moms of older babies

HollyBerry25

I am due with #2 in august.  I am wondering how old your other kids were when you transitioned out of the crib?  New baby will be in a cosleeper/our bed for the first 3 months or so, which will make DS right at 2.  Is that too young to get a racecar bed or similar?

smilelari

You'll get pretty varied answers on this one.  We decided against moving DS to a bed when DD was born, so he's a little over 3 and still in a crib.  We hope to keep him there until he's totally done with naps, so probably around age 4.

But, 2 isn't too young for something like that.  The biggest challenge you'll have is communicating bed time rules and keeping him in bed. 

Chan4dra04

I agree, you will get different answers on this.  It all depends on each kid, too. 

A friend of mine put her 13 month old in the bottom bunk and she has done awesome.  Doesn't get out until morning and sleeps through the night. 

My DD will need to be on crib-arrest until she's 8 probably.  She if she doesn't have that caged-in feel, she is bolting right after me.  I tried once and she just didn't understand that it was bedtime.  I guess she doesn't do well with freedom.

Now, there are those little gadgets/clocks/plushes that have green light for ok to wake and red light for not ok to wake.  But, the chances of your kid understanding that anytime soon is probably not very good until he's a bit older.

mbgreenwalt

We moved DD1 to a toddler bed at 21 months.  I wasn't in a rush, but she started climbing out everyday.  She is a pretty laid back kid and adapted to the bed really well. 

drcolleen

We moved when DD1 was 17mo, when we settled in our new house at 18mo she was in a standard twin bed and did great, would call out in the morning and not get out of bed despite the steps DH made for her.

LittleMommaBlueHen

DS is still in a crib at 2.5 and we will keep him there as long as possible.  My SIL transitioned her daughter at 21 months or so and now ends up with a toddler in bed a lot-- something I would not be okay with if I had an infant in a cosleeper/in bed with me. 

VTFutureMrs

We transitioned DS at 18 months and he loves his bed. It's a toddler bed that will covert to a twin. He was already using a cot at school, so it wasn't a very difficult transition for us. 

RedCamaro

Aww, congrats! My DD moved herself at 3 1/2 (not just out of the crib, but into another room). So our transition was very smooth. However, she was great at not getting up. When she did get up early, she would play quietly in her room for the most part.

I would say that 2 is an ok age, but 3 would be better. You will probably have a problem with keeping LO in bed and in the room. If you are able to put a baby gate on the outside of the door, that would be great.

StefB28

DS1 is just over two-- we've tried to move him into his new bed several times but it hasn't gone very well. We have a dresser in the room that is not attached to the wall, so I'm nervous to just let him wander. Every time he got out of bed I'd go in and put him back-- the last time we tried, I went into his room over 30 times in a little over an hour. Once we get the dresser secure, I'll put him in there and let him explore a bit until he goes to bed himself. For now, he's in a pack n' play in the same room as his new bed.