So, folks, I've been a little MIA. I'm sorry--crazy end of s ummer stuff that I'm sure you all are feeling, too, right? (i hope!)
Is it too late to claim to be a POS (Prisoner of Summer) and relish in my last few weeks of summer (seriously, people, schools in Atlanta start on MONDAY! yes, on MONDAY!)...?
Anyway, clearly my mind is not here, on the Internet as I pre-posted my W.o.G. Wednesday post to be on a Tuesday! So now i'm going to post my Tutorial Tuesday post on a Thursday (at least the days start with the same letter!).
And, for something entirely different (and to see if anyone is actually still reading my blog or if you all are POSers, too, and avoiding your own blog and your Blog Reader! :-o)....I'm going to ask YOU to help me write a Tutorial...
Woohoo, get excited, right?
Baby/Toddler C (she has taken quite a few steps these days--7 is her max! so it is safe to call her a toddler now!) is kind of outgrowing her crib. So I'd love some advice from YOU!
Here are my questions:
The reason why I'm asking, by the way, is because the kiddo LOVED playing on the big-kid beds at Ikea:Anyway, clearly my mind is not here, on the Internet as I pre-posted my W.o.G. Wednesday post to be on a Tuesday! So now i'm going to post my Tutorial Tuesday post on a Thursday (at least the days start with the same letter!).
And, for something entirely different (and to see if anyone is actually still reading my blog or if you all are POSers, too, and avoiding your own blog and your Blog Reader! :-o)....I'm going to ask YOU to help me write a Tutorial...
Woohoo, get excited, right?
Baby/Toddler C (she has taken quite a few steps these days--7 is her max! so it is safe to call her a toddler now!) is kind of outgrowing her crib. So I'd love some advice from YOU!
Here are my questions:
- When did you switch your baby to a real kids bed? Do you wish you'd switched earlier? Later?
- How did you decide which bed was the best?
- What did you look for?
- What precautions did you add to the bed (rails, etc.?)
- What advice do you have for parents about to make the big switch?
- What do you wish you'd known now, retrospectively?
12 people think...:
We switched my son out of a crib around his 2nd birthday. We used our guest room full sized bed with a rail, he never ever has fallen out (although the rail has been gone since about age 3). He seemed to be just the right age, we did go through a couple of months of him getting up several times each night before he fell asleep though.
I'm waiting til Nathan starts climbing out of his crib- he is almost 2.5 and has not attempted it yet. My mother advised me to keep him in the crib as long as possible and our pediatrician said some kids stay in til 3! He sleeps well and loves the crib so I am not rocking the boat.
I'm with Hannah! My first son, now 6, slept in the crib until 3. I plan to do the same with my now 22 month old son (unless he learns to climb out). As far as the bed, we switched my first son to a futon bed. It's really low to the ground, has a solid, firm mattress that is good for your back (per our chiropractor), and if he did fall out, he didn't have far to go eliminating the need for rails.
We switched WM when he was around 2, because I caught him trying to climb out of his crib one day, and it wasn't worth risking the fall. Plus, his baby sister was sleeping in the pack and play in our room, and we were going to need the crib for her room pretty soon! (Hubs kicks the babies out of our room when they get to be 2 months old.)
We just put WM straight into a twin bed, because we had another baby in the house, so if we had purchased a toddler bed, we would have had to purchase another crib-sized mattress, and then purchase a twin bed and mattress before too much longer. We arranged his room so that the twin bed is in a corner, so he has a wall on one long side, and a wall (and the headboard) at the head of the bed. We got an extra long bed rail for the other long side, and it was MORE than worth the extra cost. :o) He fell out a few times, off the foot of the bed, because he's kind of all over the place when he sleeps. But he adjusted very quickly. And we have a very shallow box spring, so his bed is not too tall.
After a while, we just took the bed rail off, because we knew we would be traveling and wouldn't take the bed rail with us. He's done great! He falls occasionally still, but we always have pillows and stuffed animals around his bed on the floor. And it's SOOOOOO nice when we travel now, because he can sleep just about anywhere!
Hello... found your blog not too long ago while hopping around. :) Good questions!!
I didn't put my daughter in her toddler bed until she was past 2 1/2. I always say do what is easiest and for us keeping her contained in a crib was easiest. :) I don't think there is really any right or wrong time to put a kid in a bed... whenever you and baby are ready. You know your kid... will she stay in the bed? How well does she follow instructions?
Whenever you do it just make it fun and exciting and about being a big kid now. Something we like to do is after our daughter falls asleep we will put some books or a toy at the foot of her bed for her to play with when she wakes up until mommy or daddy comes to get her. I love that she stays in bed until we say she can get out.
Good luck to you!
Thanks everyone, for your comments! These are so helpful!
My twin and I were not in a "Big-Kid" bed until we were THREE so I think we might be a bit premature in our thinking...
...but stay tuned for more news that might make this post question make more sense... ;-)
First of all--where has the P.O.S. icon been hiding and why have I not posted that on my blog? And, by the way, I don't think it is too late to implement your alternating weeks idea for tutorial tuesday. In fact, let's start tonight. I'll go link to your post as soon as I'm down with this comment (do you like how I get to go first?) : )
Second--Lincoln is 7.5 months and we are thinking of moving him to a mattress on the floor when he is 1. He has never been a big fan of the crib, but he will be too small for a raised bed, so I think we'll just put the mattress down on the floor. I have friends who have had great luck with that strategy!
I can't remember too much. Mostly because Kaishon slept with me in my bed. I know, I know, WORST mother in the world. But, my best friend just switched from crib to bed with her baby and the baby started getting up much earlier. Also going to sleep at night has been more difficult. Her daughter was 27 months when she went to a big girl bed. I hope you got some great advice : )
Oh. My. GOSH. so excited about the news....
LOL at the photo shoot at Ikea :o) I think we are going to keep Bean in his crib until he graduates from high school--I like knowing that he is on lockdown at night. j/k of course! I have no clue when my parents switched my twin and I into big kid beds, but I think it was when we were two or so.
I think waiting at least until the child climbs out is the best time to switch over. I think keeping them in as long as possible is best. My daughter was good at climbing out of her crib without falling so we didn't use that as a deciding factor. I'd recommend against a big kid bed at this time -- I don't know what kind of sleeper you are, but you could potentially end up with your little one 'running' around unsupervised.
With my daughter we switched her to a toddler bed when she was about 3 and then to a big kid bed when she was 4. With my son we put him straight from our bed to a big kid bed when he was about 2. He's rolled off, but lands on a couple pillows on the floor so he hasn't been hurt at all. He normally keeps sleeping and we pick him up and put him back in bed. lol...
I don't really think a toddler bed is a necessity, but in our situation we had a crib and a toddler bed in the kids room and that was the only way they'd both fit in the room.
If I were you I'd keep going to Ikea and playing on the big kid beds for another year or so before buying.
All the best in your bed-making decisions!
Allie, not sure how I missed this post, but here goes:
we switched E. from crib to toddler bed @ about 15 mos. i am sooooo happy we did earlier than later b/c the transition was a breeze for her, and was done before their little 2 and 3-year-old wills start kicking in.
we put her crib mattress on the floor (same crib sheets and all) for a week, then put it in the toddler bed. we didn't have add on rails or anything (nothing more than the ikea wrought iron bed your monkey is jumping in :) and she fell out a few times. again, happy she learned what falling out felt like when her bed was only like 10 inches from the floor. lol... she quickly learned to wake up and reposition herself when she was nearing the edge after that ...
just in time for the REAL big bed, which we switched her to when she was 2. (regular queen size bed). she loves it and sleeps spread eagle across the whole thing :)
i have a huge fear about kids climbing/catapaulting themselves out of cribs and getting neck injuries, so I was all about beating her to learning to climb out!!! :)
so we might have sort of bribed/rewarded her for staying in her toddler bed though. we told her that if she stayed in her big girl bed, we would check on her later and if we saw she was still in it and obeying, we'd bring her a treat (like a sunflower seed or raisin. lol...) And then obviously, we'd heap on the praise in the morning for doing such a good job staying in her bed.
ok, that's all i have :)
when looking for a toddler bed, i just wanted one that didn't have poles or posters or rails sticking upwards for clothing to get caught on. and we got her a special snuggle pillow to celebrate :)
i agree with all the comments about firm mattresses too ... def. best for kid's spinal alignment at this age.
I also agree that each child is ready at a different time! But from nannying I will say that doing it with plenty of time before baby #2 will occupy the crib is best. i've seen countless siblings have anxiety of the new baby taking over (seemingly) their whole life ... crib included! :) So if they get to be a part of having their own new thing first, and maybe help prepare the crib for baby later down the road, it helps bunches, and encourages them to be nurturing partners in baby-loving, welcoming, and caring, instead of feeling like their own role is dwindling with the newcomer :) Hope that helps!
Post a Comment