When/How to move baby to real bed?

[Marshay]

We have a few family trips this summer and then WDW in Sept. DD is now 20 months old. I'm concerned about sleeping arrangements.

Before, we just put her in a travel crib or pack-n-play, but she is getting too big for these and just started to realize she can put her leg over the top to climb out. However, I can't picture DD sleeping on the other bed by herself, either (I'm a first time mom!).

I fear we will be traveling to someplace new and working on her sleeping at the same time and no one will be having any fun...

All advice is welcome!

 

[jenrein]

Thats a tough one with traveling involved. It was hard enough for me to get them to switch just being in the same room they always had been. I started out with a toddler size bed at about 2 years old. They make them to use the crib mattress, they are low to the floor and usually have side rails. They also make side rails you can use on any large bed that we used too. I let my son pick out a new bed set to help motivate him to want to sleep in his new bed and it really helped.

Good luck to you!

 

[Sarah7401]

DS4 was in his crib until he was 3-3.5. He climbed out once when he was about 18 months old and never tried again. We were very lucky. The toddler bed did not work for us at that time, he kept sliding out the end of it. LOL He is now in a full-size bed, one side is against the wall, the other has a bed rail.

For vacations at that age, I would either suggest just having her sleep with you or maybe getting one of those inflatable travel beds from catalogs such as "One Step Ahead" or "Leaps and Bounds." Or, you could just move the bed mattress to the floor. That way if she did "escape," she wouldn't have far to fall.

HTH

 

[Starr W.]

DS4 was in his crib until he was 3-3.5. He climbed out once when he was about 18 months old and never tried again. We were very lucky. The toddler bed did not work for us at that time, he kept sliding out the end of it. LOL He is now in a full-size bed, one side is against the wall, the other has a bed rail.

For vacations at that age, I would either suggest just having her sleep with you or maybe getting one of those inflatable travel beds from catalogs such as "One Step Ahead" or "Leaps and Bounds." Or, you could just move the bed mattress to the floor. That way if she did "escape," she wouldn't have far to fall.

HTH

I did the samething with both my boys, they stayed in the crib until 3, then moved to a real bed. Youngest was the hardest, at 2 slept on the floor because he didn't like the real bed on vacation. I took the bedspread and folded it up and put the top sheet on it. A year later when he got his "real" bed at home he was fine and has been fine on vacation since then. Oldest has no problem with sleeping anywhere.

 

[LynnTH]

We too used the bed rails (had one side of the bed against the wall and the other we used bed rails). You can call Disney and request to have these in your room also - we did that and it worked out great.

 

[maidenfairy]

We just moved DS 2 into a twin bed. one side against the wall and the other side has a bed rail. He loves being in a big boy bed. Now my DS5 he was in a crib until he was almost 3.5. He just loved his crib. Disney has bed rails but I like the idea the other poster had about the inflatable bed from one step ahead.

Good luck and have a good trip.

Tonya

 

[feedindy]

I switch to a toddler bed as soon they are able to get that leg up to climb. I have heard too many horror stories of kids climbing out of cribs, falling and breaking bones. For my first 2 this was around 18 months. My youngest is a monkey at 16 months though so I'm sure I'll be moving her to her big girl bed in a few weeks.

 

[kitsch4]

As soon as my son turned 2 we moved him to a "big boy bed" with Sesame Street bedding. (He got to choose the sheets.) He thought he was pretty cool, and we didn't have any trouble. We also put one side against the wall and used a bedrail on the other side. You may want to try this prior to your trips to see how it goes for your daughter. If you are driving, maybe you could get her her own sleeping bag with a favorite character on it. She might think this is pretty cool, too. Good luck!

 

[Elaine R]

It is a challenging move. We moved my oldest son to a toddler bed when he was 18 mo. old because we needed the crib. (My next child was born when DS was 21 months old. By the time DS was 2.5 he was in a full size bed with no rails, as we heards children can get caught in them. We figured it was safer to just fall out of bed. For added safety we put a baby gate on DS's bedroom door. That way he couldn't wander around the house while we were sleeping.

I'd go and get a toddler bed for your child and get her used to sleeping in a bed. If she's still not too secure by Sept. you could sleep with her.

 

[Elmo888]

My DDs' ped. says to leave them in the crib as long as possible if they aren't climbing out. First DD was in it until she was 3, and she slept in a PNP at Nana's house up until then, too. She was a month from turning 3 the last time she slept in a PNP at Nana's. They might seem too big in the PNP, but she slept fine. Second DD is almost 2.5, and she is in a crib. Sure, they can put their leg on the side of the crib/PNP, but it is a big step (jump?) from there to actually climbing out. Second DD will put her leg on the side when I am standing there and wants to get out, but she wouldn't actually try to climb out. Neither DD ever tried.

I'd leave her in the crib (save yourself!) and just use a PNP for your trips.

 

[Sarah7401]

My DDs' ped. says to leave them in the crib as long as possible if they aren't climbing out.

That was my thought exactly. When he woke up, I knew exactly where he was. Christmas this year was stressful because it was our first Christmas with DS in a big-boy bed and him having the ability to sneak downstairs and catch us.

 

[mericletwins]

We took our twins out of the crib on their fourth birthday. If we hadn't moved them, they'd probably still be in them.

I left mine in as long as possible. And that meant we had three cribs in our house. I have heard all kinds of horror stories (and witnessed from friends) about sleeping issues that have cropped up from moving kids into a bed before they were ready.

When we traveled, they just slept in the bed with us.

 

[ilovejack02]

We didnt move DS till he was 3 . It was hard on trips when he finally got to where he didnt fit into the pack and play. Usually we just got a king bed and he slept with us, but the issue was he wouldnt sleep with us in there. After a few times of us hiding in the bathroom until he fell asleep, we finally just got hotel rooms with a balcony and we stayed outside until he fell asleep and then we could go back inside. He is 4.5 now and we still have to do that. He is a kid that has to have total darkness and no one else can be awake in the room. I would prob go with bed rails if I were you.

 

[daisyduck123]

I moved both of mine into twin beds when they were 1 year old.

They were so young, it didn't phase them.
We didn't have one problem...they went to sleep from the 1st night on just as if they were in their cribs.

**I hated the crib!
Changing those sheets was a huge PITA!
Couldn't wait to get them out of it!

 

[RayJay]

We have a few family trips this summer and then WDW in Sept. DD is now 20 months old. I'm concerned about sleeping arrangements.

Before, we just put her in a travel crib or pack-n-play, but she is getting too big for these and just started to realize she can put her leg over the top to climb out. However, I can't picture DD sleeping on the other bed by herself, either (I'm a first time mom!).

I fear we will be traveling to someplace new and working on her sleeping at the same time and no one will be having any fun...

All advice is welcome!

This was a huge fear of ours when are DD was young. We put the boxspring and mattress on the floor so it was low. Put it up against the wall, told her what was going to happen and just did it. She was fine, after we checked on her a million times.

For travelling just push the bed against the wall, you sleep on the side where she could roll off, worked for us.

Good Luck
RayJay

 

[MSSANDRA]

I say wait will he is 30!! . We so messed this one up. DS was in his crib till almost three and he LOVED his crib. From the time he was 7 lbs (He was a tiny premature baby that we had to wake up at night to feed till he was 7 lbs) he slept all night every night. We could put him to bed awake and he would sleep all night. As a toddler he would say night night. He would Lie down and sleep 12 hours and call us to get him out. WELL... I was pregnant with our heaven angel and decided to move him to a big bed. We let him not only pick out the sheets but the bed and decorate the room. FIRST night he says" Just tonight will you sleep in my room. BIG MISTAKE. it took years to keep him in that bed and he never learned to sleep well in it. We still joke that now at 15 and over 150 lbs he should still be in the crib.

Not much help but do not rush it!!!!!!!!!!

MsSAndra

 

[perd]

When we first moved DD#1 out of her crib, we just put the crib mattress on the floor and moved the crib out. That way she could get in and out of bed by herself without falling. When she got a little older we got her a super single waterbed. She loved that thing and she is 22 now and still complains that we got rid of her waterbed at one point and bought her a "real' bed.

 

[daisyduck123]

call us to get him out.
MsSAndra

Our DD did that until she was 3 years old!!

I just don't think she realized that there was the freedom to get up & walk around without permission.

 

[alloyd1170]

I travel a lot with the kids (dh often stays home because of work). If it is just one night in a hotel, I usually sleep with dd (21 mos) and ds (5 yrs) gets his own bed. When ds was younger, I got him an Aerobed toddler bed that he still uses now when we travel. It's an inflatable bed and the middle is recessed a bit so rolling out is not that easy. Rolled up in the bag, it's about the size of a sleeping bag. When space is an issue, I got the kids the inflatable ready beds which are inflatable sleeping bags (Target, Toys R Us, Walmart). While they are cute and take up less space, both kids tend to roll out of them fairly easy. DD has one with bolsters on the sides (for toddlers) but she still rolls out. At least they dont have far to fall!

At home, the crib converts to a toddler bed (with a short side rail) and then to a daybed and full size bed. DS is tall and a climber. He climbed out of the crib around 18 mos. We moved him to a big boy bed (bunk type with high sides and a slide) around 2. DD still has not tried to climb out of the crib, but can with the side rail down. It's only a matter of time Im sure and she will be out. I will then convert it to the toddler bed. We already have her big girl bed waiting in the garage (Rooms to Go's Cinderealla Carriage bed).

alison

 

[Marshay]

thanks for all the replies! Friends of ours gave us their toddler bed, so I guess we'll start to introduce that to DD.

Our bed at WDW for DD will actually be a sofabed, so not sure if the bed rails will work for that or not (since mattress will be smaller).