My 19 month old climbed out of his crib tonight (I had put him in his crib so that I could fish out a poop out of the tub -- never a dull moment with a toddler...) I heard grunting and walked out of the bathroom to find him half way out of his crib. I guess I need to get a toddler bed now. Does anyone know how I can find a cheap one that is still durable? Is there anything I should know? I do not have two penny's to rub together at the moment so I was looking for a second hand toddler bed frame on craiglist.com but there isn't much to choose from. If anyone has one they want to sell let me know!
Thank you everyone! I was considering just going for the twin bed until I looked at the prices. I kept searching on craigslist and found a great little plastic toddler bed that looks like a VW Bug for $25. It has a top to it so it is somewhat enclosed which I think will be comforting and raised sides. I have it set up but still have him in the crib until he climbs out again or consistantly. In the meantime he can get used to the idea.
what about Ikea?? They have beds starting at $99, but they're white, maybe a little girly. Here's bed though that will grow with the child, http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S39847516.
I hope this helps!
Hello S.. Have you heard of "Freecycle?" It's a free public forum you may sign up on locally to post items you are looking for, or may wish to give away. It's a great community network designed to help keep things out of the landfills that may still be of good use for someone else.
So if you post you are looking for a toddler bed, there may just be another mommy looking for who she may give her growing toddler's smaller bed away to! The site is: http://www.freecycle.org/
The fishing story was funny!;}
Bless you & your little guy,
R.
We went from crib to twin size bed with our children. With our first, I was concerned about the height from the floor. We put the mattress on the floor until "I" was more comfortable about my baby sleeping in a big bed. The second went right into the bed with the side rails up. Both were climbing out of the crib by 15 months. Our third will move to a twin when she is ready too. The cost and time spent in a toddler size just didn't seem to add for me.
We were lucky enough to get a hand-me-down bed from a cousin made by This End Up, so it is really sturdy. The set is 19 years old now and you would never know it. I tease my cousin that he will be able to have it back when he has his own children.
Kmart, Target and Sears all have nice looking furniture. I'm not sure of prices as this isn't something I've needed. You could also place a classified saying you are looking in your local paper. Sometimes there is no cost at all for this. Just keep putting the word out there about what you are looking for. Friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc. Someone may have something or know someone else who does.
Good luck in your search.
we just got a great toddler bed from our local news paper! My son Is 17months old and we transitioned him at 16 months he actually does better with night time now then with the crib. Second hand stores are great walmart and kmart online have some pretty cheap ones too. We ask him if he is ready to go "night night" and he will walk into his room and crawl up into bed with out a fuss, we kiss him hand him his stuffed curious george monkey and he goes right to sleep. and in the moarning he will wake up and play with toys in his room. I think he is telling you it is time to change. also most toddler beds use the same mattres as the cribso you wont have to buy a new one! I hope this helps
Hi S.,
Is it possible to lower your crib any further? I wouldn't recommend a big boy bed yet because he will more than likely get out of that as well. I'd also, if it's possible, go straight to a twin bed rather than a toddler bed since he will outgrow that in a couple years and you'll wind up having to buy another new bed.
Best of luck to you and God bless!
K. - SAHM of 2 boys, 5 and 2
You could always just put his crib mattress on the floor.
Of course, if you do that, then you have to make sure his whole room is baby-proofed: furniture straps on anything that he could try to climb and then topple over on him, hide/cover all electrical cords, cover electrical outlets, gates on the door to his room and the stairs if you have any.
I've heard lots of recommendations from others about the crib tent, but they aren't cheap: $70 http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2404625
You could buy a cheap toddler bed frame for less ($50 http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2299940 ), but why bother spending money on a toddler bed that he'll outgrow soon enough. Just go straight to a twin with a rail when you're *both* ready. (That's what we're going to do...)
Good luck! :-)
Save some money and go straight to a twin bed if you can. I put the box spring and mattress right on the floor so that there is not far to fall. Toddler beds don't give them much room and they outgrow them so quick! We don't even use a bed frame for now so the cost is only in the mattress.
S.,
I remember when our daughter was at that age (she is 4yrs old now. We got her a bunk bed, and she only slept on it for about a year ( due to space, we had to give it to our neighbor). Then, she later said that she wants the same bed as ours (which is a king size bed).
After much discussion with my husband, we decided to buy her a blow-up queen size mattress to see if she'll sleep in it. Well, she loved it. She liked the fact that it is big enough, and felt like she is now a "big girl" sleeping in a big girl's bed. It is the perfect height for her to get in and out of bed - and to us, it's alot cheaper then regular bed! You'll probably get it around $50-$70 ( or go to Walmart to see variety options).
It is definitely a life saver for us due that we knew we're going to upgrade her bedroom soon. Hence, it really work out very well for all of us.
Good luck!
- R. D
Seeing how your son is so young, you might not be able to get him to stay in a regular bed. I think you might have a little night wanderer on your hands, which could be very dangerous if he gets into things he shouldn't!
I would try a crib tent to prevent him from climbing out. I believe they are sold at almost every store that carries baby gear. But if you're set on moving him out of his crib, just put the crib mattress on the floor. My son had a toddler bed and it was worthless! You can't put a guard rail on it and he kept falling out. Plus, he outgrew it really quickly. I don't believe toddler beds are worth the expense. Good luck!
