Suggestions for Practical Bed/room Solutions for Baby #2

After three kids (with a fourth on the way) I finally got sick of the dangers of a "Real" bed and just put the mattress on the floor. That way, if they did bounce or roll off the bed, they only went a few inches. They get real beds once they can prove they won't jump out a window with their bouncing.
(My current youngest is four... he still hasn't gotten the mattress off the floor- he's just too rambunctious... but maybe for Yule he'll get a real bedframe. The girls got theirs around four or five... but they seemed to realize that no jumping on the bouncy mattress meant that.)

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I put both of my children in full size beds when they transitioned out of the crib. I, too, was trying to be economical -- I couldn't see the sense in purchasing a toddler bed, only to have to turn around a year later and put them in yet ANOTHER, bigger bed.
Both of mine did just fine. I won't lie -- they both fell out 2 times each. But that was it. For the first couple of months I just lined the floor surrounding the bed with pillows to ease the inevitable falls. Like I said though, they both learned their 'boundaries' after falling twice. Just make sure there's nothing they could 'hit' on the way down (dressers, nightstands, etc.).

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I have 2 sons, ages 5 and almost 3. My oldest son never really cared for his crib so we actually moved him to a double bed with bed rails shortly after he turned one. He slept great in it and we never had a problem with it, but we bought him bunk beds (his choice) when he turned three. We had a trundle bed in my younger son's nursery and we switched him to that with a bed rail right before he turned 2. My dad came to visit last spring and stayed with us so we moved our 2 year old son into the bottom bunk and let our 5 year old sleep up top (he never wanted to sleep up top before this.) After 2 nights like that, they both decided they wanted to stay sleeping in the bunk beds together. We only have a 3 bedroom house too so their rooms were always crammed with their toys. They went to visit my parents this summer so while whey were gone, we switched up the rooms and moved my 2 year old's dresser into the other bedroom and all of the toys went into his old room. They were so excited when they got back to see their new playroom and we still kept the trundle bed in there in case we need another bed. It's been much easier to keep our house clean too because they play in the playroom now instead of bringing all the toys out the living room. They are very close brothers and I think it helps them sleep knowing that they have each other in their room at night. Congrats on the 2 boys too...they are crazy together, but so much fun!!!

We always had a KING size bed in my daughter's room (from my pre-marriage days) and her crib. After we found out about #2 when she was 19-month old we slowly transition her into the king size bed. I put body pillows all around her bed (one side is against the wall) and the extra tall and long bed rail from "Babies R Us" on the side. Although it's a big bed, it's cozy and provides her lots of room to toss and turn. I also bought memory form pillows from Brook Stone as her pillow. She love her bed as she has whole bunch of teddy bears, lamb, etc. stuff animals to go to bed with her. Plus, when she is not feeling well, her father or I is able to sleep with her without feeling cramp.

Hope that helps.

Jq

I think it will be fine, we put our son in a big boy bed, a double, when he turned 2. Our daughter was due when he would be 2 1/2. He did great. Get the rails and start a whole new routine so he learns how to stay in bed, etc Or, can you borrow another crib for 6 mos or so? Lastly, I have had several friends who put a mattress on the floor and then moved to the big kid bed later on. Either is fine but I say instead of moving them several times and going through a new routine, just move him to the big boy bed now. Also, keep in mind your new baby will be in your room in a bassinette for about 2 months. That gives you a bit more time. I would NOT recommend switching him once the new baby is here though, he may get jealous of the new baby taking his bed. I would start about a month before the new baby is due. It should go smoothe. Good luck W.

Hi My daughter is two and she has been in a big girl bed since she was 18months. She loves it. She had no problem. She actually slept better in a bed then in a crib. We put bed rails on and she was fine never fell out.Don't waste the money. We did with our first and he didn't stay in the toddler bed long before we had to put him in a twin. It was a waste.

I think your toddler will not see moving from a full size bed to a new twin. For this instance; I don't think projecting this construct on such a young kid.

I slept in a queen bed when I was three.

Wow everyone must have some huge rooms to fit a full/queen size beds in and still have place for kids to play:)
Our boys are 23 months apart.We had a twin bed and a crib in the same room, but baby slept with us till he was 6 months old.Now for our oldest (almost 4 )we got a low loft bed(only 30 inches off the ground) with slide and playhouse under and our youngest is still in the crib.Even though we have a playroom, it's not big so we wanted some extra place for the boys to play.
PS Just wanted to say that having 2 boys close in age is the best thing!!!!!!!

Many years ago I was in the same situation with a newborn son and a just turned 2 year old son. We started getting the 2 year old comfortable with sleeping in a full size bed (against a wall with rails on the open side..because that's what we had) before his brother was born. All was fine until he saw the baby in his crib and he would not sleep in the "big boy" bed anymore. After having him get up night after night, we set up his portable travel crib in his room and let him sleep in that for what seems like a long time. I think he eventually got uncomfortable. We also moved during that year and once he had a new room in a new house, the bed jealousy ended. (They also shared a room with bunk beds when their sister arrived...no problems.) That probably wasn't helpful at all..sorry to ramble. I would suggest giving the full bed you have a try, seeing what happens, then being creative from there. They certainly bounce right back. My oldest is 15 and he doesn't remember any of the "big boy bed saga". Now they fight over who gets a cell phone!

I'd probably use the full size you have for now. We they are both older (and hopefully you have more expendable money) you can take them shopping for a bed set for them to share. New beds that they get to pick out will make them excited about the transition of sharing a room and minimize the "downsizing" your oldest will be doing. I have a 4 yr old and an 11 mth old. Eventually I plan on them sharing a room. The oldest was in the crib which transitions to a toddler bed until the new baby was born. THen he got to go shopping for a new bed to minimize having to give up his bed to the new baby. I steered his selections toward bunk beds since I plan on them sharing, but he was very excited. There's not room for the full-size bed we already had in his room so we had to go ahead with the big purchase rather than waiting. For now he sleeps on the bottom bunk but he'll get the treat of moving to the top bunk we they start sharing a room.

Hi Rachel,
I am kind of in your situation as well. I have an 18 month old son (he will be 22 months when baby #2 gets here in Feb.- also another boy). My son sleeps in his toddler bed now but I want to transition him to a big bed before the baby gets here so he doesn't think we are kicking him out of his bed for the new baby. I was thinking of getting him a queen size or full size bed. I think a bed that big should be fine. I had a queen when I was little and loved it. I was thinking about just putting the mattress on the floor for awhile. Probably not the nicest looking arrangement but it is so close to the floor, I won't have to worry about him falling out. Good luck with baby #2.

T.

My friend put her son into a full size bed around 18-24 months...but she just put the mattress on the box-spring and no frame so it wouldn't be too high. She also found some mesh rails/guards to prevent rolling out of the bed. My sons are about two years apart and we purchased a toddler bed. I wish we would have just gotten his full bed then because it would have saved us some money.

R. C,
My little ones are 16mos. apart.... I had a crib and a travel playpin at first. I used the crib for my daughter until my son was about 4 months. Then I needed the crib for him. I gave my daughter a single matress (since I had one) and just put it onto the floor without the box spring. Now both are 4 yrs old and 5 yrs old....they share a room and each have their own beds that are trundles; but I do not have the bottom matresses yet as I cannot afford them at this time. I figured with a trundle they can have sleep overs when they are older and I don't have to worry about them breaking their necks on a bunk bed. Since they currently are in the same room it is a little crowded, but eventually they will have their own rooms. I was thinking about a bunk bed for my son's room at one time, but I just don't trust him to avoid injury because he is SO active. He actually climbed out of the crib at 8 months and we finally had to switch beds and take down the extra tall (vertical slats) gates that were blocking the top of the stairs because he could scale them too and it was getting too dangerous. Good luck... either way, trundle or bunk beds are a great space saver when you have the money to get it! I hope this helps!

R.,
When my DS was ready for a bed and transitioned from a crib, we got a queen size bed. Yep that is what I said, I wanted something to last him for many years. Of course he was an only child until he was 14 and I finally got blessed with my little girl. You can always put the mattress and box springs on the floor for a few months rather than put them up on the frame. This would be logical as if he should get out of bed or what not he won't fall. The rails only help them when they are asleep not when they actually are awake.
This should be fine until the baby is ready to move from a crib to a bed...You can put it back up on the frame but I would wait at least till he was 2 1/2 -3 yrs old. By then the baby can be on the bottom if you chose to get bunk beds or 2 twin beds whatever you chose.

Just a suggestion.
Remember it is only temporary and no one really goes in his room anyway... right? ;)

R.,
I was in the same situation you were in about 6months ago. My oldest son was 2 in May and my second son was born in July. What my husband and I did was buy bunk beds. We bought the kind you can stack or you can use at 2 twin beds. We bought the kind you can put rails on. What we did was about a month before the baby was born we moved him into his "big boy bed". That way when the baby came he didn't feel as though the baby was taking his bed and he was being kicked out. He adjusted really well and loves his big boy bed. Hope this helps you at all.
G.

My sons are 15 months apart. We went through the stages of one in a crib and the other in a toddler bed for a while. Then the older one went into a twin bed while the little one was still in the crib. The older one seemed to adjust fine that way and when it was time for the younger one to come out of the crib, we went to bunk beds for them. (the first twin bed was actually one of the bunk beds, the other was stored away till needed.) We didn't have the luxury of having a seperate play room for them -they are the youngest of four children, so bunk beds (with rails of course) was the best method for them. Our twin daughters are older than the boys and we went from cribs right into a double bed for them. They prefered sleeping together, so that method was best for them.
I wouldn't put him straight into a double bed just as a precaution of keeping him from feeling so alone at night in a big bed AND to keep from feeling like a parent would need to lay down in there to get him to fall asleep.
That's just my opinion though. What ever you decide to do for your family will be fine. Any change is going to take adjusting to it.
Good luck!
L. C.

When my son was about the age of your toddler, we put the full sized matress set on the floor. Easy access for our son and we were not concerned about him falling out of bed. Congratulations and best wishes with your family. Hope this is helpful.

I would think a full-size bed would be fine, with bed rails. My oldest was 19 m/o when my younger child was born, and I found a toddler bed at a yard sale that we used for a while. I got it for $20, with the mattress, so it wasn't a significant amount of money. When I moved my little one out of the crib (he was climbing in and out, so I just said bye-bye to the crib), I just put both boys on the crib/toddler bed mattresses on the floor, and they're still there -- aged 4 & 2. When they get too big, or if I get pregnant or something else changes, I'll probably put both of them into a full-sized bed.

My brother's boys have shared in a full-sized bed for years (they're 7 & 5), and I'm pretty sure my brother made the same transition you're contemplating -- moving the older one who is still fairly young (his boys are also 19 months apart in age) into a big bed so the little one can have the crib.

I wouldn't get a toddler bed, unless you can find one used for cheap. You may decide in the future to just put both boys in one full-size bed. It seems to me that you can bring out a "new bed!!!" for your older boy and he'll be happy, even if it is smaller than his other one, unless he doesn't like the idea of matching his younger brother. I'd play it by ear, and not spend too much money.

honestly, I don't see too many problems with a full-sized bed, but if you are going to be (eventually) putting them into the same bedroom it probably wouldn't work. I would sell the full sized bed and buy at least one twin bed, or get a a USED bunk bed that can be separated and used as normal beds, then when they get older, stack them back up, and that way you have more room for desks and such when they go into school. I am doing that myself (my boys are in school, but we decided to leave the beds at normal height so we could have a ceiling fan).

Hi R.! My boys are exactly 19 months apart so I was in your situation also. About 2 months before our youngest arrived, we bought our son bunk beds. He was a part of finding them, (he helped me look on craigslist and ebay:) and he helped put them together and everything. I wanted him to like them because we knew if we had another boy, he was going to take over the nursery, and our son would have to switch rooms. Anyway, the bottom bunk is very close to the floor (about the same as a toddler bed)the beds are top vertical and bottom horizontal, he did just fine transitioning. He has never fallen out of the bed, and has LOVED his bed from the first time he played in it:) My baby is now almost 8 months old and our 2 year old just learned to climb on the top bunk already! It all happens so fast. Good luck and I hope this helps. My sister also transitioned all 3 of her children into full size beds at 12-16 months, they all did fine with the little rail.

~R.

i put the big bed in the room with the crib and when the baby came i just left the doors open to the my room and thier s and it work fine and when they were old enough i got twin beds it work fine

Hi! My first two girls were 15 mos. apart. I kept all of my kids in their cribs until just before age 3. It fixed all those complaints I hear from people saying 'how do I get my child to stay in his bed?'. Mine never really complained, it's all they had known. I think most early moves to beds are parent desires, not the child's. I have heard many unsettling stories about people taking their toddlers and putting them in beds (sorry, but I really have). Kids getting up too early, middle of the night, trying to open the front door, this list goes on. I had two cribs when my 2nd was born for awhile. Remember that the newborn doesn't really need a full-on crib for awhile, you could always use a pack n play or alternate for a few months. In your situation where you don't want to duplicate, I like the idea of the mattress on the floor for awhile, better than full on big bed. There are more dangers to a big bed than rolling off while asleep (although probably not too big of a deal). There are also tons of used toddler beds for sale for cheap if you want something more age appropriate for a little while (you've got another one coming up soon, so you'll get double the use). Craigslist is a good place to check. If you do move the 18m old to an open bed, you may want to install a clip lock on his door, or put a gate up. I just don't know how well I could sleep thinking about my tiny ones being able to wander the house on their own. Good luck!

What we did was skip the toddler bed and get twin bunk beds (the kind that you can stack or keep separate). When my oldest moved out of the crib, we put the top bunk of the bed on the floor and attached the wide rails it came with. Now that we have a second son, they'll each be able to have one with the baby using the rails. We splurged and bought an expensive set of wooden bunk beds that we hope will last them through high school, even if they're never actually stacked like bunk beds but used as separate twin beds.

I'd be concerned about a full bed just because kids moving out of a crib still need to feel some security, I think. A full bed probably wouldn't provide the closeness and security of a twin bed with rails. That's what I'd worry about.

Good luck.

I did the same thing with my boys(3.5 and 11 months) The oldest is sill in the full size bed but we are moving in a few months and I plan on switching him to a twin then. I figure that if I make it a big deal and let him help pick out which bed and sheets he wants he'll be fine.