Transitioning when toddler LOVES his crib!

mrsdeanna

We have baby # 2 on the way and trying to decide when we should transition DS#1 from crib to bed.  He absolutely loves his crib, has never tried to climb out.  He will be one month shy of three when LO arrives.  I am getting mixed reviews from people. Some say start the transition now before baby arrives, while others say if he is content in his crib, let him stay in as long as he wants.  Just wanted to get some input from others that have been thru this. It would make it a lot easier on me if he was attempting to climb out of his crib, but he never has.  

TIA 

rlyttle

Can you take the front off the crib? I wouldn't change him to a big bed for a few months. You still have a little time. 

superaunt

if you don't need the crib for the baby, i'd leave him in it till he wants out. my girl was the same way- loved her crib. then, about a month or two ago, she started climbing out over and over again. so we had to take a side down and it's been a fabulous transition.

mexicolombiana

I say leave him in the crib for a while longer.  When do you plan on putting the new baby in the crib? Our 10 month old has been int he crib a few times but she's back in the PnP in our room for a while until the toddler STOPS waking her up!

anvloveskme

We are in the same boat - DD will be 3 about a month and a half before our EDD.  She loves her crib and doesn't try to climb out, but I don't want to bring a new baby home and transition her at the same time, so I think we will do it in about six months.  I have been talking to her about a "big girl bed" for a while, so I think I will let her help us pick it and some bedding out, etc., so it is like a fun thing for her. 

 {{Waves at Mexicolombiana!}}

08summerbride

We had baby 2 coming in April, and switched 1? to a twin bed over thanksgiving. DD loved her crib as well and never once tried to climb out of it. I wanted to give her time before the baby came to get used to having a big girl bed. We put her in a twin bed with princess sheets and made a big deal about how cool it was to be going to a big bed and explained the routine was the same as in her crib. We told her just like in her crib we would tuck her in and she could call for us in the morning and that is exactly what she did. So far so good for naps and nighttime.

momofmanyinthemitten

DD loved her crib as well. Almost 3 weeks ago, she decided that she didn't want to take a nap, so she (totally out of character) courageously climbed and fell out. We took the side off and put the toddler rail up. I'm so glad we did it before baby came, like I was planning on doing, because the transition hasn't been very easy. Bedtime is good now, but I still have to sit in her room with her until she falls asleep for naps. Doing that with a baby would be impossible.

LALASEPT05

For me I would not rock the boat. Especially with a new baby coming. If you have one sleeping well in the crib I would keep it that way. Probably the new baby will sleep in some sort of bassinett for a while anyway. I'd buy a second crib before I'd rock that boat. But that is just me. I think I would keep a child in a crib as long as I could until they were too big or climbing out.

Meeshe

My DD turned 3 two months before DS was born.  She LOVED her crib, never tried to climb out.  But we needed the crib for him.  So she got her big girl room for her third birthday and did great.  We put those "bed bug" bumpers on her bed and had her convinced for months that she needed us to help her get in or out:)  LOL!

lovingmygirl

I've been lurking for a bit *waving hello* and I'm in the same situation.  My DD never tried to climb out of her crib and actually asks to be put into her crib to hang out...I feel bad taking her out but don't want to buy another crib

I guess we have a few more months but we will probably be doing what other PP's said about transitioning her to a toddler bed when LO arrives

CarolinaDaisy

My boys are 2yrs 9months apart in age. My older DS loved his crib until one day he figured out how to climb out. He was 2yrs 4 months at the time so a little younger than your DS. We had planned to move him at 2.5 so we could give him time to adjust to a new bed before the baby. So it just happened a couple of months earlier than planned.

When he transitioned to a bed, he did great other than naps. But naps were hit or iss somedays in the crib as well, so I don't think it was a bed vs. crib thing. Eventually naps got back on track until he actually dropped his nap at a little over 3.

Unless you feel the desire to either purchase another crib or sleep the baby in your room in a pack and play, I'd transition to a bed now. That way you are done when the new baby gets here. I dreaded the transition, but it was easier than excpected. I also like that I can sit on the bed to read books, lay down to snuggle if needed, etc.

Just get a bed rail or put the mattress on the floor. He'll do fine. And if he doesn't, move him back into the crib and try again later.

I just can't see a 3 yr old wanting to sleep in the crib. That is as long as any of my friends kept their child in the crib. You can wait if you want, but having 2 big transitions at once won't be easy. I can't imagine transitioning older child to a bed and the transition to having a baby in the house all at the same time.