For those who already have kids (toddler age & up)

[LosingMyMindInGA]

When did you transition your kids to a toddler bed? My oldest switched at 3, my middle two switched at around 2 yo, but they were both used to sleeping in a regular bed as they pretty well slept with us most of the time.  Gabe will have just turned 2 when this one is born and I can't decide whether or not to buy another crib or just transition him to a toddler/regular bed.  Dh wants to put him in a toddler/regular bed but I just don't think he's ready. He pretty much has slept in his crib and the couple of times he's slept with us he rolls off the bed in the middle of the night.  Plus right now his crib is in our room (he's now 20 mos old).  I figure I really need to put the crib in his brothers room (they will be sharing a room) and let him get used to being in there before I take away the comfort of his crib.  What would ya'll do?

[Ashelen]

haha that's hilarious that your daughter did that...and it IS driving me batty. I think she's emptying the drawers as we speak so I'm probably going to have to extract her shortly. But if I pull her away now and go through the trouble of putting all the clothes back in, I'll just be wasting my time, lol. Kahlan is also irritatingly interested in the potty....she only OCCASIONALLY splashes in it, but it's so irritating because I let my guard down because she won't do it for 3 or 4 days, and then all of a sudden every time she goes in the bathroom she's got to splash in the potty.


Yeah I don't blame you...that's why I'm thinking the baby will end up in the nursery by himself and we'll just keep Kahlan in the room with us. I really wanted to have the bassinet as his first sleeping place but we'll have to see how it goes...Kahlan's a pretty deep sleeper so I don't think that he would wake her up, and if she's in her own toddler bed in our room and he's in a bassinet in our room...yikes. well, we'll see LOL.

[LosingMyMindInGA]

I'm sorry but I had to LMAO when I read the last paragraph of your post.  First of all, no harm on the hijack :).  Second.  OMG my now 6 yo did the SAME thing.. Drove me completely batty.  We were in military housing using military furniture so we couldn't install the safety devices.  I just tried my best to distract her and eventually it would work and she'd move on to the next extremely annoying phase like climbing the entertainment center.  With my last one, Gabe, his thing is splashing in the toilet...or atleast it was, he hasn't done that for awhile.  Thank God!!  I would see him going towards the toilet and would yell NO! STOP! as I was darting towards him, he would pause, look at me and deliberately do it anyway.  

As for transitioning Gabe I think moving him to his bro's room over the summer will give both of them time to get used to it BEFORE the baby gets here.  As far as space it's no big deal our house has HUGE rooms.  We have a king size bed, a 6 foot entertainment center, a dresser, 2 chest of drawers, the crib and changing table in our bedroom and still have room.  But I really don't want a 2 yo and a newborn in there with us. That's a bit much LOL.

[Ashelen]

That's probably the best way to do it. We're running into a sort-of similar, but sort-of opposite problem, lol. The new place we're moving has a VERY small second bedroom,  Kahlan already sleeps in a toddler bed (18 1/2 months). We COULD fit a crib and a toddler bed in the nursery, but our daughter still sleeps with us a lot. I'm thinking we'll just put Grey in his crib in the nursery from the beginning (we were originally thinking bassinet, but I'm not sure yet...we have both so we can decide on the fly), and keep Kahlan and her toddler bed in our room (which is huge). I want her to feel secure once the new baby gets here so I don't want to kick her out of mommy and daddy's room, and once Grey gets old enough to sleep through the night they'll be sharing the nursery anyway. I can't wait for our new place....I'm so excited!!!

also...since this is a thread with people who have older kids (don't mean to hijack it!)....uh, lol, this isn't really a "problem" persay but it's really irritating. my daughter keeps emptying all of the clothing out of her dresser and climbing into the drawers. She's never out of my sight for more than a few minutes, but she's gotten this down to a 2-minute art form. the dresser is very sturdy, but it's hand-made wood and my husband prefers not to install any safety devices on it...does anybody else have a monkey-toddler who does this? In our new place (moving in almost exactly a month) we'll be able to restrict her access to the dresser, but the way our apartment is now..we would have to close her out of her room completely to close her away from the dresser. any tips? If the dresser DID fall over, it would fall into her bed and couldn't possibly crush her, but it still irritates me that I can't keep her out of the drawers.

[mommyagain123]

I would suggest moving the crib and letting your youngest sleep in it for now and until you need to transition the new baby to the crib, then at that point you can move your son up and it will have given him more time to adjust. My youngest is 2 (25 months) and just started sleeping in her crib in her own room this week! Besides the new baby will be in your room in a bassinett or your bed for a few months anyway :)

[LosingMyMindInGA]

Thanks guys.  I think I'm gonna wait until school is out at the end of MAy and then move his crib into his brothers room. I figure that way if we have rough nights and he keeps his brother up it won't cause him lack of sleep having to get up for school, he'll be able to just sleep in.  

[baby_edgar]

We are the same as nickie. We moved into our new house 2 weeks ago and when we moved we decided to put her in a big bed straight away (she was 19 months). Personally i thought it would be more disturbing to get her settled in a new room and then try and settle her again when we take out her cot and put in a bed.

We got her a princess bed that is low to the ground and has sides on it. She has ajusted really well i think and even though it takes her longer to go to sleep now she has never cried or been scared in her new room or bed.

I hope it all goes well with you and your son in this exciting time!

[kristastewart]

My daughter is 16 months and were starting her in a toddler bed this week, she has been sleeping with us so she is pretty well used to being in a bed, Were going to try and see how she does. Were keeping the crib up incase she doesnt do as well as we hope.  she doesnt seem to enjoy how confining the crib is anymore, it seems to wake her up at night.

[Victoria01]

I would definitely move him and his crib into the new room and get him used to that first. It's going to be hard enough on him to sleep in a room without you and if you take the comfort of his crib away too, it might be too much at one time.

I moved my son when he was 2 1/2 from crib to toddler bed. I was afraid he'd fall out, but they are so close to the ground and come with a side rail, it really wasn't an issue at all. It took a few nights of him getting used to the new bed, but I never had a problem with him trying to get up or anything. When you are ready to get a toddler bed have your son 'help' you pick one out so that he understands that it is his bed.

[nickieb85]

My youngest one (Richie) moved into a toddler bed at about 17-18 months... He is a big kid and we didn't even have to use the railings for the bed that we bought. We bought his furniture at IKEA so his little bed is close to the ground and he absolutely loves it and I am sure will get a good year or so more out of it (until he grows out of it) and then I am going to buy him a full sized bed that is still relatively close to the ground because I don't want to have to worry about him falling out of it =) I think that if you feel that he is going to do better in his crib in his brothers room for a short while just to let him get used to it then go for it! We moved and that is why I got him a big kid bed (from FL to TX) and he adjusted really well to his own room and his new toddler bed! I hope that your little one makes the transition easier for you and the new baby!