Last night, Christopher would NOT go to sleep. He was up from 10:00-12:00 when I finally decided to let him cry it out a little. I was sitting on the couch when I heard a huge BANG! He had fallen out of the crib while trying to climb out...
After that I tried to get him to sleep in my bed with me, but he wouldn't fall asleep. Eventually, I put him back in his crib with all my couch cushions underneath for protection.
And, as soon as he wakes from his nap, it will be time to go shopping for a real bed.
It makes me so sad! I'm not ready for my baby to leave his crib. And I am also worried that we won't be getting much sleep for the next few days....sigh... wish me luck!

By Cat on Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 07:56 pm:

Good luck getting him a big boy bed! Robin was 11mo when he climbed out of his crib. He was/is quite a little monkey! We bought a toddler day bed and put the open side towards the wall. It worked great. Christopher probably won't get much sleep for a few days until he gets used to it. Well, not in the bed anyway. He will figure out it's more comfortable than the floor though! Let us know how it's going.

By Hlgmom on Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 08:06 pm:

Our move to a big girl bed was the best thing that ever happened to us! She immediately started sleeping through the night and sleeping later- I think she just needed more room- we moved her at about 18 mos! Best of luck!

By Jelygu on Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 09:46 pm:

Well, we didn't get to start today. I wanted to buy a toddler bed because Christopher likes to play on big mattresses and I am afraid he would never sleep.
I bought a toddler bed, got it home and some of the parts were missing. UGH! I took it back but they didn't have anymore.
So, he is in his crib with the cushions under it again, and hopefully tomorrow I will get a bed.

By Andi on Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 10:07 pm:

JMO but I think Toddler beds are a waste of money. Didn't get one with DS and we moved him at around 16 - 18 months. Just put him in a regular Twin Size bed with a bed rail on it. It was perfect and he still uses the same bed to this day...he is 4 1/2.

DD is 14 months and I am planning on moving her into a twin bed around Christmas time.

By Crystal915 on Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 10:10 pm:

I agree to skip the toddler bed, and go with net safety rails on a twin bed. My kids are 3, and still sleeping on mattresses on the floor after Madison's broken leg, it just didn't seem worth it to risk another injury. Congrats on your big boy!!!

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 10:45 pm:

An option is to put the crib mattress on the floor until you get the new bed situation solved. He'll be safe from falling but you'll need to super childproof his room and possibly put a gate on his bedroom doorway. This is one of those tricky transitions. He will want to play at first but the novelty will wear off. {{{HUGS}}} FWIW, we never bothered with toddler beds either because they grow out of them quickly and then you need to transition them to yet another bed.

By Dawnk777 on Monday, September 5, 2005 - 01:23 am:

Emily slept on a mattress on the floor for a while! Then we got the toddler bed. We lived in a small place and the toddler bed was the only thing that would fit in the space we had. If we had been in a house and she had her own room, I think we would have bought a big bed right away.

By Ginny~moderator on Monday, September 5, 2005 - 05:48 pm:

If you get any kind of bed with rails - and the twin bed with the mesh rails sounds good to me - think about putting thick rugs or padding on the floor around the bed until he learns not to roll off any part of the bed where there is no railing. I tend to agree that toddler beds are a waste of money.

By Boxzgrl on Monday, September 5, 2005 - 10:26 pm:

Ditto Andi. Kaitlyn's crib is actually a convertible so we've been using it all along but we're actually upgrading her room to "big girl" bedding with a full size bed and matching accessories. I'm hoping it will last her at least 10 years! I've never understood the use in a toddler bed, besides a marketing scheme.

By Amecmom on Tuesday, September 6, 2005 - 07:42 am:

We had a futon that we used for Randy which was perfect! It's a full size mattress but not as high off the floor as a regular bed.
Ame

By Christylee on Tuesday, September 6, 2005 - 08:42 am:

Brendan used a toddler bed from the time he was about 20 months until this past March (so until he was over 4)... I think it's a matter of preference as to the amount of room and just what they are comfortable in. We had a harder time going from the toddler bed to his twin bed! lol... Honestly he's STILL not to long for it and would have been fine to stay in it but I wanted a bigger one for his new bedroom.

Good luck, our transition to the toddler bed wasn't that hard, maybe you'll luck out!

By Bellajoe on Tuesday, September 6, 2005 - 04:36 pm:

I agree that the toddler bed is a waste of money. They are only small enough for toddler beds for a few years, then you will be off to get yet another bed for him. We got my dd her "big girl bed" when she was 18 months, only because ds was born and needed the crib after a few weeks in the pack n play. Ds climbed out of his crib at about 20 months. That is when he got his big boy bed and of course is still using it and will use it for a very long time!

For some kids, this is an easy transition. For others, it takes a while to get used to a bed instead of a crib. Good luck!