transition to a real bed

bh2720

We are really dragging our feet on this because I have no faith that my son will stay in bed on his own. But he's so big now, I think with just a bit more effort, he could absolutely climb out of his crib. And I don't want him to fall and hurt himself.

I don't want to buy a toddler bed because all of our friends who got them said that their kids were in them for less than a year and they were a total waste of money. And unfortunately, we didn't buy the kit to convert his crib to a toddler bed. 

We have a daybed (twin size mattress) in our office and we've planned on this bed his big boy bed, but it seems awfully big now! And Warner is still all over the place in his crib and he usually ends up all crammed up in one of the corners. 

I was kind of thinking that I could buy an extra breathable bumper (there's one on his crib now) and put that around the bars of the day bed. And then get one of these: https://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=537078&cmSource=Search and also, possibly one of these: https://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=534602&cmSource=Search

But DH was thinking that we should just put the mattress on the floor until he starts sleeping like a normal human being so we don't have to worry about him falling off and hurting himself. (and we won't have to buy as much crap)

What do you guys think? How did you do the transition? 

amh_navyblue

I would just do the mattress on the floor--and it could either be the twin mattress or the mattress from his crib--elimates the need to buy a bunch of extra stuff and reduces the potential for a rough landing as he gets used to a bigger bed with no sides to it.  Once everyone is comfortable with this sleeping arrangement, you can put the mattress up on a frame (or go from the small mattress to the big mattress).

Another thought is for your crib, if it's a convertible crib, you probably don't need a "kit" to make it into a toddler bed--if it's like ours, you just take one side off.  Technically there is a piece that you can attach to the side, but we never had that, we just put some blankets and pillows on the floor in case DD fell off.  She fell off once and it's not up as far as a twin bed and it wasn't a bit deal.

GL!

Sofka

we moved DD at 20mo old to a queen size bed, real bed, not mattress on the floor, it's in the corner, we have a rail on one side, a toy box at the foot of the bed. After she fell off, we put 2 pool noodles at the foot of the bed under the sheet and she has not fallen off.

Try to get Warner involved in decorating his new room/bed, picking out a pillow or sheets and making it seem like a really big deal.

 

vtkgirl77

We are not at that stage yet and I'm dreading it as well. One tip I read from someone is that you can buy pool noodles to put on the edges of the bed similar to those inflatable things in your link. The pool noodles won't be as big but just wanted to share that as another option for reducing the potential for rolling off (although I'd still put the mattress on the floor if you use those).

HikerBride07

We transitioned DD to a queen sized floor bed at 13 months.  We used Magic Bumpers (similar to the swim noodles vtkendra mentioned) on the edges of the bed that were against a wall.  We still have the bumpers on two edges but she moves around a lot less than she did in the beginning and rarely rolls off.  We also have a gate in her doorway to keep her in her (babyproofed) room.  :-)  Good Luck!

victoria1212

I guess I will be the debbie downer in this post. DDs transition to the bed has been terrible. We have talked about the big girl bed, assembled it, left it in her room, kept the same sheets and blankets, etc... and we are now on week 3 of the battle. Bedtime use to be so easy but now it is a fight. We transitioned because she could climb out of her crib with great ease. I am not sure what we did wrong but it has made life difficult the last few weeks!

nicnjed

We transitioned DS when he was the same age as Warner (a few weeks after his second birthday).  He too hadn't tried to climb out of the crib but was certainly tall enough to do so.  We didn't have a convertible crib but we weren't ready to move him to the full size bed in our guestroom yet so we bought a used toddler bed frame on craigslist for $40 since we could just use his crib mattress with it. I'm glad we did since we could then use the same sheets from his crib, put it in the same place in his room, etc.  We had DS help us take down the crib and put up the bed and talked about how exciting it was.  We made sure to show off his new bed to everyone who came over.  We also put up a gate to make sure he couldn't leave his room.  What worked best for us was the Super Nanny method for bedtime and naps- do your routine, remind them to stay in bed.  Then as soon as they get out go and put them back in.  We got a video monitor for this purpose.  The first time they get out, give them a hug and kiss, remind them to stay in bed, and then leave.  Second time, just a quick hug.  Anytime after that say nothing and place them back in bed as many times as it takes.  Honestly, it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be.  After a week to 10 days things settled down for us.  We did have a few nights where DS woke up and opened his door in the middle of the night and that still happens when he is sick, but we just tell him that it is still sleepy time and put him back in bed- sometimes with a quick song.  I will say that his naps are a little shorter now and about once every other week he absolutely won't nap.  Not sure if it's because of the bed or because he's getting older.  Hope some of this is helpful!  Good luck!

vml14

We moved my daughter about a month ago, when she was just under 19 months old.  It has been no problem.  She is in a new room (her big girl room), with brand new furniture -- we got her a full size bed.  I debated whether we should start with it on the floor, but decided that would just cause for 1 more transition, so we'd try it up on the frame first and only put it down if necessary.  She is too little to be able to climb into the bed on her own since it's so high, but can get out if she wants to.  We encourage her to stay in and tell her that "big girls only get out of bed with mommy and daddy come in."  Only a couple of times during nap time has she gotten out, and then proceeded to take all of her clothes out of the dresser and put all of her books on the floor.

There is no way to put her bed against a wall in the room, so she just has 3/4 size bedrails on each side.  There is a headboard at the top, and a very low footboard at the bottom.  She moved around quite a bit in the crib, but seems to do so less in the new bed, plus she has sooo much room, that she starts out in the middle and can move quite a bit without getting anywhere near the edge.  She fell out one time, but it was when she was already awake and sitting up near the end of the bed waiting for us in the morning, and she leaned a little too far. 

I actually think moving her when she was so young is what has made it so easy, since she's not yet in the totally defiant stage.  I say go for it and see how he does in the bed you were planning on using anyway.  The worst thing that happens is you have to try something else.   

smacb

We put the mattress on the floor.  I have a pile of stuffed animals next to it on the floor.  He's only fallen out once.