Two Under 2
Options
Big Boy (or Girl) Bed
When did you move your older child to a big kid bed?
I've read all sorts of different accounts.
DS2 is due when DS1 will be 18 months. Would it be crazy to move DS1 to a twin bed with a rail around 16 months? At 13 months, he is a good sleeper but he definitely moves around his crib a ton. He likes to snuggle against the bumper (the evil, evil bumper *sarcasm font*).
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Big Boy (or Girl) Bed
Our boys were 17 months apart and I just broke down and bought a 2nd crib. It wasn't worth my loss of sleep or him falling to move him to a big boy bed. I have read that that is what a lot of people do on here however so I am sure you will get mixed advice.
Good luck! And congrats on your 2nd!
I moved my DD to a big girl bed (twin with extra long rail) at 15.5 months and the transition was easy! She still STTN (mostly) and I actually think it's cute when I hear her little pitter - patter feet come into my room in the mornings.
DD2 is due in December when DD1 will be 18 months. I wanted to make sure she was in her bed and comfortable in it before #2 arrived. So far so good!
I think it completely depends on the child.
DS and DD will be around 23 months apart when arrives, so we decided to test out how DS would do in a big boy bed. We were completely prepared to buy another crib (or keep DD in a pnp for awhile) if it didn't work.
It has worked surprisingly well so far. At this point we have him in his crib with one side off and a twin size bedrail on that side. It provides the security for him not to roll out accidentally, but he can get up and down on his own as there is about a 4-5 inch gap he can get through at the foot of his bed. DS is a sound sleeper, so he has yet to actually get out of his crib when he is supposed to be sleeping, even now. We are actually going to be moving him to his toddler bed this weekend for the next step. I fully expect that to work just as well. If not, we'll step back again and try it in another month.
FWIW, we knew this could work because DS sleeps very deeply and calls out to us as soon as he's awake. He's not the get up and play right away type. We also knew that since we keep his bedroom door shut, he couldn't get out without us - he hasn't mastered the round door knob yet. And we always have the monitor on if he's in his room alone.
Just decide if you think your DC can handle it. If he/she can, test it out slowly and be prepared to step back if it isn't working yet. Good luck!
Thanks for the input.
So it seems like we won't know until we try it? Haha. I figured that it might be easier to try it out BEFORE the baby comes. If it is a huge bust, we can put the new bed into storage and buy another crib.
DS2 will be probably be in our room for the first 3-4 months like our first. I wanted to move DS1 to a bed before the baby arrives so that it isn't as if the baby is 'taking' his crib. Plus while we have the funds to buy a 2nd crib, I would rather not have two cribs around when we would just be switching DS1 soon anyways.
Mine are 16 months apart.
We chose to leave DD in her crib for several reasons:
1. We had enough transition going on. DS was born and we moved to a totally different state in a 8 week span.
2. She loves her crib. She has always like having her confined space.
3. I knew that with a newborn and a toddler that I would want her contained sometines. Her crib sometimes became a playpen where I knew she'd be safe when I was attending to DS.
She is 25 months now and still in her crib. My DH should return from deployment in December and we are considering a "big girl bed" then. But for now, she' s happy, I'm happy, DS is happy. Both are in cribs and I don't see the big deal about rushing her into a bed.
Married 6/28/03
Kate ~ 7/3/09 *** Connor ~ 11/11/10
4 miscarriages: 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014
*~*~*~*~*
No more TTC for us. We are done, and at peace, as a family of 4.
"Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.” — Charles Dickens
I'm planning to try moving DS when he's about 19 months old. At the moment he sleeps WONDERFULLY in his crib, and moves around a lot before he goes to sleep, so I suspect there will be a few initial issues with him being in a bed - we will definitely have a long rail or have the bed close to the floor, but I suspect he'll spend a lot of time getting out of bed the first few nights. We'll have to be prepared to put him back into his bed over and over (probably using the Supernanny method of not talking to him when he gets up) until he learns that he has to stay in his bed. If it doesn't work I'm going to put him in his portacot, which we'll set up in the same room as his new bed.
I'm going to do that a couple of months before baby arrives (they'll be 21 months apart). DS will move out of the nursery and into his new big boy room well in advance of baby, so he doesn't attribute the change to baby and will hopefully deal with it better.
My sister has two boys and she said they both started climbing out of their cribs at 21 months, so I don't think we'd have that much leeway anyway, so I'm not buying another crib just for those first few months.
Good luck!