Well, it happened...

Today I went up to get the girls and Jude was in Zoe's crib playing. Both naked of course (this is also a recent event.) The ends are about 1.5 feet apart so I am sure she managed to crawl over the end and grab on. I put them in for nap and she jumped out (then fell to the ground) twice. GRRRR...they are too young for beds. I really don't want to buy the crib dome. I lowered the mattress onto the floor in the crib but right away she got her foot in between the mattress and the crib. Luckily I was able to get them to sleep but I will need to think of possibly a small platform for tonight to hoist the mattress up a bit. Before they finally fell asleep Jude was hoisting her body up near the top so I am hoping for a few more weeks but eventually this will not work either. So, question of the day...what age did you do the toddler bed transition? We will be using just crib mattresses on the floor, but you know what I mean...when were you done with cribs? Just curious to see how I can expect the next few months to shape up?

 

I was very pregnant and had a hard time lifting my toddlers in/out of their cribs so we made the transition to toddler beds at 18 months. It went FANTASTIC. They werent old enough yet to be manipulative and they didnt really get the concept of going all over in their rooms, couldnt open the door etc.
moving early on for us was a great decision and I wouldn't have done it any other way. But had I not been pregnant and someone had suggested it I would have been really leery. I also wanted them to be in (and used to) their toddler beds before we began potty training. We did one big change at a time:

Toddler beds at 18 months
New baby arrived @ almost 22 months
potty trained at 27 months

Make the change

 

Thank you - your post comes in great timing. I wasn't expecting this but I WAS expecting to start potty training in the next couple weeks. Going to have to rethink everything maybe. Hmmm...what is happening to my "babies"? Will be anxious to hear others stories too...either way.

 

I tried toddler beds about the same time we tried potty training. it was disastrous! Naps and bedtime when by the wayside and they were up and running around the room all the time. so I had to put the cribs up. we attempted it at 24 mo. and I tried it for 6 wks. after our 2 wk vacation and 1 wk back at home I had my dh put the cribs back up.

as for keeping them in the cribs. #1 I used sleep sacks for several months and it kept them from climbing out. though now at 30 mo. they could climb out w/the sacks on... but back at 18 mo. it worked like a charm.

about putting your mattress on the ground w/o it being secured, that would really scare me. there are so many crib accidents with cribs that are put together to the manufacturer specs, but to do something that wouldn't be tested would scare me as to what could go wrong. I'd asked my dh if he could do something to lower the mattress more like a longer bracket, but he didn't like the idea of modifying the crib.

we did tents. if you can find a set of used ones I'd definitely say get them. they are pricey, but so worth it. We've been using tents for 7 mo. (since 23 mo.) I would really like to have the kids in beds, but I still don't think they are really ready for them... UGH!

 

I moved both my older kids into the toddler conversion of their crib at around 20 months of age and it went excellent with both of them.

That being said, my twins are staying in their cribs until they are teenages! :lol: I know it's going to be a whole new ballgame with 2 of them in there at the same time! However, Liam is my little climber and he nearly fell out of the crib the other day, I was changing Rylee on the changing table and he was giggling like a madman in his crib behind me, I turned around and he had one leg hanging over the crib rail and was hoisting himself up. Thankfully he fell over back INTO the crib instead of out of it! No way I could catch him with R on the changing table and naked! So, I'm sure either crib tents, or toddler beds, are in our near future as well :headbang: Just shoot me now.... :80:

 

we transitioned our girls at 18 months. we toddler proofed the heck out of the room, did their regular bedtime routine & left them to it. ardon: we had a few weeks of hearing them running around & playing, sometimes for a couple of hours, before falling asleep, and we often found them sleeping on the floor. unless someone sounded hurt, we didn't go back in. sometimes they were grumpy in the morning, but overall it fine. and it wasn't long till they figured out it was pretty boring to just run around in an empty room. now they go to sleep without issue.

 

ITA for us. In fact I remember discussing this with Rachel right before she moved her girls ours would go sleep together (even though they had their own beds) forever in the beginning. It was so cute!

 

My DD is a climber and she started climbing out of her crib around 18-19 months, so we converted her crib to a toddler bed. She did really well with the transition, initially she did not realize she could get out of bed but once she did, we had two weeks where she would be running around and playing in her room. Once the novelty wore off, she was okay.
My DS, however, has no desire to climb out of his crib and at almost 3 is still in it. Next weekend he is being moved to a big boy bed.

 

Well, we did take the cribs down last night. We took EVERYTHING out of the room except stuffed animals and the mattresses. I think Zoe would be fine in the crib but Jude climbs the side and then tries to get over. I didn't feel comfortable with the mattress on the floor inside the crib the way the crib is designed as there was a noticeable 1 inch gap. Needless to say, it took a couple of hours to get them to sleep and then they slept their normal 11.5 hours. They woke up giddy this morning. Zoe did roll off of hers...heh heh and we pushed the mattresses together because they were trying to nestle together on the same bed (even though they slept in separate cribs) - too cute! Timing is lucky because we found two bergamo standard wood toddler beds on craigslist this morning for only $70 total! We were thinking of just using the mattresses for a few days and then making another transition to the little beds - kind of using the "big girl" bed talk. What a whirlwind. I don't think we have the choice of going back with Jude's antics so we are just going to deal. Although I am putting off formal potty training...just not up for two major transitions. And, I am anticipating an absolute nightmare with naps now. They usually pass out hard at night-time so my bigger worry is nap time. DH and I are just in total shock. We were not expecting to be doing this this weekend! Thanks for your quick responses...it is so good to know as usual that I can post on here and get answers in a hurry. We are in new territory here!

 

So for nap, we either put them in seperate rooms OR we let one kid go in and go to sleep then about 15 minutes later we took the other one it to lay down and take their nap. They never woke the first and its not nearly as much fun to play when your sibling isnt up with you
I think talking it up and all about what BIG GIRL BEDS are, and what behavior is expected is a huge part of a successful transition. Best of luck!

 

Yikes! this post is scaring me.. although I guess in some ways it's probably better to just rip the bandaid off than fretting about it. Hopefully they get over the novelty of freedom soon and settle back into their routines!

 

Glad to hear things went well, I reluctantly opened this post b/c Jace is starting to hold onto the side of his crib and jump... apparently dh used to do this as a baby and jump out so I'm waiting for my little guy to follow in his daddies footsteps! My girls stayed in their cribs until they were 2.5yo the transition to a big bed isn't a fond memory of mine for either girl, so I'm thinking maybe an earlier switch will be better for the boys but I'm scared

 

Well, second night was only 90 mins to get them down vs. 2 hours - ha ha! But let me tell you...naps were horrendous and non-existent for Jude, Zoe slept about an hour on the floor...I will take it! We usually take one 2.5 - 3 hour nap. This is going to be an interesting week. Suddenly trying to show them their big girl beds...that we don't stand or jump on like in the crib. Maybe I will update in a couple weeks to let those coming behind us know how it is going, but let me just say, I am fearful. It is like I have opened a big jar of candy for these girls to climb into. They are beyond excited about their new beds...and have completely forgotten that they need sleep to continue their happiness. Will try to stay positive through the week. :help:

E&Msmom & Rachel - I will be re-reading your posts for confidence. Thanks so much! I do have a feeling I will be asking Santa Clause for a video monitor for Christmas...lol.

 

I hope the transition goes well for you. I'd love to hear how things pan out. Neither of mine have attempted escaping their cribs yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. DD is a climber.

 

The video monitor was KEY! After I put them in bed, I would go watch it, as soon as I saw a perpetrator (aka small child) get out of their bed, I would go right back in and escort them back to their bed. They were scared LOL never knew HOW mom knew or when she would come. It was also really entertaining to watch them and see what they were doing in there We baby proofed but we did leave some toys in their, the boring ones - like books and babies. Its new right now but the novelty will wear off fast. You wont be going through the circus forever. Have hope!

 

i was really tempted to buy a video monitor but just couldn't justify the expense, so we did without. i honestly didn't worry when they got out of bed. i found with my girls, they went to sleep much faster, even during the transition period, if we didn't go back in, then when we did.

like E&Msmom said, it won't be like this forever. GL!