What age did you make the switch?

My DH and I are contemplating making the switch to toddler bed before 2 years of age. We may be moving in the spring and would like to sell the cribs so we didn't have to move them. So I'm wondering when you ladies made the switch.

 

DH is thinking about getting the babies in their bed (we never did cribs.) I can't wait to see the posts!

 

With my older 2 DD's it was at @ about 2.5 years. We did not have any "escape" issues and they did well when they switched. This time around, the babies share a room. When we move in the next year, they will have their own rooms and at that time (@2.5 or so) I will do the switch.

If I feel they are ready before then, I may switch to toddler beds since that will fit in the room they share.

Then again, I know some who have successfully switched 18 month olds to a twin bed. I think it depends on the child and is often hard to predict how they will do until you do it.

(Edited for spelling error )

 

I voted after 3 as K&M are still in their cribs. They love their cribs.

I also voted "other" as I can't say whether I'm glad we made the switch.

Their cribs convert to toddler beds so we will probably convert them soon. I need to find/buy the toddler bed rails.

 

We switched at 22 months. Because their room was upstairs, we did gate the door to their room so they wouldn't fall down the stairs at night. We did not have any problems.

 

I moved my oldest a few weeks after she turned 2 when it was Christmas vacation (I was teaching) so if she had issues I didn't have to get up early. She had no problems going straight to a twin bed with 2 side rails. We moved her because the babies were due in May (born in March) and we didn't want to have issues with the babies in 'her' room.

Joey moved at week before she was 2. Ellie's crib mattress was stuck in the middle height position and she was getting taller. So Ellie got Joey's crib and Joey got a toddler bed. Again there were no problems. She loved it.

Ellie will be another story. I want to move her to a toddler bed early this spring so I can sell her bed in April. But because she shares a room with Joey I know there will be an entirely new set of issues with them both able to get out of bed. Ellie could probably stay in the crib indefinitely...she's tiny so there's no height issue. But I want it gone! I think it will totally open up their room and give the illusion of more space!

 

I would alter the poll a little bit and give it month choices during the 2-3 year age range rather than in the before age 2 range. Many, many people made the the switch between 2-2.5 years and had issues while those who waited closer to three had it a little easier. There aren't many who moved the babies before 2 years old.

Then there are those of us who switched between 2-2.5 years, had lots of problems, and switched back. We moved the girls to toddler beds at 26 months, moved them back to cribs with crib tents at about 28-29 months, and made the switch again without problems after 3 years old.

 

20 months, no problems.

 

We did it at 2.5, I would have waited longer, but we needed the boys to be in beds before going to Grandma's for Christmas. We did skip toddler beds and went right to twin beds. It took about a month to get naps back, and I had to bungee their door closed at bedtime for about 6 months--I did detach it when I went to bed.

 

We switched at around 27/28mths and went straight to twin beds. I'm glad we did it when we did (we had to switch since Katrina's crib matress was torn) but we were thinking about it anyway. It took about a month to get everything settled between bedtime and nap time. But it wasn't all bad the whole month the first two weeks were the worst and then got better slowly.

 

I didn't vote because we haven't switched yet. You really need to consider your child's personality in determining when they can handle it.

I know without a doubt that my two would struggle with it at this point. They are very active and physical -- gates haven't contained them for months -- and nighttime safety is a huge concern. Since they seem satisified sleeping in their cribs (tented since 15 months), I'm in no hurry.

 

With my oldest DD we put a mattress on the floor for her at 26 months and it worked well. But I can't imagine doing that with these 2 in 3 months, so hopefully we will make it until at least 2.5 in the cribs.

 

For DS1, about 20 months. We needed to get the nursery ready for the twins before my Dh started school again. He did a great job and was and still is great about staying in bed when he should. Good luck! I am sure it is different for trying to transition twins to a toddler bed who are in the same room.

 

We switched our DD at 2 1/2 because we thought we were going to use her crib for the twins. She had never once climbed out of it. Once we moved her, she constantly got out of bed and came into our room. It was miserable for about 4-5 months, but during the time she moved to another room to fit her big bed and the twins were born. Looking back, I wish I had left her in her crib in her tiny bedroom until she tried climbing out.

I've never really figured out why people are so anxious to move kids out of cribs unless a new baby is coming or they are climbing out.

 

We moved the kids into toddler beds in October. So at 2 years, 8 months. The only reason we did was because they were climbing out. If I could've kept them in, I would have. Luckily, my sister had an extra crib when Liam came along last year....love being from a big family....Nolan's crib came from another sister.

 

We moved this summer right before the twins turned 3. I chose to leave them in their cribs for security reasons. I did not want to change so much at once. We made the switch 2 weeks ago without a hitch. My DD has never crawled out of her bed and DS usually does it once after we put them to bed. We also moved them to separate rooms.

 

DS - 19 mths to twin
DD - 12 mths to twin
DS - never slept in a crib. With us & then to his own @ 12 mths
twins - slept with us/in a co-sleeper from birth - 6mths. Slept in a crib together from 6-12 mths, moved to a double bed together @ 12mths & moved to twins @ 2.

I don't like cribs and we were happy to move to beds early. Don't be afraid to try it.