Toddler beds for twins

090106

We have convertible cribs for our twins and earlier this year (shortly after them turning 1), one twin was trying to climb out and did so a handful of times successfully. Our other son was not so we put it off. In the summer we finally tried to switch their cribs to the 'toddler' style crib and it didn't go over so well. Funny thing, the one that climbed out hated it and would look at it and cry and the other one slept in it fine for naptime. That evening, they were back in cribs and moved down to the absolute lowest setting.

Since then, they still try to climb out but have not been able to. They will be 2 on 12/31.

My question: When did you switch from a crib to toddler bed? Why? Did you let your children 'tell you' when they were ready?

pea-kay

We didn't switch mine until after they turned 3. Keep in mind that once they are in toddler beds, you may lose naps.

UsedToBeGoldie

with my older son we planned to keep him in as long as we could - unless it became dangerous (climbing in/out). A few months shy of 3yo he started to try and climb into his crib- so we changed it to a toddler bed- and he was totally ready and did great.

with the twins- that's the plan, too.  No way would i put them in toddler beds at just 2yo.... having them in a crib = my sanity. I can take a shower, etc... if either of them starts to climb out (they totally could, but haven't tried- yet) we'll be getting crib tents and hoping they stay in those longer.

don't let your kids tell you when they are ready for things- YOU decide when they are... sometimes it's trial and error, but you know when YOU are ready for them to be out- and that is more important then them knowing it

leslie13510

I converted their beds at about 22 months.  DS learned how to climb out that day, and I walked in after nap time to find him dangling head first by a foot stuck in the bars.  Super. 

There was a small transition period, but with some bed rails to keep them from falling out, and a gate in their doorway for a few weeks, it really wasn't a huge deal.  

ETA - And once they got to the point where I was able to take the gate down, it was actually even better than I thought.  They were able to come to me if they were scared in the middle of the night, instead of me having to get up and go get them.  They would also come and crawl in bed with me in mornings and we'd all catch an extra hour of sleep, instead of getting up at the asscrack of dawn.  

jbl126

My girls were 28 mths when I switched them to toddler beds.  And only because Lauryn was climbing back and forth between her crib and Ava's crib.  So now they both sleep in one bed (even though we have two in there).

It was a rough transition and a long two weeks before the newness of their freedom wore off.  They still sleep great at nights.  Naps are a hit or miss.  But even if they are not napping, I still keep them in their room, as long as they are not screaming.

keg

We transitioned about 26ish months because one DD consistently was climbing out of her crib. (By consistently, I mean she did it multiple times in a row when I was putting them down for a nap.  Her sister had previously climbed out several months earlier, but it was an isolated event.)  My plan was to keep them in their cribs until they started climbing out.

For the most part, our transition was pretty smooth.  We had always closed their door at night so we just added a childproof knob on the inside so they couldn't roam the house.  We had some issues the first night with one girl falling asleep in front of the door, but after that, at night, once they are in bed, they stay in bed.  They sometimes fuss a little, but they stay in bed.

Naps are a different story, but we were having issues before they transitioned to toddler beds.  What seems to have worked is to seperate them at nap time.  Now, I put one in a PNP in my room or the office and the other in her room (and they generally request a PNP in there too). 

finallyreilly

DS starting climing out at about 21 months and DD was trying to climb out.  We/they weren't ready yet to switch them to beds but didn't want to put them in their cribs because we were afraid they would hurt themselves getting out.  We ended up moving their crib mattresses to the floor for a few months and are now switching them over to toddler beds as of this month (so 25 months).

regenab

I switched mine at 2 1/2. At that age they understood what bedtime rules were and listened when I said it is bedtime, you need to close your eyes and got to sleep, no getting out of bed. That was for bedtime, naps that is a whole other story. Naps went away when we switched to toddler beds. At first I hated it, but then after I realized they went back to an earlier bedtime it was not so bad. When they were in cribs they wouldn't fall asleep sometimes for nap until 2:30/3:00 and then sleep until 5, which meant a bedtime of like 11pm. Hated it and the fight everyday to get them to nap, it was very stressful.

But that being said, I would not have switched them before 2 1/2 because we would have had too many issues with bedtime.