Toddler Toddler Bed? - Shreveport, LA

whenever you think she is ready. I put my daughter in one at about 20 months.

Hello C.. When your daughter starts to learn how to climb up and down for herself would be a good time to try. My son was a little over 2 years old. My mom had made him a toddler bed out of wood and had railings so he wouldnt roll out of bed. So getting a bed with railings would be a good start. If you need a toddler bed, let me know my mom makes them. Congrats about your other one in the oven. If you need anything let me know.

S. T.
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www.always4myfamily.com

My daughter in law adn son moved my granddaughter into hers about 2 weeks ago...she was 2 in March. R.

I think that every child is different. We converted my daughter's crib into a toddler bed when she was about 20 months. Our reason was mostly selfish, I just couldn't hardly lift her from the bottom of the crib anymore. She did great and has never had any problems and has never fallen out. So, I'd say whenever you think she is ready. Good luck and congrats on baby #2.

Hi! We moved our son to his big boy bed when he was about 20 months old. I too was expecting our second child. We bought him a twin bed and put a soft rail on it. It worked out great and we were able to use his nursery furniture. I urge you to do this ASAP so he will not think the baby "took" his baby bed. We had already established a good bedtime routine and haven't had any problems with him getting out of his bed. Best of luck to you and your growing family! God Bless!!!

I would introduce the toddler bed as soon as possible. She may not take to it right away and this will give you lots of time to get her in it full time. Our toddler bed is at the foot of our bed and the baby bed is over by my side, next to the wall. (When my littlest grandkids are here the baby bed is where the toddler sleeps and the new baby sleeps in a bouncy seat. He has reflux so he needs the sitting up position.)

Just a thought: in child care centers a baby can go into a cot at 10 months this way when they move to the toddler room at 1 yr. they are already sleeping on a cot and it isn't a big change.

My daughter got a Dora the Explorer toddler bed from her grandmother for her first Christmas (2 months before she turned a year old). We waited a month or so before setting it up. When I did, I just put it in our living room so that she could play on it and get used to it. We started having her take naps on it (rock her to sleep & put her on it). I'm not sure how long we did that before we moved the toddler bed into her bedroom. Maybe a couple months. I left the crib where it was and just put the toddler bed beside it, with space on both sides of it in case she fell. Also put pillows on the floor on both sides. After about a week, she only fell off a few times and was sleeping in it just fine. So we took out the crib and moved the toddler bed where the crib was.

A lot of people suggest you skip the toddler bed and go ahead with a twin bed. You could get just the top mattress for now, or the mattress and box springs without any frame so that it stays low to the floor. If her grandmother hadn't gotten the toddler bed, we probably would have just gotten a twin mattress set. Our daughter is 3 now and we are wanting to get her a twin mattress set as soon as we have the extra money!

I moved my 20 month old out of his crib into a toddler bed so his tiny brother could have the crib (baby was 6 months--baby was in the pack'n'play in my room). He never tried to climb out so he would probably still be fine in the crib if I didn't need it.

I set up the toddler bed in his bedroom, alongside the crib. While I was setting it up, "N" asked what I was doing. I told him I was making him a big boy bed because babies sleep in cribs. He said, "Oh." N then asked to get in his crib -- he proceeded to empty the crib and throw everything onto the toddler bed. including the sheets! When I got him out to the crib, he promptly hopped on the big bed and said, "Mine!" and I had a hard time getting the rest of it put together with him on it.

Since then, I have put the baby gate on his bedroom door so N won't roam the house at night. I also moved all toys into the closet (he can't open the door) so he doesn't play all night!

It has been 3 months, and everything is fine. We didn't have any problems with jealousy about the baby using the crib.

I suggest you transition your daughter to the big girl bed whenever you are ready to set up the nursery. Let her help you make a place for the new baby.

Good luck and God bless you and your growing family.
Happy Mother's Day!

We moved both our girls at around 18-20 mos. Neither of them ever tried to climb out of their crib, but we wanted our first daughter to be happy in her "new" bed when baby #2 came along, and I didn't think laying her down in a crib when I was 7 or 8 months pregnant would be too easy so you'll want to consider that. We have the convertible cribs so she still had her own bed and didn't have to deal with her baby sister sleeping in "her" crib.
Many people worry about them falling out and she probably will, but most toddler beds are only about 8 inches off the floor so there's not too much worry about injury, just her waking up. With both they were in the room when the bed was converted so they could sort of see that it was still their bed, just a little different and they both adjusted very easily. My youngest had a little trouble the first couple nights, but was fine after that. They liked that they could get in their bed by themselves and got a small pillow at that time too. God bless and congradulations on baby number two.

I was always told that you should move your child when he/she starts climbing out of the crib so for safety reasons it would be time. I put my kids in a toddler bed when they were about 18 months but they are boys and were very active and independent. Some people leave their child in a crib past 2 years old. I think they are lucky to have a child who would stay in a crib that long. :)

You can save some money and just move her to a regular twin bed. Our two sons are 18 months apart, so when I came home with the new baby, we put the crib mattress on the floor so Toddler could get used to not having crib rails around him. (Plus I'd had a C-section and I couldn't lift him out of the crib.) After several months, when he wasn't rolling off the mattress anymore, we bought bunk beds (planning ahead!) and put him on the bottom bunk with the crib mattress next to the bed in case he rolled out. So far he hasn't, but he absolutely loves his big boy bed and that he gets to have a sheet like Mommy and Daddy. He's 21 months and loves climbing into the bed and flopping around on the mattress. Baby currently sleeps in a cradle in our room, but in another month or so, when he's sleeping through the night, we're moving him to the crib in Toddler's room.

Congratulations on your new baby!!

We moved both of our children to twin size beds when they were about to turn two and they did great! Congratulations on your upcoming baby!