Intro and Bed Question

PSU-NCBride · January 2010

Hi there. We are officially joining the 2 under 2 club. Our son is 9 months old and we are set to adopt his bio sibling due late June. 14 months apart. We are a bit petrified but reading about so many other families that have done it reassures me.

I have a general bed question to start. I just started going through all the old posts so I'm sorry if this is redundant. Our 9 month old is consistently standing up in his crib and he climbs nonstop. We have the mattress all the way down but his shoulders are about even with the railing. I find him hanging over it (with his arms) all the time. He seems really really young to be outgrowing his crib but he's extremely tall for his age. (He's taller than a lot of 15 and 16 months in his playgroups) At what point would we move him to a toddler bed? We are trying to figure out the whole two nurseries thing for June. We have friends who have offered to lend us cribs, extra stuff, for the new baby but are wondering if our son will be ready to move on from his crib in 5 months.

What's the norm?

amstep · January 2010

The books say when your child can successfully climb out of his/her own crib, it is time to move him to a toddler bed for safety reasons. Do you plan to use the "daybed" option with the crib you currently have for DS? I might try that (and make sure you use gates to keep night wanderings contained. he will have to have a completely secure and babyproofed space in case he wakes and gets up without you knowing).

If you want to keep him in there as long as possible, make sure you have removed the bumpers, if you're using them, and anything he can use to climb on (stuffed animals, bedding, etc) to get an extra "boost" to get up and over. You might also consider getting a lower profile crib mattress. The ones from IKEA are thinner than regular crib mattresses, so that might buy you the extra 2 or 3 inches you might need to keep him in the crib.

Good luck! This is an issue where there is no standard answer. Each child will be different. I have friends who just moved their 3 1/2 from her crib and she didn't want to go!

amstep · January 2010

And I forgot to say Congratulations! Your DS and his sibling are such lucky kids to have found you!!!

PSU-NCBride · January 2010

Thank you! I hadn't thought about the different mattress. That is a great idea since we will need two mattresses anyway.

HarrietNJMommy · January 2010

I agree with the PP that there is no set answer. Me personally, I would never move a child before the age of 2 into a bed. And I really want to know where my toddler is at all times (confined in a crib) with a newborn around. That's just me. Others have success transitioning their kids to a bed early. If you don't want to transition him, then get a crib tent. He won't be able to bust out of it, and you can keep him in a crib longer. GL!

CaitlinJ22 · January 2010

the pp's gave great suggestions. I know my DS uses the bumper to climb, so that may help if you take it out. or a breathable bumper that compresses when stepped on. Also some cribs seem to be deeper than others, maybe if you are borrowing a crib from a friend you can use one that may seem like it would work better for you DS. just a thought. Like my friend has a crib that lowers more than mine.

Congrats and your kids are very lucky!

bacala1 · January 2010

My son used his legs to climb over his crib at 13 months. I bought sleep sacks and he slept in those EVERY night or else he would swing right out. It worked like a charm because he couldn;t lift his legs in it.

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