Good transition to big boy beds story!...

I have to say i was very hesitant to switch my boys to toddler beds or big beds from their cribs. I always said i would leave them in there until they were too big! I have a set of monkeys on my hand and they love to climb stuff and they also love to open and close their closet doors and drawers. so i just KNEW they would never sleep and would only play and it would be the end of naps as we knew it!! I also used to read all of the horror stories on here of those that transitioned too early, or when they did, all of the above happened.. well i am here to offer a good transitioning story!
Right before the boys turned 2, one of them climbed right out of their crib, the other to quickly to follow.. so i was off to find crib tents on craigslist..lol.
My husband decided HE wanted to take the side of their crib off and i was totally against it, but i let him do it JUST to prove him wrong and SHOW him what would happen. We put 2 bedrails up on their for safety, just in case they actually DID go to sleep.
Well, the first night, there was lots of giggling and they got up several times, but eventually they went to sleep! SHOCK!! This went on a few nights.. they would climb into each others beds but in the end they would go to sleep. Same thing for naps! I didn't lose them! i was so excited. Eventually, we went and got toddler beds from walmart because i had a friend that wanted to buy my cribs. The boys LOVED their new beds. They took it like champs. Told their cribs "bye-bye" and that was it! I totally underestimated my hyperactive monkeys..lol. Anyway, we are about 3-4 months in and still napping and sleeping. They still occasionally crawl over into the others bed, or play in the closet if they aren't super sleepy yet, but they always go crawl in their little bed and go to sleep. We sure dodged that one.. i'm sure potty training will be a total nightmare, but at least we got one break!

 

That's great! :a_smil09: My boys are just a tad younger than yours and are also climbers and into everything. I bought crib tents for now, but do want to move them to regular beds. I'm a bit anxious about the idea, so it's refreshing to hear that it went well for your boys and that you didn't have to wait until they were 3+ years for it to be a positive experience. I'm hoping to make the leap in June . . . I plan on selling the cribs at our garage sale the first weekend of June, so that's our goal. Thanks for sharing.

 

Wow! Good for you and thanks for posting! I, too, have two boys that LOVE to climb. We went to crib tents a few months ago. They had almost destroyed them but a friend was able to sew them up for me. They still have a couple of small holes in the mesh part, so it's only a matter of time.

Questions for ya'...what kind of safety railling did you get to use that worked w/ the cribs?
Also, I'm worried that our boys will just jump from the railing to the floor, like it's a game. You didn't experience this w/ your boys?

Yes, switching from cribs and potty training are two of my biggest goals this year....congrats! it sounds like you are well on your way!!

Alicia

 

QUOTE(Faith00 @ Mar 11 2008, 06:05 PM) [snapback]663637[/snapback]
Wow! Good for you and thanks for posting! I, too, have two boys that LOVE to climb. We went to crib tents a few months ago. They had almost destroyed them but a friend was able to sew them up for me. They still have a couple of small holes in the mesh part, so it's only a matter of time.

Questions for ya'...what kind of safety railling did you get to use that worked w/ the cribs?
Also, I'm worried that our boys will just jump from the railing to the floor, like it's a game. You didn't experience this w/ your boys?

Yes, switching from cribs and potty training are two of my biggest goals this year....congrats! it sounds like you are well on your way!!

Alicia



I had the safety first bed rails.. they also fit regular size beds for later on. They slide up under the mattress and then lock into place. We left one side of the crib on like a day bed and put the rail on the exposed side. The rails are pretty thin so there is not much room to stand on, but mine did like to crawl over them.. but we lowered the crib all the way down and then took the wheels off to make it even lower. Once the "new" wore off, they didn't really mess with them anymore. Once we bought the toddler beds.. they are super low to the ground and have a small built in railing, and rolled off a few times, but now i put a pillow on one side of them to kind of tuck them in. Hope that helps!