Child Number Two.. Two Cribs?

Updated on February 10, 2008
H.W. asks from Burnsville, MN
14 answers

Our son is going to be 33 moinths when our new baby boy comes into this world. My struggle is that we have a convertable crib (we did not buy it just because it is convertable we bought it b/c we liked the style) Our 2.5 yr old is still in it and does not try to get out (even though he could) I am tempted to get another crib for the new baby b/c we can turn the existing crib into a daybed and a double size bed when ready. Do I spend the $300-400 for another crib/bed because our sons can use it untill they leave for college?

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M.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

I would get another crib. Right before my second was born, we switched my older daugther to a "big girl" bed. It was terrible. She desperately wanted to be back in her crib. She got out of bed every night and had trouble falling asleep. I was a exhausted! I was up and down all night with at least one of my girls.

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S.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

H.,

Personally, I wouldn't buy a second crib. Your newborn can easily sleep in a bassinette, cradle or portacrib with a newborn bassinette attachment for the first few months. By then your son will be over 3 and plenty old enough for a bigger bed. You could purchase a toddler or a twin bed for him. You may want to even purchase bunk beds and just set up the lower one for him if you would end up making this purchase in a few years anyway.

Congrats on your growing family,
S.

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K.G.

answers from Minneapolis on

I have kids and ended up putting my kids in a twin bed. My 2nd born went into a twin bed for safety reasons...he was climbing out of EVERYTHING. He loved a twin bed, even at 15 months! My daughter was in a twin just before 2 years to make room for our newest. I found that with my daughter she loved helping pick out fun bedding and she felt so proud to be in the big bed. We didn't have any issues with them with the conversion. Good luck.

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A.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

Our daughter was 26 months when our second daughter was born--we also had a convertible crib. We decided to buy a toddler bed for our oldest daughter, which was very affordable (less than $200 including the mattress). We never "converted" the crib...but, will plan to later on. Our older daughter is now 3.5 and still sleeping happily in the toddler bed. We figure we still have a little time to decide what to do next....the "baby" (now a toddler) enjoys her convertible crib, which is still in the "crib" formation.

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I.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

We had the same thing. I didn't buy another crib. We just moved our oldest to a twin bed. Started with just putting the mattress on the floor. It was cute because he didn't realize he could get out of it. You can use your convertible crib with you next child. We actually have 4 kids and have never converted the crib to a toddler bed.

A.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

I had the same troubles. What I ended up doing after looking at countless places for a crib (that was $300 or more) was use my pack-n-play bassinet for the first 3 months and then got a bed for my 2 year old son, I figured we would need two beds down the road anyway and if you don't have a pack-n-play, they are awesome for travel or grandma's. It worked out fine, I know how it is being pregnant and wanting everything perfect yesterday!!

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S.C.

answers from Minneapolis on

We had this same dilema and decided to buy a second convertible crib. We are very glad we did. Our son was not interested in leaving his crib when our daughter was born (he was 30 months) and I believe he liked the security of his same bed when she first transitioned into our family. We have since converted his bed into a toddler bed and now into the full-size bed and just love it! When we went to the full-sized bed it was so easy! We just did the conversion, went to the mattress store, and brought it home. No waiting, ordering, etc....and he was thrilled.

Hope you find a choice that works for you!

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M.C.

answers from Minneapolis on

I think I'd either get $100 crib or use your existing crib for the baby and move your 33 month old to either a toddler bed or by-pass that and get a single or twin bed.

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K.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

I would have to agree with just buying your son a twin size bed and a bed rail, if you're worried about him falling out. It's certainly cheaper then a whole new crib, and your new baby can use the "convertible" part of the crib when he/she is old enough, if you really want to get use of that. I would imagine your son must be getting close to outgrowing the crib anyway, sooner rather then later anyway. We moved our son to a twin size bed when he was 2 yrs. old and he did fine. A twin size bed will last him longer then a crib or toddler size bed anyway, so you'd get "more bang for your buck" so to speak, if cost is part of it.

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J.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

We went straight to the twin bed (w/bed rail.) We also have a convertible crib - so you can convert it to the twin/double bed for your second child rather than for your first. A twin mattress/box spring plus bed rail (plus waterproof mattress pad and bedding) was still cheaper than a new crib (plus double the amount of crib bedding.) But definitely do it very soon - the more time that has passed since your son was last in the crib before the baby gets here, the better. If you can, put the crib AWAY (attic or basement) until right before the baby is born. We talked up the "big boy bed" for a few weeks, and then he came with us to pick out the mattress, sheets, etc. (He was 2-1/2 when we moved him into the twin bed.) He had also not ever tried to get out of his crib. One suggestion, depending on room configuration: we put his twin bed in a corner, and put a bookshelf at the foot of the bed, so he still really had "four walls" like in his crib. We figured since he was still pretty happy in his crib, it might make him more comfortable. We did end up lying with him until he fell asleep for a few weeks (which, in a twin bed, is of course not so hard, you just get in bed with them) - but that was pretty easy to transition out of once he made the adjustment. The one thing that surprised us was that, rather than getting himself out of bed when he woke up in the morning, he would call us, just as he had when he was in the crib - even though as soon as we came in the room he would then climb out of bed by himself (with the help of a little stool.) It's taken him a long time (almost a year) to leave his bed without calling us first. (Although I know some parents would pay money to have a child who stayed in bed like this.) Good luck!

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L.T.

answers from Minneapolis on

We were in a similar situation. My daughter would have been happy to stay in the crib, but we didn't want to buy a second crib for the baby. We decided to move our daughter into a big girl bed a few months before her brother arrived to take "her" crib. We skipped the toddler bed and went straight to a regular mattress. We ended up using a queen mattress on top of a box spring, no frame. So far it works great - we love that in a pinch, we can use our daughter's bed as a guest bed and it's also nice to be able to crawl in her bed with her for stories and snuggles before she goes to sleep at night. If you want to buy your son a little more time in the crib, you can do what the previous posters suggested and use a bassinet or pack and play for a few months after the new baby is born. The other thing to consider is that your tastes (and your boys' tastes) will likely change quite a bit over the next 18 years.

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N.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

you could always look for a used crib...we had the same exact issue when #2 arrived...so I went on craigslist and found one...I didn't want to spent 400$ on another crib...

funny thing is now I have the nice convertable crib stacked in the basement and no one is using it...we ended up getting him a cars bed...

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B.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

I personally would move your son into a regular big boy bed with siderails
(not even a toddler bed) and give the crib to the baby.

Will they be sharing a room in the future? Will you want matching twin beds or bunk beds?

I'd think about that maybe.

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K.M.

answers from Minneapolis on

Hi H.,

Is it possible for you to borrow a crib or a bassinet? When I had my 4th I still had one in a crib and she wasn't trying to climb out. I opted to get a toddler bed with a removeable guard rail. This worked. I have also had babies sleep in a larger size bassinet for up to 7months. My sister is presently expecting her 2nd and has her 2 year old in a crib. She has gotten a pack in play bad with a bassinet attachment she plans to use until the 2year old is ready to transition.
I hope this is helpful.

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