in the morning twice, but normally she calls for us when she wakes up.

It was a super easy transition this time around  

britishbride05

thanks!!  yeah, my mom said not to do the gate/lock b/c she would feel trapped.  How do you lock the closet?  Ours are the type that slide to the side.  I hadn't thought about locking that, but she does like to go in it aaaall the time lol

i know it's going to be rough, but we're just going to have to work at it!

MellyMelB

I did not do too much in the way of baby proofing because I already had her room in a condition that she could pretty much play in whatever she wanted. Closets had latches, outlets covered, etc. I left her dresser the way it was because she could not reach at that point anyway - just make sure everything she can reach is safe for her. Also, Sophia STILL to this day has not figured out how to turn her doorknob. I am so OK with that. LOL. I hope she is 5 before she figures it out. But the day she does - I will be baby proofing those, too. I know plenty of parents who have turned the knobs around so that it cannot lock from the inside. We have had her lock herself in a few times but we have the stick-key thing close at hand and always get her out right away. LOL.

MrsLeanna

We have the accordion doors and I found something at BRU that you put on the top so they can't be opened.  Just look online or go to one of the stores, they sell stuff for almost everything!

MellyMelB

Let me add - we close Sophia's door at night. I will not give her free reign of my house while we are asleep. Sometimes we leave it open while she is falling asleep but she has learned better than to climb out of bed at bedtime. When she needs us in the middle of the night she calls us and we go in there. Funny enough, she sits in her bed until I go in there and she asks me, "Mommy, is it okay for me to wake up now?" LOLOL. But this is only since the twin bed arrived so I figure she will be wandering her room in the mornings shortly enough once she gets used to it.

MelanieJH1016

I didn't change a thing. She plays in her room every morning and so I felt I could trust her to know what she can and can not do in there.  Her furniture is already bolted to the walls for safety and the outlets have covers, that's about it... I close her door at night so she can't roam the house if she got up. She does know how to open her door now, but for some reason she never tries in the night or when she gets up in the morning! she just bangs on it and waits for me to get her!

britishbride05

man, abby learned how to open both types of doors in our house!  lol  and i don't trust that kid with anything.  she knows how to pull the outlet covers off- we have to get the kind that is built into the plate cover- she even figured out how to open the diaper pail and has been trying to open the gates we have- she's just not strong enough to press down on the foot lock to open the gate.  she has also learned how to stack her books so she can climb on them to reach stuff on her dresser.  it's lovely. 

SoontobeSavino

Alex's transition was soooooo easy. He easily moved into a toddler bed, thought we did opt for the gate at his door. He wasnt a child of mischief at all, I just felt more at ease with a gate up and not the door shut. With Max, he shows no desire to be out of his crib, he can stay in there until he is 5 He does sleep on a mat at school, so I know he can handle the open space, I think I just want to keep him as my baby for as long as possible. My niece, Adrianna, went to a bed like it was nothing, that was a little over 2-3 weeks ago. They keep a gate up at her door too. 

britishbride05

SoontobeSavino:

Alex's transition was soooooo easy. He easily moved into a toddler bed, thought we did opt for the gate at his door. He wasnt a child of mischief at all, I just felt more at ease with a gate up and not the door shut. With Max, he shows no desire to be out of his crib, he can stay in there until he is 5 He does sleep on a mat at school, so I know he can handle the open space, I think I just want to keep him as my baby for as long as possible. My niece, Adrianna, went to a bed like it was nothing, that was a little over 2-3 weeks ago. They keep a gate up at her door too. 

ugh i want to keep her in the crib for as long as i can, too.  but she's starting to act like a monkey and now with the recall, i'm afraid that the crib gate won't hold her weight.

here's hoping her transition is as good as all your guy's transition!

MrsLeanna

normally Alexis is pretty adventurous and tests me all the time so I was afraid that she would wander at night.  But she doesn't at all.  She pretty much sleeps through the night- better than she did in her crib actually and the couple times she's woken up, she's not totally awake so she's not coherent enough to go wandering around, she's still half asleep.  She calls for us and we go in and just tuck her back in and that's it.  Even if she were to get up, I would imagine that she would just some get us, not wander around alone.