Buy second crib, or have 2.5 year old move to big bed?

jillie127 · August 2017

My son will be 2.5 by the time I deliver my daughter. He is still in his crib and seems to be content. He climbed out once in February and that's it so far. We have a bassinet for her to use until she's too big for it and I had planned on buying a second crib, since our son is still in his. Now I am second guessing myself. Our son's crib turns into a toddler bed, then a headboard and footboard for a full. We have a full size bed ready for him when he is ready. He is a good sleeper at nap time and bed time, so I would hate to rock the boat with switching beds, especially with about 5 weeks to go. From what I gather, most people move their older child to a big bed because they need the crib for the next child, but I'd rather spend the $ on a new crib so my son continues to sleep well. Hopefully then he will continue his naps too after the baby is born....?? He can fall asleep in a big bed at night with me laying beside him, but I've always moved him to his crib, because we don't have safety rails on the sides.
Thoughts?

coastalmomma2 · August 2017

My son will be three in two weeks, and, in preparation for his new baby sister, we bought a standard wood twin frame from IKEA. We had DS pick out a paint color and made a big deal out of him helping to put together his big boy bed so his sister could have his crib. He was very excited to be part of the process --he even helped to paint.
She will also be in a small "arms reach" style crib next to our bed for the first several months, but we wanted him to get a big boy bed early so there would be no (or less) resentment towards his sister. His sleep hasn't really changed since moving him to his new bed. In fact, he is finally sleeping through the night...just in time for a newborn to be waking me up at night. Again. Safety rails really have not been an issue for us as his bed is only a foot or so above the ground. Personally, I see no reason to have kept him in a crib, but I understand the reluctance to have a major change the closer you get to delivery.

kmac1982 · August 2017

We're in a similar boat- DS will be 2.5 when baby comes. We've decided to keep him in his crib as long as we can because he seems to like it and it's one less change. He's never climbed out (knock on wood!!). I worry that if he figures out he can get out of bed it'll be party time all night long- not what we need with a newborn!! Good luck!

tfrangul · August 2017

Our son is 20 months and we moved him to a twin bed. He sleeps well in it but I don't know if he can sense this baby is about to come or what but he thinks he needs to be in our bed the last week. Seriously frustrating when I can hardly roll over but I know it is only a phase. Part of me wishes he would go to his big sisters bed! Haha

MyNamesTaken · August 2017

We moved DS to a double bed after his third birthday. He loved having a new "big boy" bed in a new big boy room. He helped pick out new bedding and was excited to make the move. We had no issues, but he is a bit older.

We had already converted the crib to a toddler bed about a year before though. That transition was tough for about 2 nights and then he was fine.

MySallyGirl · August 2017

I moved all 3 of my older ones to toddler or twin beds between 20 and 22 months. It was an adjustment, but they all did fine. I would have kept them in cribs if I could have, but I didn't want to buy a 2nd crib that they likely wouldn't use for long! It seemed each time with the new baby on the way more of a long term plan to go to a big kid bed of sorts. Good luck!

jessieR358 · August 2017

My son turned two in July and he's staying in his crib until he climbs out. My mom had a crib at her house that she bought with the intention of my son using but he never did. We took that one and moved it into the nursery. Even if she didn't have one we would have bought one.

Carebella · August 2017

At this point I would wait until after baby arrives to transfer him to a new bed so you don't deal with jealousy or regression.

satuttle1014 · August 2017

My daughter is only 18 months and her crib converts to a toddler bed and full bed/headboard. We bought another convertible crib for the nursery. The nursery is smaller so I got the one that has the change table attached to it since I would not be able to fit a crib, glider and dresser.

hatrats · August 2017

DD is 3 and has been sleeping in the crib with the toddler side for about a year (we swapped out the crib side bc she started climbing out). About a month ago we bought her a new toddler bed and put the crib side back on the crib for the new baby. At the same time, we moved her to a bigger bedroom (which the kids will share eventually) and she seemed pretty excited about her new room AND new big girl bed, so no problems there. Of course, she still gets out of bed and comes into our bed in the middle of the night, but she was doing that before the bed swap, so that's a completely different issue...

ailynk · August 2017

My son will be 21mths when new baby is born. he has been in a toddler bed for a month. I didn't have any problems transitioning him, though he still wakes up every 4 hours

ailynk · August 2017

Half my message disappeared above

I was just saying that you could buy a crib that converts into a toddler bed so have options...

jschmidt6 · August 2017

We switched from crib to big boy twin bed at about 22 months with our son and he loved it. Yours might like the prestige of feeling like a big boy/big brother when the baby comes. Get him some cute sheets and he'll be all over that! We got race car sheets and my son kept talking about how much he loved his bed! Buying another crib seems like a waste of money since they grow so fast, you'll only get a few months out of it.

jillie127 · September 2017

Thanks for your reply. We still have the full bed in the new nursery. I've tried naptime with my son in there several times and he will not nap, even if I lay with him. If I leave, he comes to find me. Maybe a reason is we don't have darkening shades in there yet. (We have darkening shades in his nursery).
After we read books at night, he has taken his blanket and walked in to the other room with the full bed. If I lay with him, he falls asleep and then I transfer him to his crib. (Laying with him takes about an hour) If I leave before he falls asleep, he comes and finds me. I would love to lay with him every night, but this is unrealistic with a new baby on the way. We have a basinett for the baby, but it makes me feel uneasy not having her nursery set up by with a crib. I'm a stay at home Mom, so I am not willing to give up naptime.... especially be with a new baby on the way.

Buy second crib, or have 2.5 year old move to big bed?

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