Unexpected transition to toddler beds

I had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, so I can't lift my boys they are telling me for 4-6 weeks. I'm at home now and family is doing a good job of helping out with the boys and house, but they can't do it forever. So one of the projects today is to transistion the cribs to toddler beds. My boys are almost 2.5, one has gotten out 2x's, but the other has shown no interest in getting out. But due to my husband's schedule, etc, I think it's best if we go ahead and do this.

Questions -
1. Sound machine/fan? We run a box fan currently for white noise, what do you do to toddler proof that, or do you have a noise machine that would be smaller and not chop any fingers off that you can recommend (but also loud enough to be comparable to a big box fan)

2. What do you do with cords to keep the out of the reach of toddlers? Park a tall dresser in front of the outlet, and set the monitor/noise machine on top of it to the back? That's all I can come up with.

3. Any other ideas that worked for you to toddler proof their room that you could share?

Thanks so much

 

1. We use an old ipod and speakers loaded with some free white noise mp3s.

2. Yes. If it's a really tall dresser, you should probably bracket it to the wall if possible.

3. We had to put the clothes in totes for a few weeks until the novelty of the beds wore off.

Most people fret about switching to toddler beds, but honestly, in our case, it was super easy. Hopefully it will be that way for you.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

 

We moved everything out into the hall and gated the door with a gate that opened with a pedal. So the music was in the hall on top of their dresser. Once we did that for the immediate. We ended up putting a small tv with a dvd player that could double as a cd player, on their wall. Then we used a closet maid organizer like this, http://www.target.com/p/ClosetMaid-Cubeicals-174-9-Cube-Organizer-Espresso/-/A-11187165

I put this directly under the tv with the cords running behind to an outlet that is covered with an outlet cover. I guess because it houses the cloth bins full of toys and books they have never needed to try to mess with the cords.
We moved all their clothes into their closet and got rid of the dresser in the hall and the cd player. The only thing that is in their room is their bed and the toy organizer.

Since it is not a large room I may keep it like this for a good long time. Also, just like pp, they transferred to a bed very well. We did make the transition pretty early, way before 2. It went really well.

I'm so sorry for your loss and pray you recover quickly!!!

 

For white noise we used to use a big Honeywell air purifier. It was great and had 3 speeds and could block out any noise. But it was huge and our boys kept messing with the switch. So we got a Marpac sound machine instead. It is so compact and makes the basic "whirring" white noise (which I prefer to things like the rain, ocean waves, etc sounds). Because we travel fairly frequently with the boys we ended up buying a second one, because we have to have white noise when we sleep too (and we can't pack our large air purifier). We keep the marpac sound machine on top of a dresser with the plugin behind it. Our boys haven't transitioned to beds yet but when they do we are going to have to use furniture straps to secure the dresser to the wall, since I'm sure they'll try to climb on it then.

 

oh ugh! so sorry for your lost pregnancy and surgery.

as for the toddler beds... so many said that it went well for them... well, not for us! anyway, when we attempted toddler beds again this year closer to 3 yrs old, I did have to empty out the entire room.

no changing table - they just used it to climb on and jump in the window!
no shelves - we'd had 2 and they knocked a few things off including clock and humidifier (broke it! ugh!)
locked closet - otherwise they'd be taking everything that actually is organized onto the floor.

anyway, basically I freaked out about the cords, and just took everything out of the room... and the white noise machine I just put outside their locked room door as did I put their monitor too. I ended up having to put the "microphone" part on the floor by the door crack so that we could hear anything in the monitor.

good luck! hopefully the transition is great for you!

 

I didn't move anything. Yes, they emptied the drawers a few times, and the bookshelf. But, cleaning up piece by piece stopped that (we transitioned just shy of 2 1/2). One thing I did do was bungee their door closed at bedtime (I would take it off before we went to bed), so they couldn't open the door and run out. Yes, many times we found Jon sleeping on the floor by the door, but that stopped once he realized that he wasn't going to get out--actually that child at age 9 is currently sleeping in his sleeping bag in the hallway--no idea why!)

When they were really bad about not going to sleep, we would threaten to take away their lovey--it only took loosing it once for that to not happen again. Just be firm and consistent, and they will get it.

 

So sorry for your loss.

Mine are still in cribs, but we have a gate across the doorway and the fan is outside the door. We use a portable DVD player for music, and charge it in our bedroom, so there is no cord in the kids' room. We have no heavy furniture in their room.

 

I'm very sorry for your loss :hug: and I wish you a speedy recovery.
My DD was put in a toddler bed at 19 months (she was a climber)...so we put the cords behind her dresser where she could not get them. We used a fan as white noise, so that was put on high shelf that she could not reach. Her transition was not bad, she did great at night time but nap time was where we had trouble with her staying in bed and playing. So I would sit in her room, not say a word and just put her back in bed until she got back on track (it took about two weeks for that).
My DS was 3 when he made the transition. We were not too worried about cords because the way his room is set up, he does not have access to cords and has been taught to stay away from them. His fan and Tot Clock are on shelves. He did not miss a beat with the transition, his was so smooth (he owed us a smooth transition after all the difficulty PT-ing him...:laughing

 

Thanks for the hugs and support. This has definitely been a rough few days, emotionally and physically.

I'm happy to report the transistion went very well, although nap time has had a few hang ups. We ended up taking some things out, and bracketing a dresser to the wall in front of an outlet, so we could plug things in behind the dresser and have the electrical stuff way up high. The boys were thrilled with their new big boy beds, and it sure was fun to see them wallering around with their new pillows and a stuffed dog that I got to spice up the new bed.

Thanks again!

 

We have their dresser and small bookshelf bracketed to the wall. We have a noise machine and nightlights (they sit in a charger) on the dresser with the outlet and cords behind it. They empty the bookshelf and play with the books, but no big deal. The monitor (we still use one because our family room is in the basement--two stories away from them) is plugged into an outlet with one of those big covers that covers the plugs. The cord is snaked under Anna's crib and the monitor actually sits under there. They never emptied out their drawers.

 

We put the dresser in front of an outlet, ran a power strip up to the top, and plug the sound machine and fan up there (then mounted the dresser. I would get drawer locks for the dressers if you can. You definitely don't need to be picking up clothes everyday!