Time for a Big Boy Bed? Any Advice?

I would keep him the crib for another 9 mos or so. A huge developmental step to go to a bed. Get a crib topper to attach so it keeps him in. I think Tots In Mind makes them. MOst kids get in and out safely anyway so I really wouldn't think that would be a worry but you don't want him wandering around the house at night without you there.

They do sell crib tents if you want to keep him in the crib longer. My daughter wasn't a climber so I don't know how well they work.

If you do a toddler bed, they are very low to the ground and have a little rail on them. You could also go straight to a twin bed. For that I might start with the mattress on the floor and add the box spring with a rail when he's older/used to it. If you like to lay down with your son when he goes to sleep, I'd opt for the twin! There's more room for you than the toddler bed which is a bit easier to cram yourself into if you're short. The other advantage of the twin is that the bed will last for years while you will have to replace the toddler bed in a couple years.

We moved my daughter at about 20 months and because she was still pretty small we went with a toddler bed. We bought a cute wooden one from Babies R Us for around $100. She slept in it until she turned 3 (she's almost 4 now). She probably only fell out one or twice, but they're so low to the ground, she was totally fine.

Once you put him in his room, make sure the room is safe for him. The furniture should be bolted to the walls, especially if he's a climber. You don't want him pulling anything down on top of himself. We put a gate in the doorway of our daughter's room because her room is upstairs and we didn't want to worry about her falling down the stairs in the night.

You could start with a toddler bed in your room where the crib was, get him used to it, and then transition him to his own room. Or talk up the big boy bed and start him out in his own room. You'd have to decide what would work best with his personality.

Personally, I don't think sleeping with you is the "worst thing." He's already sleeping in the same room as you, right? So he's already in the "habit" of being near you at night. Both our kids (the baby is 14 months) are welcome to sleep with us as needed. The only habit I feel I'm promoting is security. But, that's what works for our family. We don't mind cosleeping.

Good luck on the big boy bed transition!

Take apart his crib and place the crib mattress on the floor in the spot where the crib used to be. Lay a bunch of pillows and blankets on the floor next to it in case he rolls out. Let him play on it during the day to get excited about it. Maybe buy a new set of sheets and call it his big boy bed... See how he does with that, then you can decide what to buy next. Most people I know skipped the toddler bed and went to a twin size bed (or bigger) eventually, and a lot of people I know did the mattress on the floor for a while

F.,

This is my experience with my daughter. I am not saying this is the right way, but it worked for us.

She was about the same age when we decided to try to transition her to a toddler be. We had a convertable crib, while we were working on the conversion she decided to sleep on the twin futon.

It was still kind of a rough transition- she was never a good sleeper- so I had to start all over with getting her to sleep.

Pros of futon (for us)
1. already had it- no cost involved
2. Has arms so guardrails built in.
3. Low to grownd- easy for her to get in & out.
4. Full size/ not toddler size- so she can sleep in it a long time.

cons.
1. Arms- have large holes- we placed pillows to keep her legs from getting caught- not much of an issue.
2. Had to start over with getting her to go to sleep on her own.

over all happy with this set up for us.

Let him in on the decision. Go to the stores and look at "big boy" beds. If you get a low lying toddler bed you shouldn't need rails, If you get a high bed you will for awhile. The transition will be much easier if he has a say in it and gets excited about it. There are no right and wrong beds, just differences in taste and desires.

we just did this last night - my daughter is 20 months and she climbed out of her crib, but got her foot caught in the rails and was hanging upside down by her foot - luckliy i was not far away.
anyway i put her toddler bed together, it has short side rails on it - but she still fell out, so i put beanbags on the floor.
it took ages to get her to sleep, she kept getting in and out all the time - actually it took me 2 hours to get her to sleep lol - hopefully it will get better.

guard rails are a must, put the bed staright in his room, and sit with him till he falls asleep

I actually would recommend skipping the toddler bed. I got a toddler bed for my daughter and ended up buying a regular sized bed within a few months anyway. The toddler bed is the same size as the crib mattress. She was a restless sleeper and would slide out of the toddler bed every night. Once we got the big bed, she never fell out. The toddler bed was kind of a waste of 100 dollars for me. I don't really have much advise on getting him to stay in his bed after you transition him. My daughter really "went with the flow" when she was younger. I did make her getting a "big girl bed" a SUPER huge deal!! And, she was less than 2 years old when I put her in the toddler bed (like I said, she needed more room). She never got out of bed, I think she was actually scared to get out of bed when the house was dark and everyone was asleep. Also, this "rule" saved my sleep..... The rule was, in the mornings, she could not get out of bed until the sun was shining. lol She followed it luckily. If she woke up (she would always call for me) I'd tell her to look out her window and if it was still dark she had to stay in bed. ha-ha That is still the rule now, and she is 7 :-) Good luck!!
oh ps - I did use a gaurd rail on the big bed just in case. oh and also, like the other poster said I would make sure his room is totally child proofed..and I would maybe buy a baby gate for his room so he can't waunder around the house if you are worried about that.

I highly recommend the crib tent for keeping him in his crib. My son crawled out of his crib on the lowest setting too when he was around 18 mos and I put the tent on...no problems. He is also 22 months now and his crib was recalled two weeks ago so I just bought a toddler bed. We are having a HORRIBLE transition. It is taking us several hours to go to sleep each night because he just wants to climb out of bed and play. I have been staying in his room until he falls asleep because if I leave he just plays...but even with me in there...it is taking forever. Good luck.

It all depends on what you are looking for.

Here's our story, take from it what seems helpful:
My son was climbing out of his crib by about 12 months... seriously. (He was walking at 10 1/2 mo). So he was on his crib mattress on the floor for a bit when he first demonstrated his new "skill". Then we received a hand-me-down twin bed from my mom's attic. We pushed it into a corner and used a bed rail on the open side. He was okay with that. Not long after, I was pregnant with #2, and we needed to make longer term considerations... like visiting grandparents on both sides of the family at the same time, etc.. so we moved him into a "new" room and bought a full size bed. So extra guests would have a place to stay when the "guest" room was full... and for future sleepovers of kindergarten buddies. :)
We put guard rails on both sides of the full sized bed, and he was VERY excited about that.. he was about 32 months old at the time. No issues with him getting up out of bed or anything like that - all of that went on when his mattress was on the floor.

Honestly, even though the twin was really cute, and it probably helped with the transition (since a full sized bed wouldn't have fit into the nursery he would have had to change beds AND rooms all at once).... I was physically much more comfortable with the full sized bed. It made it much easier (particularly since I was pregnant) to lie on the bed to read bedtime stories and things. I could even lie down with him at his naptime if I felt like it. A single bed doesn't have the surface area to spread out and be comfy for stories, games, etc.

So a lot depends on the arrangement of your home and future needs. My son (now 11 yrs old) still has his full sized bed, and it is quite handy (even with another designated "guest" room) when my brother's family of 6 comes to stay with us. We use his bed as the "gathering spot" for bedtime prayers still, too.

I did the mattress on the floor out of necessity for a short time, and though it is ok, I wouldn't plan that for a lengthy solution. It isn't as wide as a twin, and they WILL roll off it; while they won't get HURT, they WILL tend to WAKE UP during the night. Not somewhere I'd want to go when they are good sleepers otherwise.

I ended up getting an inexpensive used toddler bed for our daughter, and again, while it was cute and efficient, she moved up to a twin sized bed before her 3rd birthday. So, I would guess that your 22 month old would be in one for a year or less... consider that time frame when you are "shopping" your options. Also, unless the toddler bed comes with the rail attachment as part of the frame, most of the regular bed rails (the $20 variety) will not work properly with a toddler bed.

You are right to want to "nip" the co-sleeping before it becomes too ingrained a habit (unless you plan to start doing this all the time long term). So even if you need to wait a few weeks before you can get a new bigger bed sorted out, go ahead and put the mattress on the floor temporarily so he doesn't get too attached to nighttime company. :)

Good luck.
P.S.
Whatever your bedtime ritual is, don't change a thing! Everything should happen exactly the same (except maybe in your son's room now). It is great to let him help with a few choices (maybe ask him to choose between 2 sets of sheets, etc), and get him excited... but not SO excited that he thinks that all the "old rules" are out the window. ALL NEW stuff can be scary to kids! That will be one of the keys to keeping him on track. Bedtime is still the same, he will just be sleeping on a different bed (in a different room?). That is the reassurance he will need from you to make a smooth transition. We let our son get excited, but at the same time, tried to walk the fine line of not making it TOO big of a deal. That can also bring on stress, worry, and wakefulness, (think about how kids can't go to sleep the night before school starts, or on Christmas Eve)...

Hi F.,
Do you have a crib with the option of the toddler rail. It allows you to remove the sliding rail and put in its place the toddler rail. That is what I did when my daughter got out of her crib at 21 months. The transition was simple and not costly. We did that for a year then put a twin mattress on the floor and made for an easier transition to the big bed. Good Luck!

I actually just got my little guy a twin bed, but pushed it into the corner so he was still surrounded on two sides and put up a guard rail on the third side that was 2/3 length of the bed. This forced him to have to crawl down the bed to get out at the foot, creating less chances for him to roll out onto floor. I let him sleep on the mattress on the floor for a few naptimes to transition to big boy bed. He had no problems transitioning, just enjoyed the freedom of being able to get up and walk out of his bedroom into the living room after being put to bed at night (took a couple weeks for him
to stop doing this.) Hope this helps!

You can start today by placing his crib mattress on the floor--in his bedroom. Then, when you get him his bed, you can push it against the wall and put pillows on the other side. If you purchase guardrails, he'll jump over them, too.
I used to put a couple pillows on the floor, next to the bed, just in case, but never really needed them.

I purchased twin beds for my girls by Young America (a Stanley Furniture company) because they are so well made and there's a huge range of styles and colors. The best part, to me, is that the height is adjustable with the lowest setting being about 7" off the floor. These beds are made to last and as they grow you raise the height to normal height. We also purchased the matching wooden rail and put the bed in a corner of the room up against the wall. The rail keeps them from falling out, but still allows them easy in/out access.

You're right that having your child sleep with you is a hard habit to break but you should break it as soon as possible - it'll be easier. I had a lot of sleep issues with my first and then came across a book that changed my life, it's "Goog Night, Sleep Tight" by Kim West. My kids are the best sleepers thanks to that book - I recommend it to everyone. In fact, I recently wrote a short article about my experience with sleep issues with my daughter and how this book helped. The book covers many topics, including transitioning to a "big girl/boy bed". If you'd like to read my article, here's the link:
http://hubpages.com/hub/_lilyrose/sleep-training-good-nig...

Best of luck to you!

We also made the transition at about 22 months. Basically, his whole bedroom became the crib after some careful childproofing. We put a twin mattress on the floor with rails and made a big deal out of going to buy big-boy sheets for his new bed.

I was shocked at how easily my son made the transition.

Good luck!