My 17 MO daughter will be in a crib till she ends up with a brother or sister hopefully next year - then she'll move to her big girl bed. Is there a special size pillow they use to sleep on, or just a regular adult pillow? Do you start the pillow with the bed, and not before? If anyone has recommendations on what types of pillows are best for toddlers, or online references for brands or research, please feel free to share.
i gave all 3 of my boys pillows when they moved to a bed. They used a standard size pillow. They never asked for one while still in a crib so I didnt bother giving them one before moving them out.
One Step Ahead sells a toddler sized pillow to use in a crib or toddler bed. It's about 1/3 the size of an adult's pillow and not as thick. They also sell extra pillow cases.
My daughter used one from about the age of 2. I was afraid of using a standard pillow in the crib since it filled up so much space and totally looked like a suffocation hazard! If she wiggled her little head under there I don't think she would have been able to get it out! The toddler pillow is much lighter so there is no way it could become trapped in the crib.
-S.
My 23 mo. daughter uses a regular pillow in her crib.
Regular adult pillows are not considered safe for use in a crib, because of the risk of suffocation. If you feel your child needs a pillow (many children under 2 do not need one and prefer to sleep all on one level), choose one which is small and very firm, something similar to a throw pillow on the couch. I made my son a pillow when, on his own, he started laying his head on his dolly. The pillow is a patchwork and I stuffed it really densely, and I used bamboo filling which is hypoallergenic.
My son has a travel pillow, made for people to take on planes and such. It looks just like a big pillow, but it is just his size. Then I bought some fun fabric with his favorite characters on it and made some easy pillowcases. Been forking great for him since he went into a big boy bed at 2.
someone made us a little pillow -- about a fourth the size of a regular pillow. All three of my kids still use them. and 2 of them are still in toddler beds.
I didn't use a pillow until my daughter moved to bed at 3.
I started off with a little toddler pillow for my son. He used it in his crib when it turned to a day bed. Now he sleeps with a regular sized pillow in the twin bed. A lot of times his head isn't even on the pillow when he's sleeping, so I wouldn't sweat it. You might just want to stick to no pillow since she's still in the crib.
I bought a toddler pillow at Babies R Us when my son was about 20 months. It's smaller and made of foam with neck support. It was an impulse buy but he loves it!
I introduced the pillow when my daughter was about 18 months. Babies R Us sells a great toddler pillow. It is made of memory foam and the perfect size to start out with and get them used to it. I just transitioned her to an adult size pillow and she is now 2 1/2. I thought the toddler pillow was well worth getting as it got her used to it and it didn't hurt her neck. I believe the pillow from BRU was $19.99.
Hi D.,
My son is 22 months and is still in a crib. We gave him a standard pillow in the crib just recently. I went to Babies R Us first to see if they had small pillows - and they do, but even the salesperson thought it was silly because they're going to grow out of it, and there's nothing wrong with a simple standard pillow. So that's what we ended up getting. We only did it because when we put him to bed at night he started hoarding all his stuffed animals and blankets in a pile a the end of the bed, and he'd use that for a pillow - so I figured he was trying to tell me something! :-) He seems to like the regular pillow just fine. We won't move him out of the crib until he either grows out of it, or tries to climb out of it. Luckily, neither of those things have happened. He is getting tall, so I think when he turns 2 in November, we'll transition him to a toddler bed.
