Our crib was recalled so we decided to take the leap and buy a nice used toddler bed. The recall involved the drop side of the crib, so we converted it to a toddler bed and were going to use it for just a few nights to let our little one have a little bit of adjustment to the new no side situation before returning it and switching to the new bed.
She went to sleep like a little angel- she loved that she could climb up into her bed herself and she laid right down... We thought the little side rails that attach to the bed frame were enough to keep her safe but they apparently are not. She fell out twice onto the cushion I had put down just in case, and she was pretty terrified. So at around 3am we set up her new bed right next to the crib thinking it's at least a little closer to the ground and she can get in and out of it without a stepstool. She was still rather upset from waking up twice falling out of her bed and in the end I slept on the floor next to her so she would calm down and not fall out again. I plan on trying those crib rails that you can attach to the mattress, but my question is this: What kind are best to buy and do all kids move around like crazy in the middle of the night as they sleep or are we really making the transition too early for her? do they grow out of the spinning around in bed and start realizing the boundaries in time?
I don't quite understand the point of changing from a crib to a toddler bed if you have to make the bed into a sort of crib with the side rails all the way across... And if you use the side rails then how does the child safely get off the bed?? I am so confused and frustrated that I suddenly have to decide all these things when she was perfectly fine in the crib! We really don't want to re-spend the money on a new crib if we don't absolutely have to since we aren't planning on having another one any time soon, if at all... So we really want the toddler bed to work and be safe, So what do I do??
Thanks for the all advice ladies! I love that I can come on here and feel like I'm not alone in my struggles! :)
Here's how it all worked for us: The first thing we did was to turn her crib made into a toddler bed with the gap against the wall so she'd be safe until we figured out a better solution. We decided to try to make the new little toddler bed work by buying rails before giving up on it. I put a couple finished pieces of wood (unused shelves that were somehow exactly the right size to fit and not move!)underneath her mattress to hold the rail up as the feet would have otherwise fell threw the bars of the bed. . The rail fits the whole length of the bed perfectly with just barely enough room at the bottom of the bed for her to get in and out of. Thankfully the gap isn't big enough that she can fall out at all. I moved the whole bed against the wall and in the corner and put her little bookshelf against the other short end so she's pretty boxed in.
We also just got our air conditioner put in, and she seems to be tossing a LOT less. The first night I tried to lay her down in her new bed, she was confused and wanted her crib, which was right next to the new bed because we hadn't had the chance to tear it down yet. But once I turned on the light and she understood I was trying to get her to lay down on the new 'big girl bed' that she had played on earlier that evening, she climbed right in and laid down and said "Nih-nite!" It was adorable!
Since then she's LOVED that she can crawl into and out of bed by herself! I'm so happy that we went with the toddler bed! I feel like she's still too little for the bigger bed cuz she would be stuck up there in it and not be able to get out of it or into it by herself. (She's not much of a climber) We initially decided that the toddler bed was the way to go because it was the most cost effective solution for us right now. We had found the new toddler bed at a used store and I went back and found an adorable bed rail and the total for the two was just $30. Since we got the crib mattress separately than the crib, we can still use that and it leaves the rest of the refund from the crib to pay other bills.
Thanks again for listening!
Glad you found a solution that works for you.
When you go to a twin size bed later on, remember that you can always go with just a mattress on the floor if she is still apt to rolling off. Or do what we did, and use the mattress from the toddler bed/crib as a cushion on the floor for when she falls out. My son spun around every which way when we first transitioned him and fell out/off a lot. They eventually do quit doing that.
She may not be ready for a toddler bed yet, and if your crib was recalled, they should replace it or whatever part was recalled, or you can return it for a new one if they sell it at Babies R Us, so you shouldn't have to spring for a new crib. That being said, many kids toss and sleep all over their beds, but after a few nights, her little brain will start to "feel" the boundaries of her bed and tell her when she is near the edge, just like ours do. We only used a rail with our daughter when we transitioned her to a twin bed for about 2 months. She has fallen out of bed a couple times since then, but its very sporadic. Just one more "sleepless nights" event to add onto our parenting chit!
Hello, I didn't read the responses you've received already so I'm sorry if I repeat. We just moved my daughter from her crib to a twin bed a few weeks ago. She was 2 on April 1st and in need of more room to move! I completely agree that toddler beds with the rails defeat the purpose of a bed since it's exactly like a crib. Not to mention it's exactly the same size as the crib. Yes, my daughter moves around A LOT! She is like watching the hands on a clock. By 10 or 11 at night she's feet up and head down. We put her bed against the wall and bought a bed rail for the other side. She hasn't fallen out yet, but does need that rail. There's been many times when she sleeps right up against it. We have a video monitor, which makes life much easier, so we know when to go in there and put her back in place! I hear from a lot of people that kids are crazy movers while sleeping, and that they all grow out of it. I got our bedrail from Babies R us. They even sell pink ones for girls!
I had to switch my daughter into a toddler bed from her crib because she was a climber and would climb into and out of the bed and I was afraid she would fall while climbing and hurt her neck when she decided she wanted to get out in the middle of the night. I put her into a toddler bed at 18 months and she fell out the first night, then she was scarred to go back in.
The next night I pushed the toddler bed up against the wall and used the corner for two fall proof sides and used a bedrail along the whole open side of the toddler bed. I did not want her to fall out and continue to be scared of her new bed. She just turned four and is still a mover at night and occasionally falls out of bed even with a bedrail on her twin bed. She does not move as much she generally uses her pillow now but it took her a long time and a few falls to stop spinning in bed.
The only nice thing about being in a toddler bed even with the bedrail is that when they want to climb out they wont fall and hurt themselves by falling 4 feet instead they will only fall 16 inches. Try pushing the foot side of the bed into the corner and use a bedrail to keep it enclosed so she does not fall out, it worked for me!
I think that most toddler beds are backwards...it seems to make more sense that the half-length rails on each side should be at the foot of the bed instead of where you put the pillows. I agree with you- what is the point when you are basically recreating the feel of the crib? But it is a way to help her transition. Going from a crib to a bed with open sides is a big change. If you start with the rails she will feel more comfortable and have a chance to get used to the dimensions of the bed, having much shorter "walls" on the bed, and being lower to the ground. When you lay her down at bedtime, I would try tucking her in under a sheet, or maybe putting a pillow or stuffed animals on each side of her to keep her from moving too much, and I would put a big mat down on the floor so she doesn't get hurt if she does fall out. Eventually she will be aware of where the sides are [probably not for a long time though] and you will be able to remove the rails.
Also the last poster had a good idea, to put the mattress right on the floor for now. Then she wont get hurt and can get in and out of the bed on her own and have a chance to learn her boundaries
We did the toddler bed with our oldest and he fell out ALL THE TIME. It took a few months for him to be able to stay on most of the time.
For our second, we skipped that step and just put a twin-size mattress on the floor. That way, he has more room to move around and if he does end up rolling off (rarely happens) it's not so jarring. He usually sleeps right through it.
My daughter was out of her crib by 14 months - and we put a mattress right on the floor. The only way her daycare could get her to nap was to let her sleep on the floor, so we did that too. It worked fine. There's no "right age" or "right way" to sleep, just the one that works for your family.
My two oldest were forced out of the crib when the next one arrived at 20 months and 22 months respectively. We went straight to a bed - for me the toddler bed just seems like a waste of time, money and space. But I understand everybody has different needs and opinions. Like others, the bed was agains the wall with a railing, bought from Target or Wallmart. Both kids adjusted easily, and my daughter, who was a terrible sleeper in the crib, became the best sleeper in the world. My son can be in 100 different positions in any given night, while my daughter tends to sleep in one spot. They have both fallen out of bed, but both episodes happened long after the initial transition - my son fell out for the first time after he had been in a bed for a year. I also think the transition to the bed was made much easier by the fact that I did it when they were younger and not as attached as they would have been at three or later.
So - my two cents would be skip the crib and the toddler, get the railings. Check the height of the railings against the height of the mattress so that you have the barrier you need.
Here's my two cents worth... If the little rails on the toddler bed aren't preventing her from falling out, then she's not ready for the toddler bed. I would just put the mattress right on the floor--forget the frame for now--and see how that goes.
Or, do you have a playpen or pack-and-play? She could maybe sleep in that for the interim, and you could try the toddler bed again in a few months.
If you do want to go with different side rails, PLEASE check with the bed's manufacturer to see what, if any, other bed rails you can use with that particular bed. To answer your question about getting in and out of bed if there are longer side rails--I have never seen bed rails that go the full length of the bed. (Doesn't mean they don't exist.) The ones I've seen go 1/3 to 1/2 down the bed, leaving the bottom portion of the bed open to get off and on. If she is moving around so much that she is "leaving" the railed portion of the bed, I would say she is not ready for that bed.
My son is 18 months and moves all over his crib. Like I can go check on him every 15 minutes and he will be in a new position. Half the time he actually has his feet elevated and resting on the side of the crib, LOL.
Lastly, I'm confused about one point in your post. Did you move her from the crib to the toddler bed while she was sleeping? If so, I would put her in the toddler bed while she is awake. She needs to see where she is going to sleep and get a feel for the lack of "sides" and how much room she has. I would never move her while she was sleeping.
My daughter (3 in August) was moved to a toddler bed at 2 years old. She moves around ALOT when sleeping. I shared a queen bed with her while on vacation and I had to sleep on the floor because she moves around sooo much while sleeping. Some kids will move around more then others. We have the toddler bed up against a wall and a bed rail, she can still climb out in on one end by herself. In a month we will be switching her to a full bed but we will still keep it up against the wall and use the bed rail.
Kids will stoping moving around so much at night but every kid is different so you will just have to gague what will work best for you little one.
The side rails shouldn't go all the way across the toddler bed unless it is like a top bunk. What needs to happen will and that is when your daughter is sleeping, her body will learn where the edge is and she will subconsciencly stop at the edge, but it does take rolling off the bed a few times. I put a matteress on the floor to start off with when my oldest was out of the crib. Once he wasn't rolling off the matteress, I moved him to the bottom bunk bed. I know my granddaughter moves around so much more then my kids did. I laugh when she spends the night and I sleep in the extra room with her. It is a queen size bed and by morning I have a sliver of the bed while she is laying sideways with either her feet or head pressed up against me. She is 2.
