Time to Get a Big Kid Bed

I worried about the same thing and my son amazingly did fine staying in bed. He is a very active and crazy child too. We tried at 18 months and he wouldn't stay in bed but at 22 months he was fine so I guess just keep the crib or a playpen available just in case and go from there.

I am suprised no one else did what I did but it worked great. My son's crib changes into a "transitional" bed which is just the crib in lowest setting and a side off. Its low to the ground, familiar, and still his bed! It does have about 1 ft on each side of railing but not sure if it does any good. we tried this for a short time with a regular crib without the side and that worked too. He does have trouble staying in bed some nights but thats because he gets distracted by all he can do in his room. We found that going to a very dim nightlight (instead of the one that lit up his whole room) and putting a doorknob protector on his door so he couldnt come out made it not so much fun and he usually goes to sleep in 1/2 hour or so (usually but we do have bad nights like all parents). Also, the doornob protector keeps him safe in his room as he often gets up at night and will wonder the house quite or flip on all the lights and wake everyone up (we take it off during the day so he can play with the door shut and still come out when he is done as his 9 month sister likes to "get" everything)

If you go to babies r us you can get side rails for a twin size bed. Theyre not like the metal ones they used to have in hospitals or anything theyre soft and I think they fold down. You can also look them up on line at babiesrus.com. I dont know if anyone else has them but you can probably check online before you go out at like target, kmart, or walmart. That would give her the safe feeling still or if you really wanna spend the big bucks you could get the princess bed that has partial sides on it and its made by Step 2 (who also has a website). My son has the race car but when he gets all wild and crazy in his sleep he still falls out of bed.

First I have to tell you to go to the Lilac City Roller Girls on my space. We are the local chapter of roller derby. All girls mostly Moms.I am 33 and we have girls of all ages. I am also a stay at home Mom and love the chance to make friends and get a work out too. If you can't skate a lick don't worry no one can at first and we have great coaches. Ok. I have three boys 10,7, and 2. I have already gotten my youngest into his big boy bed and all I had to do was sit with him for the first like 2 weeks untill he went to sleep. Now he does it all on his own and doesn't get up till morning. But I love when he walks into my bedroom in the morning and gets to cuddle with me in the big bed while we wake up. Hope to see you at practice. B. aka Pink Void

Hi, My youngest never wanted out of her crib. I bought her a youth bed which her crib sheets and blankets and things fit, so she still had the feel of the crib while sleeping, and it has guards so that she can't fall out, but still can get out of bed on her own without getting hurt.
God bless.

A.

Well I have a girl that turn two in february and I just had to go through the same change with mine....I was really worried about it ..but she went well. I started bye putting her down in the bed and laying with her until she got sleepy. Then we moved on too laying her down and telling her good night. It's worked so far. One thing I must say is that she can open doors in the house , So I did go out and get some safety door guards (you can get the at almost any store babies are us walmart ) and I also still have the a monitor in her room so I can hear when she gets up. I say go for it and see what happens .Try different things until one works every kid is different ...I also heard that you can just cut a few bars on the crib to make it into a bed, and they can go in and out with know problems and they still feel they are in the crib...I never had to go that far but it has worked of a lot of people...it might work for your little one...best wishes to you and your family

there is a way to keep her in the crib but i admit it looks a little jailish (don't the bars already tho?). there is a canopy you can secure over the crib that has a zippered door. http://www.amazon.com/Tots-Mind-Portable-Playard-Cabana/d.... this is originally meant to keep cats from jumping in the crib but if your just not ready to deal, it's a quick fix.

A., my first son moved to a toddler bed at 17 months (his brother was on the way and we needed the crib!) We bought him a little toddler bed and put it in his room next to his crib. We had it in there about 2 months before the "big move." He got used to seeing it in there and he was able to play in it before he actually slept in it. On the day of the move, we went cold turkey on the crib...we took it apart and moved it out of his room, so there was no going back. It's a good thing we did that, because I think we would have folded if it was still in there. To be honest, the first night was a nightmare, he didn't have the "security" of his crib anymore and he wasn't too happy about that, so my husband and I took turns sitting on the floor next to his bed until he finally fell asleep. He slept pretty well, but if he woke up at all, we had to go back in there to comfort him (where usually he would fall back to sleep on his own in his crib). But after that, he got used to it. He's now in a full sized bed. My other son will be two in August and we're really not pushing to move him out of the crib (no siblings on the way this time!) He doesn't try to climb out yet and he loves the security of the crib, so we'll wait a little longer. PLUS, we have a big move coming up and don't want to make any major changes until after the move. Maybe we'll do it on his birthday??? Anyways, good luck with the switch! I like what someone else said, let HER pick out the bed or bedding set, maybe it'll make the tranisition easier if she's excited about it! Also, try reading her one of the books about moving to a big bed (we had the Elmo one, and he loved it!)

Your right A. put the gate up or shut the door, even if she ends up sleeping on the floor in front of the door she won't do it for too many nights cause the floor is hard.

We tried to take the side off my two year old daughter's crib to make it into a toddler bed and she wouldn't sleep until we put it back on. We put a bed buddy at the bottom of her bed so she can climb out easier if she wants to. (it's a long pillow basically).
Maybe it's just my desire for my daughter to stay a baby, but I figure if she feels safer that way, then why rush it? Your daughter's not even two yet, so maybe give her some more time? They grow up so fast anyway. Good luck either way though! :-)

I put my oldest in a twin bed with rails when she was a year. The only reason is because she had a foot brace (Due to a club foot) and it was too big for her to move around in the crib. She loves her bed.

I put my youngest in a toddler bed at age one, she is doing okay with it but she is getting use to it. She never had a crib she just slept in the travel bed that I had next to me, I kept her in that until she was about a year, then we moved her right into the toddler bed. I wanted to get her a twin bed but since we were in transition with moving and not knowing where we were going to be moving to, my husband and I went to get a toddler bed instead, it is so cute, and she is so small that it fits perfectly. we will probably just hold onto it for her until she is three and then get the girls new matching furniture ....

I would try the toddler bed, and you can always get one of those little what do they call them, a mosquito nets, they are not that but that may give her the feeling of being enclosed.

She is mature at two. My son crawled out of the crib at 10 months and we had to go toddler bed and spend turns taking shifts to get him to sleep for about 4 months-whew!
She should be able to choose. At two, offer two to empower her. Get the toddler bed and put it in her room. Allow her to select for say two weeks...
P.S. we also went through secondary infertility and were blessed with 3 additional kids, 15 months apart and have a total of 4. I stay at home and drive carpool twice a day. Moved here last year.

I did this with my first son. We got the bed for his 2nd birthday. He liked playing in it and pretending to sleep but wouldn't stay in it at night. So he ended up sleeping with us a lot of the time. I wish I hadn't jumped into it because at 3 1/2 he still has trouble sleeping in it.

You could always get her a bed that has like stoppers
something like this (http://shop.nickjr.com/sm-dora-the-explorer-toddler-bed--... should make her feel safe and it's lower to the ground.... My daughter has one, but i think i need to get her i full or queen size cause she moves around tooooo much in her sleep

Hi A., my second son is kind of similar to your daughter, he will not go to sleep if I am in his room, and he likes to be cozy in bed. He has a big stuffed dog (2-3 feet long) that he uses as a pillow, it is nice because the legs kind of wrap down the side of the bed and make him feel secure, plus the bed is pushed up into a corner. I used to put a couple of tupperwares along the other side to make it feel more crib like also (just a mattress on the floor). I cuddle and talk to him for a few minutes at night, then close his door and leave him to fall asleep alone. Sometimes he will give a little cry for a minute or less, but usually he will just play for a little bit and fall asleep. He is surprisingly good at climbing up on the bed and tucking himself in (for a 2 year old), much better than his 3 year old brother that would have me sleep with him every night if I would! If I leave the door open or cracked he will get up and go close it all the way then go back to bed. Good luck!