Serious help needed: converting bedroom/sleep issues

whyhellopoppyseed · May 2011

Ok, so our situation is a little tricky.

1. We're proud co-sleepers and normally happy with our sleeping situation but I know my belly is going to get huge this time around like with DS, so we want to slowly transition DS out of our bed and hopefully into his bedroom.

2. He's incredibly tall--98%--for 10 months and its on the lowest notch possible and he can still scale it. He climbs our couch and everything else in his path. I can't imagine him sleeping in his crib now and especially not by January when he'll be even bigger and taller. We're unsure where to put him--on a twin mattress on the floor, or in a toddler bed...? He rolls a lot in his sleep, and he even sleep-crawls, so we're obviously afraid of him falling. He's an incredibly light sleeper. I'm not sure what to do with him!

3. We don't know if LO will be a boy or girl, so that's another issue: they will definitely share a room until we buy a house, which is nowhere in the near future. How do you convert a sport-filled boy room into a gender neutral space with 2 beds--one crib and what, one twin bed...?

I just don't know the best way to handle the entire thing. We don't sleep train (we don't and won't CIO) but as far as legistics go, I just need a direction.

An idea of our nursery:

Those probably don't help you at all, I just want ideas from ladies who have attempted this before!

Whew. Thanks

hellopoppyseed · May 2011

I don't really have good answers becaus ds is average and still in the crib. From your picture, it looks like the mattress is not at the lowest setting. Maybe it is or maybe you've since lowered it but i know ours has the mattress lower than that. I don't know- I'm keeping both boys in their cribs as long as possible but again they are totally average height.

ShannonSky · May 2011

We bought an Ikea extendable bed for DD1. I love it b/c it can grow with her...right now there is just enough space on the side between the two rails for her to climb in, but eventually it can extend all the way to a twin. Plus, it is very low to the ground. Between the rails and how low it is, I'm not too concerned about her falling out. I am concerned about her ripping apart her bedroom every night, but we're going to get a video monitor to take care of that. If she does, we'll just have to lock everything up and move toys out of her reach. As far as decorating, that room doesn't really look too boy-ish to me, the alphabet cards are cute and gender neutral. Maybe get decals for the walls in boy/girl colors for over the bed and crib?

EMWindy · May 2011

Your son is 10 months old and can climb out of his crib? Did I read that wrong? My 9.5 month old son is off the charts for height (tall) and I can't imagine him climbing out of his crib - I don't think he could come close. You could try a crib tent to keep him in. 10 months is way too early (IMO) for a toddler bed. I think 2 is a reasonable age to start toddler bed.

You have 8-9 months to get ready for the baby to get here, and your 10 month old will change so much in that time. There is only so much you can plan, and honestly, a lot changes in 8-9 months. If you are ready to transition your LO to sleep in his own room, I'd read some no-cry sleep training books.

whyhellopoppyseed · May 2011

EMWindy:

Your son is 10 months old and can climb out of his crib? Did I read that wrong? My 9.5 month old son is off the charts for height (tall) and I can't imagine him climbing out of his crib - I don't think he could come close. You could try a crib tent to keep him in. 10 months is way too early (IMO) for a toddler bed. I think 2 is a reasonable age to start toddler bed.

You have 8-9 months to get ready for the baby to get here, and your 10 month old will change so much in that time. There is only so much you can plan, and honestly, a lot changes in 8-9 months. If you are ready to transition your LO to sleep in his own room, I'd read some no-cry sleep training books.

Yes! He hasn't climbed all the way out onto the ground--I heard him moving around so I walked in to see him scaling up the side with his feet off the mattress. It totally freaked me out! He's 98% and in 18 month clothing and size 5.5 shoes--he's huge. Anyway the crib just hasn't worked out.

I know we have plenty of time but I was hoping for some advice to start planning.

And PP--yes these pictures were from a while ago--when we first moved in, so we have since lowered the bed.

whyhellopoppyseed · May 2011

EMWindy:

Your son is 10 months old and can climb out of his crib? Did I read that wrong? My 9.5 month old son is off the charts for height (tall) and I can't imagine him climbing out of his crib - I don't think he could come close. You could try a crib tent to keep him in. 10 months is way too early (IMO) for a toddler bed. I think 2 is a reasonable age to start toddler bed.

You have 8-9 months to get ready for the baby to get here, and your 10 month old will change so much in that time. There is only so much you can plan, and honestly, a lot changes in 8-9 months. If you are ready to transition your LO to sleep in his own room, I'd read some no-cry sleep training books.

Yes! He hasn't climbed all the way out onto the ground--I heard him moving around so I walked in to see him scaling up the side with his feet off the mattress. It totally freaked me out! He's 98% and in 18 month clothing and size 5.5 shoes--he's huge. Anyway the crib just hasn't worked out.

I know we have plenty of time but I was hoping for some advice to start planning.

And PP--yes these pictures were from a while ago--when we first moved in, so we have since lowered the bed.

whyhellopoppyseed · May 2011

EMWindy:

Your son is 10 months old and can climb out of his crib? Did I read that wrong? My 9.5 month old son is off the charts for height (tall) and I can't imagine him climbing out of his crib - I don't think he could come close. You could try a crib tent to keep him in. 10 months is way too early (IMO) for a toddler bed. I think 2 is a reasonable age to start toddler bed.

You have 8-9 months to get ready for the baby to get here, and your 10 month old will change so much in that time. There is only so much you can plan, and honestly, a lot changes in 8-9 months. If you are ready to transition your LO to sleep in his own room, I'd read some no-cry sleep training books.

Oh also I wouldn't put my 10 month old in a toddler bed right now--I'm planning for when baby #2 comes in dec/january. I'm just trying to budget and figure out what I'll need. I was looking for tips/ideas for a gender neutral room or for parents who have handled 2u2 in a small space before.

Thanks though!

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha · May 2011

DD is older (she was 18-19 months when this happened) than your DS, but she is also super tall, so maybe you'll find some of the following helpful

DD started waking up at night and crib diving. Every night. We took her crib apart and set her mattress directly onto the floor. We also lay a few heavy blankets next to it in case she were to roll off the mattress: it would make for a softer landing, and it would be more warmer and more comfortable than sleeping directly on the floor.

We keep DD's bedroom closed but since she figured out how to open it, we added a mesh gate in front of it and she hasn't climbed over it yet.

As for having two kids in one room, we are planning on putting DD in a toddler bed soon (we were just given one as a hand-me-down), and the baby will be in a regular size crib. The room isn't very big (I'm thinking maybe 11 x 11) but DD doesn't really play in there anyways, so as long as the 2 beds and dressers fit, I think we're good.

Your nursery doesn't seem too hard-core boy to me. I think you could either make one "girl wall" (the one the crib would be up against) or try and add a few girl accents around the crib (like a mobile, the bedding, etc.)

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