Transition from Crib to Bed - Parsippany,NJ

Usually they say to do it when the kids are trying to climb out of the crib because they could hurt themselves...My daughter was 2, and she never even attempted to climb out of the crib....We also had the crib that turns into a toddler bed and then a full size bed. We never used guard rails because it was so low to the ground, but my daughter never fell out. She is now three and we upgraded her to her full size bed....Just make sure to make a big deal out of it for the child when you do decide to make the transition...let them help pick out the toddler bedding etc...It will make it go a lot smoother:)

If your child is still sleeping fine in the crib... leave her/him there.
That is young, to switch to beds.

My son, LOVED his crib and slept well in it, until about close to 3 years old. Then he said one day, he wants a bed. Then we did so. And he slept fine there too.

If your babies are comfortable and happy with their cribs, leave them there. As long as they still fit in the crib and have no problem sleeping in the crib why make changes they may not be ready for. You may not be ready for it either. Sure, they can get in their beds easier, but they can also get out of them easier, too. And that's the biggest complaint parents have when they switch from cribs to beds. Within minutes they learn that as soon as you leave the room they can get out and get into things or come looking for you instead of going to sleep.

It sounds like you have twins. I have twin boys and took them out of their cribs at 25 months b/c we were going on vacation and wanted to get them used to not being in a crib. HUGE MISTAKE!!! We had so many sleep issues for months that I finally had to call a sleep consultant (can you believe there is such a thing???) She said she recommends keeping kids in cribs until age 3 because before then, they don't have the self control to stay in bed and, like ours, once they got out of bed, they couldn't seem to get themselves back into bed. We wound up having them sleep on a big down comforter on the floor until they were 4 years old and I bought them their real beds.
If you MUST take them out of the cribs, you can use a bedrail or you can buy a toddler bed that has bedrails attached.

My son (now 24 months) JUST went to his toddler bed two nights ago. We only switched him because he was climbing IN to his crib. We figured if he can climb in, he can climb out.

I got to see him climb IN, and he went head first, landing on the mattress. If he did head-first climbing OUT, he'd have a concussion I bet, landing on the hard-wood from at least two or three feet up.

The bed we have was a hand-me-down and it does NOT have rails on it. I wish it did. He fell out of bed last night, but luckily it was from less than a foot off the floor. He didn't even wake up.

Does the convertible bed not come with rails? You can always make a pallett out of blankets to put on the floor in case they fall out. Depends on how high off the ground the bed is.

My son is over 3 and we are JUST transitioning him. It depends on the child and your situation. My son sleeps in his crib but he doesn't fall asleep there so I have to carry him in and it was getting to be to much to lift him over the front, plus I was hoping with a big boy bed he might change how he falls asleep. I am going to put a toddler rail on the bed (twin bed) I LOVED having my son in the crib. We have the convertable crib too but decided to go with the twin bed now b/c my son is older than I thought he'd be when we transitioned. He tried only 2 times to ever get out of the crib - when he was mad that I put him in there awake and as soon as he wakes up he "wants to get out." He is also potty trained now and wearing underwear at night - and still in the crib. LOL! Each child/situation is different for me, the longer being in the crib the better. We are excited about the big boy bed now and I am happy that my son can truly communicate with me about it. I just hope it goes smoothly and I don't find myself carrying him into the bed - hahahaha - although even that would be better than lifting him over that crib rail! I'm hoping since he tells me that he wants a big boy bed, points out all the characters in cartoons that are sleeping in one and says that he will go to bed in his bed (rather than on the couch) that it will be a smooth transition. LOL. Good luck!

We switched our at 1 year. I really can't tell what is a good age, some moms will tell you thats too young, and others well tell you its a fine age to switch. Everyone thinks we're crazy for switching her that young but there were circumstances behind it, and she's been fine in her bed, and loves it! We didnt use the convertible crib, which ironically is the reason I bought that model. We found that it was too high still and we didn't feel comfortable. I would play around with the crib and see if you like it or not to use as a toddler bed. I found a great bed for ours. It's called an extendible bed. It has 3 different lengths and at its last length is a twin size bed. Its low and has head rails/foot rails (in a pretty design). It's easy for our toddler to climb in and out of and plenty big enough. My in-laws use the traditional bed rails at their house when they watch our little one. They told us she knows how to get around them and gets off the bed. LOL. Good Luck!

We switched to a toddler bed at 16 months. That worked well for us.

My 4 kids got a big kid bed once they climbed out of the crib.

Nanc

I would go with when the crib isn't working out anymore. =) I switched my daughter at 20 months and my son at about 19 months. I nurse my kids to sleep and it was taking too long and my daughter was waking up when I put her in. Plus they were getting too big too comfortably nurse in the chair. So getting a toddler bed and nursing them down seemed easier. I stay with them until they fall asleep anyway, so getting up when I left the room wasn't an issue. If you use a toddler, you probably won't be able to use rails. They're for twin size and bigger beds. My son fell out a lot (and kept on sleeping) and I found a thick pool noodle wedged in the side helped a lot. For my kids, the toddler bed transition didn't make them sleep any worse.

I would wait until they're ready, and discuss it with them first. There is no right and wrong with this, but a lot depends on your child. Some kids get scared without the security of the railings around them, and will want to go back to the crib if they're not ready. Other toddlers just won't go to sleep and will come out repeatedly to tell you something, another sip of water, etc. For us (I have 2 kids 2 years apart), it worked best at about 2.5 for each of them. Good luck to you!

I'd say you can try it whenever. Some people start at 18mos, but you may find that your little one isn't ready (you're SO lucky if yours is!).
I tried with my son several times, starting from 18mos, up until about a month ago (he's just turning 2 this weekend). We have another baby on the way in August and I didn't want to do a second crib.
BUT, I found out that he's just not ready for a big kid bed. I took everyone else's advice out here and decided not to force the issue. His crib is convertible, so eventually, we'll just take a side off and see what he does.
In the meantime, we got a second crib and went back to enjoying our nights of sleep (for the meantime!). :)

Hi, C.,
You have triplets, right? With multiples, I would try to delay the transition as long as possible -- but if they are climbing out of the cribs regularly, you should probably do it. I have twin daughters, and we didn't transition their cribs into toddler beds until a few months past their 3rd birthday. Only once, at around 18 months, did one of them climb out -- and she scared herself so much she never did it again. We decided it was time to make the change when they were waking up in the middle of the night and calling us to take them to the potty. At that point, we wanted them to be able to get up and go by themselves.

My sister-in-law, who also has twins, transitioned her kids to toddler beds at an earlier age than we did -- I think at around 2 1/2 -- and she has had to deal with a lot more shenanigans than we have. When kids are a bit older, they understand better that they have to stay in their beds and not get up and roam or play.

Also, only one of our daughters had issues with falling out of her toddler bed. Because of the way the bed is constructed, we have been able to use a body pillow to keep her from falling, instead of a bed rail.

Good luck!
A.

Hi there. We had a convertible crib and converted it to a full size bed when my daughter was 20 months (we actually never had a toddler bed, went straight from the crib to a full size). We use bedrails on both sides so she wouldn't fall out, she moves a lot during sleep and even though the bed is against the wall, there's a gap between the mattress and the wall, hence the bedrails on both sides. We use the "Regalo Sleep Tite Extra Long Drop Down Bed Rail" type, you can get them on amazon.com, they're extra long and very sturdy, better than other types I had. I think your babies are ready as long as you can trust that they won't try to climb over the bedrails and drop to the floor head first...lol. Best of luck!

My daughter started asking to go in a bed at about 2, so we let her at night. I kept her in the crib during the day for naps until she asked (begged!) to use the bed for naps, too. Other than the fact that she occasionally ransacks her room during nap time ;) it was a perfectly seamless transition.
We have a bedrail that we stick under the mattress on one side. I am not sure she really needs it, but we keep it there anyway.

If your kids still like their cribs I would wait an not take them out until it is necessary. My son is 2.5y/o and he is still in a crib. I have heard from to many mommy friends that they transitioned to soon to a big boy/girl bed and their good sleeping child went to a poor sleeping and non-nap-taking child. If you feel pressured to switch to a bed because you have another child on the way I would suggest getting another crib. That is what we decided to do b/f my 2nd son was born. Many great places to get an inexpensive new or 2nd hand crib.