Advice About "Big Boy Bed"

We wanted the same thing. I was also worried that once the baby came and she had to get out of the crib and the baby was sleeping in the crib that it would be that much harder breaking her of it and having feelings hurt. We already had a day bed with a trundle so we gave it a shot. We got one of those bed rails that they sell at babys r us and used that for a while then she asked us to take it off we did and everything is fine. Because the bed came with the trundle we gave her the choice of sleeping on which ever one she wanted and she would switch beds every so often, i think she liked having the choice. It was difficult at first and on nights that there was no hope we let her sleep in the crib and then finally we just started putting our foot down and told he she was a big girl and she needed to start sleeping in her big girl bed it worked. Age wise we started it all when she was almost 18 months my kids are 2 years 2 months apart.
Good Luck
God Bless

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My daughter refused to sleep in a crib, so she slept in bed with me until she was 14 months old. At that point, I was not getting good sleep because she doesn't share a bed well so I put her in a big girl bed in her room. I put the mattress on the floor, so that if she fell off it wouldn't be dangerous. She's 5 years old now and I've never had a problem with her in the big girl bed. Even during her terrible 2s, she was pretty good about staying in bed. Sometimes she would get out to bring books to bed to read, but I didn't mind so long as she got back into bed with them. (She still does this if she's having a hard time going to sleep!) Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

My son got a toddler bed when he was about that age. He was climbing out of the crib so it was a matter of safety for him. The one we purchased was very low to the ground, had partial rails on both sides and used a crib mattress. He was in that bed until he was 3.

Hello D.. My son is 18 mo old now and he sleeps in a toddler bed just fine. we started him around 15 mo of age, I am too pregnant and due in July so i didnt want to buy a new crib either. But At first it was rough but now he sleeps through the night again and I think he likes the freedom of waking mommy and daddy up in the morning. good luck. I think your son will do just fine.

as long as your son isn't rolling over a lot, my Dr. informed me that you can move them out as early as 12 months. In fact, she told me that if your child is a climber (as my daughter is) you should move them out so that you don't risk them falling while trying to climb. as for using the same crib for your second baby, that's great, but it means that you have to get your first child moved at least two months before the baby's born, and you have to get the crib put away so that your son has a chance to forget about it, otherwise, you risk your son feeling like he is being replaced because "that's his bed!" My aunt didn't do this and her 18 month old son climbed in the crib and threw his sister out and broke her arm. He didn't hurt her on purpose, it just was his way of communicating that that was his bed, and that he was not ready to give it up. After two months, when you get the crib back out, your son will probably still remember it, he just won't feel as attached because that USE to be his bed and now he has a new one. Hope this helps! Good luck!

D.,
We actually bought my daughter a full size bed versus the twin bed. I was worried she would roll off the twin, so opted for something bigger, and something she could grow into. We placed the long body pillows all around the bed to prevent her from rolling into the wall or rolling off the bed. I also wanted to make her feel special and want to be in the room, so I got her the Disney Princess sheets and bed spreads and decoratives... and a small desk lamp that we keep on at night so the room doesn't get too dark. We got her used to the bed by staying with her at night for a couple of weeks, reading and talking about her day with her till she feel asleep. She was comftable enough where I would tell her that I needed to go check on her baby brother and I would be back. By the time I get back, she usually had fallen asleep by herself. I agree with every child is different, so try different things and see how your son responds to them.

my daughter was 19 months when we put her in a toddler bed. Those are kind of a waste of money thought because by 2.5 we got her a real bed anyways. But everyone is different:) Good luck!

Our youngest are 16 months apart too. When the baby was born, we put him in a bassinett in our room. By the time he was too big for it - between 5/6 months - our daughter was then big enough for the toddler bed. We had the toddler bed set up in her room before she was using it - so that she was used to it being a part of her enviornment. She would play on it, we would read to her in it, etc. When the time came, she was ready for it!

Another idea is to use a portable playpen as a transition for your older child, so that the baby can have the crib. We started out using the playpen for naps, and then the toddler bed for bedtime.

Good luck!

I also wanted to get my son into a big boy bed before my second was born. We had no problems but he was a few month older (we switched him at 24 months). I have heard that a good way to start if you want to get them over when they are young is to take the mattress out of the crib (or the new bed)and lay it on the ground for them to sleep on. This way they can not hurt themselves if they fall off the bed. Then once they get used to sleeping without bars, move them onto the new bed. Good luck!

Almost ditto the last response except with my girls. They still also share a room and love it. We took my oldest daughter, and really made a big deal about the "big gril bed", and what a wonderful sister she was to let the new baby have her old "baby bed", I really think that helped make the emotional transition easier for her, over-all we had a great experience with it.

Well that is a touchy situation. My daughter is 18 months and when she got her bed she wasn't having it at first, so I would just move her to her bed after she fell asleep. After a couple weeks of doing that she didn't have a problem going to bed there.

D. c ,
as a mom of three and now a grandmother ,i have seen alot of ways to go about this matter ,what i did and now my daughter has done about a month ago is buy a toddler bed (walmart)i believe it was under $50.00 ,used his crib mattress and you will only need a new mattress for the crib. that he was all ready use to,the toddler bed is low to the floor and rails come with so no extra money needed there,also my grandson loves spiderman so he helped pick out a crib size sheet and a reg. size pillow case ,also he fond a small blanket with spiderman ,
got it home he helped put it together and sleep in it the first night till around 3am did this for about a week as we all reminded him that he was a big boy and he had his own bed ,he has done well ,my advice is to make the change before the new baby comes this way the big brother works better,this way you won't be trying to get him in his own bed as you are trying to care for a new born ,and also it will make him look at being a big brother differantly if he is already in a big boy bed , i hope this helps ,let me know how it goes ,and good luck

Hi D.,

Congrats on the upcoming arrival of baby #2. I am due in three days with our second child.
We just finally transitioned our son to his "big boy bed" a few weeks ago. He refused to sleep in his crib since he was 1.5 years old so we allowed him to sleep with us. The transition has been going well overall, but by about 2am or later he usually ends up in our bed. I don't know what keeps waking him up other than a bad dream, but we let him in our bed rather than fight it since he falls right to sleep.
Our son is 2.9 years old and like I said he is falling to sleep in the big boy bed, but like I said he still ends up with us after midnight or later. So I am not sure when he will outgrow that, but as long as everyone is getting their sleep is our goal.
Best wishes, let me know how things go.

Hi D., my son actually broke his crib and we had to move him into a bed at 10 mos. The only problem is that we have to shut the door at night now because he gets down and kicks the door then actually ends up sleeping on the floor all night. Hope that helps!!

My child was younger than yours so I would not worry about the age, but remember that every child is different. To help the transition easier we put the crib mattress on the floor until he stopped rolling off of it, then we put him in a regular bunk bed.

Hi, We switched our first to a big boy bed when he was 21 months. We kept the second in a port-a-crib until we made the switch. He stayed in the port-a-crib for about 3 months. The mistake I made was not moving #2 into the real crib at the same time that #1 went to the big bed. I thought I wouldn't move #2 until I had #1 successfully sleeping in the bed. That was a huge mistake. The day someone gave me the advice to move #2 into the crib - #1 saw that the crib was taken and he has slept in the big bed ever since. I hope that makes sense. When your new baby comes have him/her sleep in a cradle or portacrib until you think the first is ready. I have read that the closer your child is to two years the easier it is - but we all know every child is different. Good Luck!

I'm a mom of 2 little girls, 7 and 3. Both of them moved into toddler beds by 2. 16 months is a little young to transition, in my opinion. Does he fall asleep anywhere else besides his crib? Does he try to climb out of his crib? These are things to think about when it gets closer to the birth of your second child. If he's doing some of these things than he'd probably be ok in a toddler bed. Hope this was some help. :D aimee

I think it really depends on your son and if he's ready for a big kid bed. My son was moved into one about that age mostly cus he was huge(he's 3ft tall and two years old) You could also try the kind of bed my mom got him for at her house that has the sides on it so it's harder for him to roll out of.

You can start putting your child in a toddler bed as soon as he turns 1. Tell him he's going to be a big brother now and and he needs to sleep in a big boy bed. Do a routine with him every night before you leave him by himself, read him a book and sing him bedtime songs and maybe even get him a night light or turn on the bathroom light and leave his bedroom door open so he won't feel lonely. It will be difficult for him at first but once the baby gets there, it will be easier for him to trasition into the "big boy" status.

He may be ready for a big boy bed by the time the baby is here.When my son was 13 months old, he was climbing out of his crib. Wouldnt stay in it. So, we put him a toddler bed. I just had to make sure everything was 100% child proofn or he would find a way to get into anything he could.( like powder all over the livingroom and he said it was snow) :O)
Anyway, I think it all depends on the child.
God Bless!

We took my 1st out of the crib around 19 months so his little brother had a place to sleep! His little brother went into a big bed around 12 months because he seemed to sleep better in a regular bed. I started my first boy with naps in the bed. The second just went cold turkey. They have shared a room ever since and love it! They are 3 and 23 months. We were lucky to have bunk beds. The beds come apart to make 2 twins and each are against a wall. The top bunk has a long rail on both sides so my son couldn't roll of the bed. If you want to prolong your son from coming out of the crib, you have the option to keep the new baby in a cradle in your room for 3 months! You can use that time to warm your son up to the new bed.

My older son was 18 months when we moved him into a full sized "big boy bed" with rails. It worked like a charm. We did it because he was climbing out of the crib constantly and I was worried he would hurt himself. Amazingly, the climbing out of bed as well as waking up in the night stopped the minute he made the move. We were advised at the time to move into a full sized twin by our daycare provider, a retired RN. It was her feeling that changing sleeping arrangements is stressful. So, why change your child's bed any more times than necessary? So, we opted for the full sized twin instead of the smaller "toddler bed". He loved it and felt so grown up. I remember having to initially put him back in bed three or four times to cement the idea that this was where he was suppose to sleep - but I think he got the idea within a week. It is just about time for us to begin doing the change over with our younger son, so I will be going through this change yet again.

Good luck!

I put both my boys in toddler beds at 12 months I was really worried about them staying in bed but they are 14 months apart and I didn't want a second crib either. I took the crib down when he was younger so he did not feel like the baby was taking his crib then when the youngest was ready for a crib it was really easy and the older one never had any problems

Hi D. I am in the exact same situation accept that my son will be 26 months when the baby arrives. My son is 19 months right now and I can tell you that he is not ready for a regular bed yet. there would be no way that he would stay in h is bed at night if he could get out not that he fusses now because he doesn't at all. I put him down and he lays down and goes right to sleep but I don't think he would stay in bed all night if he could get out. He is a horrible sleeper anyway all over the bed so I would worry he would fall out. I don't know how your son is now with sleeping but if he is anything like mine I would not think that he would be ready at 16 months. Good luck.

My advice to you is to get a little bassinet. You can put your newborn in this bed for six months or more. This will give you a little more time to transition your older child to a big boy bed. I started putting my boy in a big bed when he was about a year and a half. I did however start with putting the crib mattress on the floor and then moved him to a big mattress on the floor, just in case he rolled off. He never fell off the bed and actually adjusted very well. We put his bed on a frame when he got a little bigger, and now have the crib in his room for my youngest son.

Hi D.,
16 months to me is too soon to try and teach your child to be in a big bed. Especially if he's not ready yet. One of the signs of them being ready for a big bed is them climbing out of the crib. My son is 2 1/2 years old and still in a crib. At three years, we will be putting him in a twin bed. I would use a basinett (sp?) for your new baby and keep your son in his crib. At least for the first few months. After that then look into some guard rails for the big bed that you will get for your son, and or put the big bed against the wall, and just buy one guard rail. I would buy a small toddler bed instead of a regular twin bed for your son so that it's lower to the ground and you won't have to worry so much of him falling off at any time and getting hurt. I hope this helps. G.

Congratulations! (I just found out we're having number 3) My son is now 3 and we moved him into a twin bed at 18 months, he was in a toddler bed since he was 10 months old, thanks to the cot transition in daycare at 10 months. He did fine, I'm sure your littleone will do great. We pushed the bed into a corner in his room so that 2 sides were against the wall and then bought a bed rail screen thing and put it on the other side of the bed. He learned how to crawl out of the bed at the foot. You could just buy a mattress set now and put it on the floor and have him just take his naps on it for a few months and then slowley move him onto the big bed at night time. And make a big deal of it, "you're a big boy now, look at your new big boy bed." He'll think he's all that and a bag of chips. The thing about just the mattress/box spring on the floor is that it's not really high so if he does scoot off it while he sleeps then it wont be such a big fall.

Congrats on #2!
It's not too soon! My friend's kids slept on a egg crate mattress for a little while, then moved to a twin size mattress on the floor. We put her crib into a day bed before #2 was born, then right after moved her into a full size mattress on the floor. You'll know when they're ready to move it up & off the floor. My daughter told me she wanted a "big" (tall) bed like her friend.

Hi D.,
Most kids that I know are going into toddler beds around 18 months so it wouldn't be too awefully early as long as the room was child proofed. I know lots of people (none personally, just met people)keep their kids in cribs until 2 to avoid the kids wandering the house at night or in the morning but we put a baby gate up and baby proofed the room. You may be able to use a basinet for the first few months for the newborn and let your son use the crib for a while longer too. Do what you feel is right for your son. The bottom line is no one way is right or wrong. Every family needs to do what works and is right for their family. Every child is so different (as if you hadn't figured that out already!) :)

My son hated his crib, and wouldn't sleep in it. We took him out of it at about 9 months permanently cause I was sick of the nightime battles. He moved to a regular bed with a rail on it. You can buy the rails for $20 or so. He has never had a problem since, and we took the rail off when he turned 3 and has never fallen out.

D.,

I agree with Anastasya. Every child is different and he may be okay with it, but you do not want him to feel like you are giving away "his" crib to the "new" baby and that he's been replaced by the “new” baby. A new sibling will be a big enough transition so to add a second major transition may be too traumatic for the little guy. The crib would need to be taken down and put away for at least 4 months prior to setting it back up. People sell cribs on Craigslist all the time at really reasonable prices. Just a suggestion and good luck to you.

Jennifer

Hi I just gave birth to my second baby in January and when he was born my 1st son was 16 months. I had the same crib question and asked around to lots of people for advice. Most of the people I asked said it would be ok to put your 16 month old in a big boy bed but they all said to do it either a couple months before the baby is born or wait a couple months after the baby is born. It is an adjustment for your 16 month old as well and you don't want him to feel like he is being kicked out of his bed by this new baby. You don't want to create any early resentment. My new baby is now two months old and we just this week put my 16 month old in this own bed. He has had a lot of fun with it because it is new and exciting. He has yet to fall out of the bed but I know it can definately happen. My husband just put one mattress on his bed to make it closer to the ground just in case this happens. Good luck and I hope all works out for you!