[name]Rowan[/name] has been going through a “refusing to take naps in her crib” phase the past few days. She ends up falling asleep on the couch and is sleeping a normal hour to hour and a half (even with all the activity going on around her) I tried waiting until she fell asleep and then moving her to her crib, but she freaked out and wouldn’t stop crying until I took her back to the couch. She is sleeping normally at night, this is just at nap times so far. We have her crib on the lowest mattress setting and she is still trying to climb out. I’ve done some research and it seems the recommended age to transition to a toddler bed is between 1 1/2 and 3. She is 19 months old now. I feel like she’s not ready for a toddler bed because she might fall out or worse, get out of bed and wander the house if she wakes up before us. My husband is insisting she is ready for one but I’m not so sure…
When did your kids transition to a toddler bed? [name]How[/name] did you know they were ready? Thoughts?
Our son is almost 18 months and still in the crib. So I’ve never made this switch myself and I’m looking forward to hearing what folks say. I’ve always heard to leave kids in the crib until they start to try to climb out- b.c if they are good climbers, they can fall and hurt themselves. Though this seems more possible on some cribs than others. Ours is very low on the lowest setting and has completely smooth rails so there aren’t any footholds. But then our boy is not that into climbing, either. So I don’t know.
Anyhow, if she is trying to climb out and refusing to sleep in there, I would say, yeah, switch her to a toddler bed. It will probably be easier now than later, right? If you’re worried about her falling out, you could just put the mattress right on the floor for awhile, so she doesn’t have far to roll. I have also heard of putting one of those foam pool noodles under the fitted sheet along the edge of the bed to prevent rolling out. As to her wandering around at night, if you make sure that her room is childproofed and that she can’t open her door, that should be okay, right? You could also put the baby monitor back on for awhile, if that makes you more comfortable. If she is in your room with you, then I don’t think you have to worry about her wandering, you will hear her get up. I think you’ll hear her anyway, or just know or something.
My almost 3 year old is still in her crib. she hasn’t tried to get out and goes to sleep pretty well in it, so we haven’t changed her. She’s going to be a pain when in a big bed as she is Miss Independent and will be out of bed in a flash, driving her brothers nuts. We are prepping her for the idea, so it will happen soon, probably before we move in the summer.
If [name]Rowan[/name] is trying to get out, you need to get her a regular bed before she hurts herself. My middle child kept throwing himself out of his crib and it became dangerous. You can get a gate for her bedroom door to keep her from wandering or detachable sides for the bed to keep her from falling, but we just put cushions under DS’s bed.
I got my son a toddler bed when he was about 18-20 months, I don’t exactly remember. Before that I had been co-sleeping for a few months because I had to move in with my mom for about six months before my husband and I moved to our home, so my situation might be quite different than yours. Anyway, it has been difficult, but his sleep routine has been easier lately- he’s 26 months old now. I kept his door closed and he would get up and fall back asleep with his head against the door then wake up crying but too groggy to move and I was afraid I would hurt him if I pushed the door open. My technique for fixing that issue was to get a monitor and run to his room to put him back in bed as soon as i heard his feet touch the floor. This lead to many sleepless or half asleep nights as I listened anxiously for any movement. But the tactic has worked and now he rarely wakes up and will often stay in bed and cry if he does.
Our eldest moved to a toddler bed at 15 months because she managed to climb out of her crib, she did fine! Never fell out and slept better than in her crib, once we moved her over we never looked back Our second is 18 months old and still in the crib, we will leave her in there until she’s two then move her over to a toddler bed then, unless she starts climbing out her cot before that.
We moved him into a twin bed at 22 months. He hated his crib and we coslept before that but the twin has been amazing. He has been sleeping in it for almost a year now. His bed is against the wall and I do keep a pillow on the floor just in case, but he has never fallen out of bed (knock on wood). We haven’t had an issue with him wandering around at night. Our bedrooms are upstairs and we keep a baby gate at the top of the stairs and we keep his door cracked. So, when he wakes in the morning around 7, he usually comes into our bedroom for some snuggles before we all get up (which is awoesome, it is lovely to wake up to toddler kisses and a little boy saying "missed you, mama, mornin’!). Otherwise, he plays with his cars or reads his books for a little bit. Is a baby gate an option to keep her in a safe part of the house? The pool noodle and mattress on the floor suggestions are great.
That definitely makes me want to keep the crib around longer, I know if she knew she had access to the floor at all times, she would test her limits. She usually falls asleep quickly and never wakes up, but she does move around a lot at night. Her falling out seems to be a very likely possibility.
Good news though, she slept in her crib for a nap today with no problem. And is sleeping soundly there now, so I guess we got a slight reprieve on the whole toddler bed issue. Maybe she’ll get a toddler bed for her 2nd birthday.
We’re not ready yet (nor do we need to switch) but I was wondering if anyone used those motion-detector mats? Like a baby monitor, if the child gets out of bed the mat transmits a signal to the parents’ room.
We didn’t use a baby monitor at all. [name]Rowan[/name] was always right beside me until she was about 5 months old, and then she was in our room in her crib. But with the next baby, I plan on using one… for [name]Rowan[/name]. I was just thinking about this the other night… our house is kind of small, and all 3 bedrooms are down the same hallway. When we have a newborn again, I’m going to have to shut [name]Rowan[/name]'s door tight so the baby won’t wake her up. But I still want to check on her, so I’ll most likely use a video monitor in her room so I can have peace of mind while the newborn is right beside me all the time again. I slept in the living room on the couch for the first few weeks after she was born, so my husband could sleep in the bedroom and when he woke up around 5, we would trade places. I can definitely see how those motion detecting monitors could be awesome, they would put my mind at ease at least.
Like an Angelcare monitor? We didn’t personally use those once our babies started moving around in their sleep but something like that would work.
We moved [name]Henry[/name] to a twin bed at 2. Before that, we were lucky enough to never have any problems with him trying to get out of the crib. In the 1.5 years he’s been in a twin, he’s only fallen out a handful of times. We just pick him up, put him back in bed and he goes back to sleep. In a toddler bed, [name]Rowan[/name] would be a lot closer to the ground and if you put a railing up, it would be really hard for her to fall out. You mentioned that when the baby is born, you’ll have [name]Rowan[/name]'s door closed while she’s sleeping. Can she open doors on her own? If not, I don’t think you’d have to worry about her wandering around the house at night if you moved her to a toddler bed now. [name]Just[/name] keep the door shut now and use some type of monitor to tell if she wakes during the night.
Our boys are 22 months and I am dreading the day that they realize that they could climb out of their cribs and we have to switch to a bed. We have been incredibly lucky so far in that they haven’t tried it at all but we know that this can only go on for so long. I’m trying to stock up on sleep while I can!
Our second is 18 months old and still in the crib, we will leave her in there until she’s two then move her over to a toddler bed then, unless she starts climbing out her cot before that.