When Did Your Child Move to a Toddler Bed?

My son turned 2 three weeks after our daughter was born. We started letting him sleep in his toddler bed for naps about two months before his sister was born, but kept the crib in his room and put him in there to sleep at night for about another month, though we put him into the toddler bed exclusively before the baby came. (We didn't want him to feel like the baby had taken "his" bed.) We moved the crib into her room while she was still sleeping in a bassinet in our room for much the same reasons. (She started taking her naps in the crib fairly early on because she didn't have a chance to sleep much otherwise with a 2-year-old in the house.

My daughter will be 2 next month and is still sleeping in the crib because we don't need it for anyone else, but we will probably move her into the toddler bed within the next few months. My son graduated to a regular twin bed (with a side rail) last fall.

shortly after a year we moved our son to a queen bed w/ a bedrail...he fell out of his crib trying to climb out. Whatever you decide, your child will adjust w/ some time. Another suggestion is putting the mattress on the floor and then transition it to a bed over the course of time.

Hi~
I see you have LOTS of responses, but after raising 4 kids to adulthood, I'd say keep them 'contained' in a crib and/or playpen as long as possible unless they're so mature that they consistently do whatever you say (and if they do at 2 years old, they're really WEIRD! LOL) I think the security of a bed is good for the kids and the parents unless they're big/old enough to either get out on their own or tell you they want out. I was born in 1957 -- the youngest of 4 in a small house, and I slept in a crib until I was 4 or 5 (but I could climb out myself. Why I remember is because it was METAL, and it was COLD if I touched my thighs on it while getting in or out!) Better to keep a child confined a little too long than to leave him 'loose' too early is my thinking.

I would buy a cheap toddler bed and set it up in his room and see how he does with that. We went through the same thing, my first son was 26 months when #2 son came. #1 still slept in the crib for the first 3 months after his brother was born, until the baby was too big for the bassinet. #1 was fine in the toddler bed, but for the most part (we cant' figure out why) he prefers to sleep on the floor. He was so excited to get his very own bed, he never missed sleeping in the crib. Kids love that newfound freedom that comes with a bed, no walls to keep them in one place; and i wouldn't wait till he can climb out because he could seriously injure himself with any attempt at climbing out. I had a cousin who was constantly climbing out of her crib and eventually broke her collarbone. Get a bed now and do a trial run, see if he still wants to sleep in his crib. Chances are he won't miss the crib at all. Good Luck!

All of my kids did (and will) transition to a toddler bed around age 3. Alot do it earlier for whatever reason (mostly I've heard they're afraid of them falling while trying to climb out). My kids never really wanted to climb out that much, and if they did they were pretty good at it. It's all they've ever known so it's security for them, it's their little space that they've grown up with. Plus you don't have as much up and running around as you do with a toddler bed. My advice, keep them in there until you're ready for them to come out (i.e. until you're ready for them to be running around at will LOL). Good luck...

Your situation sounds alot like mine. My son was 22 months when my daughter was born. We moved him into a toddler bed several months before she was born (18 months old or so) that way all of the kinks were worked out as far as getting used to it by the time she got here. Hope this helps :)

S. S.

I made the mistake of moving our oldest child to a toddler bed when our second was born. She was about two. We spent the whole next year trying to keep her in the toddler bed. I would encourage you to wait as long as possible to make the move, even if you have to buy a second crib. Our second child was two when our 3rd was born. I didn't move him until after he turned three. It worked out much, much better. Good luck!

19 months for the first two because there was a baby on the way and I did not want them to think that the baby was taking that away too. So we did that at mid pregnancy. But with my last we did it yesterday! and he is 23.5 months old. Reason being that we were not pressed for time in getting the older one out.

H.

My oldest went to the toddler bed, very briefly at 2 years. She kept falling out so we switched to a twin with a rail. (Her crib made a toddler bed, but no rails could go on that one.) My second switched to a twin bed at 20 months. We were moving and she wanted a big girl bed. It worked for us. My son went to a toddler bed (we found one with a rail) at 16 months, because he hated his crib and would not sleep. He sleeps through the night most nights now.
My advice - If you are going to move him, do it soon so the baby is not viewed as the reason for loosing his bed (at least in his eyes). Make a big deal about being a big boy!! Chances are good he will revert back to some "baby" ways after the new one arrives - I wish I could say it would not happen, but it is VERY likely! I wanted mine to feel like the "big sister" when the new one came. The bigger they felt before the baby the easier it was after the baby to talk them out of the "baby ways."
Good luck!

Wow! We did the exact same thing! Our daughter was 21 mos old when our son was born. We took a little time to transition. Our son slept in his pack-n-play for about 5 months. For our daughter's two year birthday we bought her a "big girl bed." We made a really big deal about it when it came in the mail. She even helped her daddy assemble the bed. We talked about what a big girl she was and how she was getting to move into a big girl bed. We actually put the toddler bed in her bedroom with the baby crib and gave her an option as to which bed she would sleep in. There were big girl rules that she had to know and obey in order to be able to sleep in the big girl bed. We told her that her baby brother needed the crib since he was a baby! At the end of a determined amount of time (about a week), the crib was taken out of our daughter's room and she slept in the toddler bed full-time! We talked about the fact that the crib was going to be taken out. She did really well with the transition. One thing we did to help keep her in her bed was put a basket of books on one side (should probably have only been board books!!) and a basket of toys on the other side. She was allowed to play with them AFTER she woke up. Hope this helps!

Hi, C.! The first time my kids started climbing out of the crib, I lowered the rail on the crib so they wouldn't break their little necks! Then went onto a toddler bed once we could afford it pretty quickly! Good luck, hon!

I put my son in his toddler bed at 24 months, but only because he started climbing out or I would have kept him in his crib awhile longer. A cheap alternative may be to put him into a portable crib for a while before buying him a toddler bed. That way you don't have to buy another crib. Just a thought.

After reading a lot of the responses you received, I think it really depends on the child. My son fell out of his crib trying to climb out on his own at a year old, so we took the crib out and moved the mattress from an extra full size bed we had onto his floor with the long side pushed up against a wall. I kept it simple with just a fitted sheet and a light-weight blanket that we could use if it was cold. We also had a set of bed rails that had belonged to older cousins that we put near the top of the bed where he tended to sleep. Now, understand that my son was a real mover during the night and often woke himself up in the crib because he would bump into the sides of the crib. With the full-bed he started sleeping much better. In the beginning, my husband or I would sit in the room with a book for 10-15 minutes until we were sure he was asleep. If he woke during the night, it was easy to lay down with him and get him back to sleep (even though I often fell asleep there too. He never tried to get up on his own, but would call us when he woke up.

After a few months, we added the box spring under the mattress and at about 20 months we added the frame and 2-step stool so he could climb in and out on his own. He would still call us when he woke up and would only coming running into our room across the hall on his own if we told him to. He just turned 2 and a half and since we are now expecting we wanted to do something special for him before the baby's room got a lot of attention. We got a great deal on a twin bed with rails that can one day be used as a top bunk, and set that up in his room. He is adjusting quickly to having a little less room to move and in doing so is sleeping better. We kept the stool by the bed so that he can get up by himself to go potty, but he still calls us if it is dark. He loved picking out the new sheets and wall decals for his room to make it special and giving all of his baby stuff up. The move to the twin gave him a lot more room to play in his room too, so it was a win-win. We just put out full bed in storage until we need it again.

I have to say that having my son learn to sleep in a big bed so young was wonderful. When we travel, he sleeps on the extra bed in our room with no trouble, so no more lugging a pack-n-play around. He also does well on his sleeping bag when needed and will easily sleep on another bed for naps when he is with his grandparents. When we tried to use a pack-n-play when visiting family before Christmas, he got very upset and told us that it was for babies. We ended up letting him go to sleep on the bed we were using, then his dad moved him to the pack-n-play when we went to bed. He slept fine, but we woke to him trying to climb out because he didn't want to be in there. So you see, every child is different.

I totally understand where you are coming from. When my daughter was 7 months old, we found out that we were expecting again! And if you do the math, you get 15, yup, 15 months apart. (Well little Nicholas was 2 weeks early, so their not quite 15 months, but I like to think they are!) Anyway, after getting over the shock and the "What are we going to do now" factor, we realize that this was what God had wanted to happen. Anyway, back to your question, bed/crib situation. I too thought that I would keep my son in his bassinet in our room until he was 3 months or so and then have transitioned my daughter from her crib into the toddler bed and our son could have the crib! Not so!! We wound up getting another crib at a consignment sale and he started using that at about 3 months old. (Our daughter was not in anyway ready to switch at 18 months!) So in our attempt to move furniture around and make things compatible, we bought a toddler bed, also at a consignment sale, and put it in her room. We did this before her little brother arrived, again with the hopes that by the time she was 18 months and he was 3 months old, we could do the switch!) Initially we put stuffed animals and dolls on the bed and we would sit there during the day and read books. This way she could get use to the idea of sleeping in it at some point. I would tell her to lay down on the bed, to "take a nap" on the bed, but I didn't push the issue. I knew the time would come. So one night, as we were reading our nightly stories, and she was sitting on the bed, I said "Ok, night night, time to turn off the light and go to sleep." And she said ok, and laid down on the pillow on her toddler bed. She was 20 months old!! I was shocked, scared, amazed and quickly realized my little girl was growing up before my eyes! She did sleep in her bed that night, with no problems. We only had one night since that night that she was gave us problems and we put her back in the crib. Naps during the day were a bit more challenging, but we kept trying and she slowly got use to the idea of sleeping in her bed and we just took down the crib two weeks ago.

Now you're probably wondering about safety and stairs and such....well I didn't want to put a gate in front of her door, but I do have a gate at the top of the stairs. Now granted, we have a small house, 3 bedrooms upstairs, a bathroom and a laundry room. All the rooms are baby proofed and at night I make sure the bathroom door, the laundry room door are all closed. There are locks on the doors in our bathroom and our closet doors are always shut. She goes to sleep at about 8/8:30 when everything is done and she stays in bed until 7 the next morning. She's as quiet as a mouse when she wakes up and the first thing she does is take her dolls and whatever book it is she wants and comes into our room and wakes me up and hands me her book and doll and wants me to pick her up and read to her. She has only just figured out how to climb up on our bed and can do that by herself. So I scoot over and sometimes she lies down with me as I slowly wake up. Sometimes I read or sing or talk to her and other mornings she "reads" to me.

So with all that, your son will make the change when he is ready. At 21 months when your new child arrives, I would slowly try to transition him. If you are going to keep your other child in your bedroom for the first few months you may be lucky in getting your older son to sleep elsewhere. But I've always heard that boys tend to be a bit slower than girls in doing different things. But if you're in the C. area and would like a inexpensive and in very good condition, but slightly used crib, please contact me and we would love to sell it to you. It's just sitting in the garage right now, it's been taken apart, but it's all there. Hope that helps!! Also look for big consignment sales around town. Again if you're in teh C. area, there is a big one in Mathews at Matthews United Methodist Church this Saturday, the 15th from 8-3 (half off on certain items from 1-3). That is where we got both our cribs as well as TONS of other baby/toddler stuff!!
Enjoy!!

A.
You can contact me at:
____@____.com

My two boys are 19 months apart, and I moved my older one to a toddler bed a few months before I was due w/my younger son. But he is a climber, and had been climbing in and out of his crib since he was a little over a year old, so that wasn't an issue. :-)

Generally, all of my kids were over 2 when I moved them to a toddler bed with the exception of 2 of them. My first son was under 2 because we were expecting another baby.

We did have some difficulty keeping him in his bed because at that age they are pretty independent and know the are capable of getting out on their own, so they do.

My youngest child has been moved to a toddler bed a little over a month now, and she won't be 2 until May. She hasn't given us too much trouble about it and has never gotten out of the bed without permission, but her bed is in the same room as ours.

I think moving him to a toddler bed would be fine depending on a few things. First his temperament....do you think it will be scary to him, a challenge keeping him in there?

Second, is there a safety gate that would keep him from getting into dangerous things if he manages to get out of bed while you are sleeping and you don't hear him? Such as medicines, the toilet, the stairs? Among others.

Third, how close is the new baby to arriving? You want to avoid having him feel as though he is being "evicted" from his sleep home by the new baby. (although mine survived it LOL)

I hope this helps.

Mom of 8

C.
My son is 18 months and we just moved him to a toddler bed this weekend. We talked to the Dr at his checkup and he said now is the perfect time. I've noticed that he was trying to trow his leg over the rail if we didn't get to him as fast as he'd like so I decided to ask. I was also worried about him not being contained but the Dr said to get a good gate that opens for his room and make sure his room is a safe place. We came home and got rid of the crib and did a room make over from a baby room to a "big boy" room. It takes a little longer for him to go to sleep because he gets up a couple of times to play but when he's tired and ready for bed he goes right to sleep and I know he can't get out of his room so things are good. Each nap time and bed time has gotten easier.
Good luck!
A.

When my second child was born, my daughter was 23 months old. Since our house was small at the time, we were to have them share the room. We bought my daughter a toddler bed and another baby crib mattress to fit the bed. We put her little bed in her room at about 18 months old and told her that was her "new red bed" (we left the crib in too) and she literally moved the toddler bed out of her room on her own! She was totally distraught, but since we had two mattresses, each night she can choose which bed to sleep in and we had a good 6 months to work on it. We really played up how a "baby" sleeps in the crib and all that. By the time my son came, she was a pro at sleeping in her "new red bed" and wasn't ready to go back to the "baby bed". Since I did breast feed my son, he actually slept in my room the first few months so he didn't wake her during the night. We purchased a Pack and Play that had the bassinet that fits on top and it worked wonderfully until my son transitioned into the room with his big sister. Good luck and congratulations!

My daughter was about two when we moved her into a toddler bed and she did great however she loved to sleep so it was good for us. However with a new baby comming I think you will find its going to be a waste of time to try and put him into a toddler bed he may want to try a revert a little and want to be in a crib. I would say if he isnt trying to climb out leave him where he is

A mothers instinct and gut, first reaction is usually right...and I think yours is in this situation as well. Keep your son in his crib that turns into a toddler bed (and use it as one once he is ready and YOU are ready). And purchase a new crib for your new baby. If cost is an issue www.craigslist.com in our area always has great deals from local people wanting to sell things they don't need anymore...

My son stayed in his crib until he was just over three...we lowered the rail down as far as it would go and then eventually turned it into the toddler bed. With a new baby on the way, I feel it is important to control the amount of change that surrounds him - since the new baby will provide plenty of that for him, right?

Hope this helps...

I'd leave him and get a really sturdy bassinet. We got a European sized crib (much smaller than our regular ones) from Ikea and our baby stayed in that for a year in our bedroom. My youngest two are 18 months apart. It is great to have the older one coralled because they will take whatever opportunity they have to get into things when you can't get to them! Good luck (I have four, but going from 1 to 2 can be more like going from 1- 20! Third and fourth are just more shoes to keep track of!)

My kids are 21 months apart, and we didn't want to have to spend $200 on another crib, so we moved our oldest into a $50 toddler bed we bought off Craig's List a few months after the baby was born. The youngest slept in a bassinet and pack n' play until he was seven months old, and we waited to make the move for the older one until after he adjusted to his new sibling. Things were no more difficult than I expected, but I always said that if I had to do it over again, I would absolutely spend the $200 and get a new crib!

C.,

I would highly suggest not to move him until he starts climbing out. My son was 3 when he decided to change to his jr bed. His baby bed also made a jr bed. It was so easy that way. He is now 20 and we have talked about it. He said he was glad that I did not force the issue, that was his security blanket. I would also recommend when you do do it make sure he is there when you convert the bed so he will know that it's still his bed. Let him pick out the bedding will also help

Good Luck

T.

My child was ready by two. It depends on your child and if you feel they are ready to move into a toddler bed. Trust what you feel about the situation and do that.

We moved our child into a toddler bed when she was about 2 years old. She had started climbing out of the crib and we were afraid she would hurt herself so the crib went and the "new" bed arrived. We made a big deal about her getting a BIG GIRL BED. She loved it.

I have 3 children. They are all 3 years apart, so I didn't have immediate transistion problems. My oldest co-slept with us until she was a year old, then we put her on a full size futon on the floor. She wouldn't sleep in a crib or toddler bed. We kept her room child safe and put a baby gate at her door, so she couldn't wander the house. I'm not sure if you were planning on having the children share a room or not. My suggestion would be to get the toddler bed or regular bed with a rail, set it up at least 3 mos. before you're due so the child won't feel like his crib is being stolen from him and given to the baby. Dismantle the crib too, so it's out of site for a little while. Try him in the bed for a couple weeks, if it works, then put up the crib for the baby closer to the due date, if not, get another crib at consignment or borrow from a friend. You'll eventually need that other bed, so then you'll have it! You could also use a pack and play for nap times if you want (for older child). I kept my niece for her first year of life after I had my 3rd child who was 10 mos. older. The niece slept in a pack and play during the day at my house, and her crib at her house and made that switch OK too.

Hey C., my son was 23 months old when our daughter was born. We moved him into his own room which was our guest bedroom when he was 21 months old. He had just climbed out of his crib for the first time right before that. We put the mattress from our guest bedroom furniture on the floor. We put all his toys in the closet and got a childproof lock for the closet door so he couldn't get distracted playing when trying to go down to sleep. We also put the doorknob cover on the inside and put a baby gate up at the door so we could leave the door open but keep him in. The only other piece of furniture we had in the room was the antique dresser that went with the set. (I've had to put tie down straps to keep him from emptying out the dresser drawers!) We also put a comforter on the floor next to the mattress in case he rolled out. That way, he'd have extra cushioning if he rolled out of bed. He didn't care for the mattress at first. He ended up sleeping on the comforter on the floor for the first month or so. Then we put the comforter on the bed and he slept on the bed with it. Once he got used to sleeping on the bed, we put the boxspring under it but still no frame. But we didn't add the boxspring til he was about 27 months. He's done well with it. Your son is a few months younger than mine was at the same stage. But if you will be moving him into his own room at some point in the future, I would say go ahead and get the room ready and try him out with it. My son did wake up a little in the beginning when we first put him in the new room. But it didn't take him long before he slept through the night again. We also had our daughter in a bassinet for a few months in our room. So you could do that and give your son more time to get ready to be in a big bed or toddler bed. Good luck!

Is your child getting up and down from the living room furniture on their own? If so they can safely move to a toddler or even a low twin size bed. We had two very close together and saved a lot of money by getting a bunk bed set. My son moved to the bottom bunk and we had it moved against the wall so that we could use a safety rail on the top and the bottom on the sides that were not on the wall. By the time our second was ready to use the bed, our first was able to get up and down the ladder safely and it worked out great. We now have three and our youngest has been in the bottom bunk from the time she was 18 months old. It all depends on how well they can climb and control their movements. I hope this has been helpful.

I also am pregnant with our second child. Our daughter (28 months) is taking a nap in her "big girl bed" for the first time as I type this!

Her crib also converts to a toddler bed but we decided to keep it a crib for now (for the new baby) and go ahead and move her (gradually) into her "big girl's room". She is very excited about it. I let her pick the color of her walls (green) and the theme (kitty cats). We've just started the transition so I can't say if it's too soon...but it feels like the right time for our family.

And that's what it comes down to...figuring out what's right for your family. I don't know that there is a right age. I just wanted my daughter to be well established in her "big girl's room" a few months before the baby came so that she didn't feel kicked out of her nursery.

For what it's worth, we skipped the toddler bed and went straight to a full size bed for her. I picked a bedroom suite that she'll have until she's graduating from high school (longer if she wants to take it with her) and will just redecorate everything else in her room as she gets older and her tastes change. I figure it's a little bit more money right now, but will save money in the long run since I won't have to buy a toddler and twin bed that she'll eventually outgrow.

As for the climbing out, I've talked to my daughter about how, when she's ready to get out of bed, she should call me and not get out of bed herself. I'm POSITIVE that this will take some training (oh boy, sleep training all over again!), but my sister-in-law did this until her girl was potty trained (and could get up to go by herself) with great results.

Best of luck!
K.

Hi, I am a 31yr old mother of two and one on the way. When we were transitioning our first child to the toddler bed I was expecting my son. She was 2 and we did this several months before my son was born and it seemed to work out just fine. I think around age two kids want more independence and want to feel more like a big kid. My advice to you would be wait until after your baby is born and your son is already 2. You want to have him in "his bed" when the baby is born. So much of his life is going to change, that is one way to keep some continuity, and from regressing as much. Keep the baby in a bassinette for the first few months and when the baby is ready to make the change to the crib, change your son to the toddler bed. Hope it goes well. Good luck.

Here's a thought, you can put your newborn into a bassinet. Depending on birth weight, they can stay in one for 3-4 months.(This is experience talking!)By that time your son should be crawling out of the baby bed. When the time comes,I would consider purchasing another toddler bed from resale, so that you can emphasize your son being a "big boy". He probably will think it's a cool thing to give his "baby" bed to his younger baby sibling. I would try to keep him in the baby bed for as long as possible. There's really no need to rush it. They're only little for a short time!

Six months before our second baby was born we took the side off the crib and made it a toddler bed. Told him he was a big boy now and gets a big boy bed. I put up a gate at the door so that he stayed in his room...didn't want him wondering the house. And all went well. I wanted to get him used to the big boy bed before the baby got here in case it was a struggle. I didn't want to struggle with him and have a new baby at the same time. Good luck and Congrats! K.

My baby is 19 months now and she is still in her baby bed. I don't want to move her either because I know that it is a safe place. I think that you will be able to tell when it is "TIME" I think that when he is big enough to start climbing out and can get hurt then it is time. I beleive that you will know that. Otherwise, I would rather keep mine in her baby bed as long as I can.

My children are only 13 months apart so when my son was born he slept in his pack n play for the first 3 months. When my daughter was 16 months old we moved her to a twin bed and gave my son the crib. She did pretty well and we really didn't have any problems. I actually ended up liking it better than having to get her in and out of her crib all the time. Any bit of independence on her part was helpful with another infant around. As a side note, we ended up moving my son out of the crib into a toddler bed when he was about 19 months old and he did great as well. As long as your child understands and has a typical routine that going to bed means laying down and going to sleep and not playing they should do fine. Hope that helps!

i am also pregnant with my 2nd child. our daughter will be 2 in april and the other is due in august. we can not afford another bed, plus we don't have the room... we live in a small house and the kids will be sharing a room for a while till we can afford something bigger. so we have decided that in that 4 months, we will be transitioning our daughter into a toddler bed. we want to have her in her new bed before the new baby gets here so she doesn't think she is just being booted out by the new baby.

A lot of people move their kids around age 2, but, after having 3 kids, I am now a firm believer in keeping them in a crib until they are 3 unless they climb out or need to get out to go potty. We made the mistake of moving our first one a little too early, when he was perfectly happy in his crib, and he started doing all kinds of interesting things during nap, like getting out of bed and pulling all the clothes out of his drawers. We also had to install a gate at the top of the stairs so he couldn't go downstairs or, God forbid, out of the house at night. One of our reasons for moving him was that he was potty trained during the day early and we thought he would need to get up and use the potty at night. It turned out to be way past age 3 before he was night trained, so that was pointless. When my 3rd child was born, my second was 29 months. We bought the baby a "mini-crib," which has a mattress the size of a portacrib but is sturdier. She stayed in that her first year, then moved to the big crib. We got her older brother cool bunk beds a few months before she moved into his crib, so he had been out of the crib for awhile and didn't feel like she was "kicking him out" in any way. So, bottom line, I'd say wait to move him to a big bed if you can swing it.

Haha! We just went through that process. I'm 27. My little boy will be two in June. My daughter will be one in August. I put my son to sleep for a nap and a few minutes later he was in the kitchen saying "hi". I took the bumper off and he still scaled the side in about 2 mins flat. We went out and got him the toddler bed. He didn't want to lay in it at all for the first couple days. We just had to wait till he was extra sleepy and place him in the crib. He would wake up at 2am and wander the house. Drama...

We child proofed his room to perfection. Then we put a hook and eye lock on the outside of his door. I also put his crib bumper around the outside of the toddler bed to ease the transition. We started a strict routine as far as when he goes to nap sleep at night. I also give him a sippy cup of water to take with him in case he gets thirsty. Then we place him in bed and lock the door so he can't escape. It sounds mean, but it isn't safe for a child under two to roam the house in the dark. It took about a week of crying spells, but now he just goes right to sleep.

I hope that helps!

My daughter had to make the switch at 18mths because she figured out how to climb. My son, on the other hand, is 21mths and still in his crib. However, he'll hike his little leg up on that top rail of the crib, so we're very close to switching him. I think all kids are different in this area. Now, with all the convertible cribs, you really can't lose. Yeah, you may have 2 cribs, but you can switch them to the full size bed for when your kids are older. I'd ride out the crib as long as you can!!! =0)

My second child was born when my son was 19 months old. Rather than a toddler bed, we bought a twin mattress and box spring and put it on the floor (no frame). We used portable sides on one end, and the other side was pushed up against the wall. He loved the fact that mommy and daddy could get into his bed with him and cuddle him at night. My other 2 kids went into a toddler bed at 2. I felt that I would rather they sleep in that than try to climb out of their crib and get hurt.

After your second one is born ,you will have some time before you need the crib. Use that time o talk to your oldest about giving the crib to the baby. If the crib becomes the baby's bed, then he will have no choice but to sleep on the big boy bed. It may be rough initially, but not a rough as it could be if the crib were still unused. Stick to a firm disciplined bedtime routine and he will be sleeping in his big boy bed in no time.

Both of my boys moved to a twin sized bed between 20 and 32 months of age. it was easier to just get the big bed. you can buy ralings so they can't fall out, and a door knob cover for the inside so that they can't leave the room wihtout you knowing.

my son went into a toddler bed around the same age, but he was already climbing out of the crib. my advice, since his bed turns into a toddler bed, is to go ahead and get another crib. when he's ready for a big boy bed he'll let you know. try asking him if he wants to go into a big boy bed. kids at that age pretty much know what they want, if you ask the right question they tell you what they want.

my son is 2 1/2 now and my daughter is 1 1/2. so we had 2 cribs for awhile. i started my son sleeping on a toddler bed during the day for naptime maybe just before he turned 2. my crib also turned into a day/toddler(i still used a rail, he's a mover)so i just decided to try over night, he got up a couple of times(still does occasionally,expected though)just was consist about putting him right back in bed. i have a friend whose children where 3yrs before taking them out of their crib. my daughter i can already tell will not be ready for along while. every child is different. good luck

Okay - I have read a lot of your responses and I just had to reply b/c we had to move our son out of his crib way earlier than most of the other responses. He has always been a tall boy and he just did not have enough room in his crib. He would wake up crying every morning or after he bumped his head while rolling over or his knee or whatever else. For all of our sanity he stopped sleeping in his crib between 16 and 17 months. From the very first night sleeping in a regular bed, he never again woke up crying! To keep him from falling off, we just put the mattress on the floor for well over a year. He is now 4 and mentioned the other day that he wishes he didn't have his "fancy bed" because he wanted his bed back on the floor! We never had any problems with him roaming the house or getting into things. When it was time for bed, we put everything away and he knew that the toys were asleep until the next morning. Upon waking up, if we were still asleep he would come crawl in our bed to snuggle. If we were awake he would come and find us wherever we were. He has a little friend who moved from her crib right after her first birthday - another tall one!

SO! I just wanted to give you a different scenario to consider. It totally depends on your child! We never had a problem w/ our son moving from his crib at an apparently much younger age than most. Good luck!!

Didn't have time to read all responses you already got, but my 1st 2 girls are also exactly 21 months apart, and we didn't want to buy 2 cribs. So here's what we did. We let #1 stay in her crib as long as we thought it was working for her... ended up being just under 2 years. then we got her a full sized bed (skipped the toddler bed). If you can afford it and have room for it, you will save a lot of money by going directly to the full-sized bed (with guard rails at first), because you won't be buying new beds at each stage... and when guest come into town, put kids in sleeping bags or on air mattresses and you have extra guest beds!) So what about the baby? We kept her in the little bassinet part of the play yard when she was newborn. When this got too small, we took out the bassinet top structure and just used the playpen as her temporary crib. This also allowed us to put the crib away for a couple months between taking it away from #1 and giving it to #2. I think when #2 was around 4 months we set up the crib for her. The time flies, and we saved a lot of money. And #2 is now a lively 5-year old... no evidence of long term psychological damage from crib deprivation. Best of luck with #2. We now have 3 and it just keeps getting better (and more exhausting)! Get your rest!

my own theory on this, is leave then in the crib bed until they are climbing out. my daughter was just one week shy of her second birthday when i walked into her room and found her with one leg up over the side of the crib. i moved her that same day. it scares me to think of her falling out. my nephew was almost three before he started climbing out, and i worked with a woman who had her daughter in a crib until she outgrew it in length because she never tried to get out. remember that if you move him to a big boy bed, you will more than likely have to deal with him getting out throughout the night. it is so much nicer when they are in a crib and contained.

Hello, congrats on the new baby coming! As for the bed thing, my daughter just turned 2 on Feb 17. She sleeps in what we call her "big girl bed" I didnt go with a toddler bed I wanted a twin bed so that I could lay down with her if need be. I have a safety rail which goes under the mattress and helps keep her from falling out at night. I didnt have much issue with the transition, all it took was a couple of times laying down with her in her bed and telling her it was "bed time for baby" we made it kind of a song and she loved it. She would lay down, sing our song, cuddle a bit and off to sleep she would go. I then get up and get in my bed or stay up and enjoy the quite house since I have a 5 year old too! I kinda started letting her nap in the big girl bed but it didnt work really good because she could get up and down as she wanted and so, I focused more on her sleeping in it at bed time only. I do miss the crib but she was already trying to climb in and out of it so I thought it best to take it down. I am a light sleeper and we live in a small house so I can hear her when she is up but most times if she gets up before me she either gets me up or her sister who in turn gets me up :) . My advice to u, if you really want your baby in a bed would be to maybe put him in his toddler bed to nap through the day (if he still naps) or try making it a game or red him a book when he lays down. He will want to get up and down a bit but just tell him "no" and its "bed time" or just whatever works for u. Have faith, it will happen or u could just purchase another crib. I myself wouldnt want to purchase another crib since your son is so close to being done with the one he is in. Good luck and hope my advice or what I did helps you out in some way! Take care!