Toddler Bed at a Year Old

I was given a toddler bed around APril or May. Over the summer, I put the bed together and put it in my daughter's room. At the time she was about 18months old or so. She played on it for a couple of days and then we started taking naps in it but sleeping in the crib. Then we started sleeping in the bed while the crib was still set up. Within about 2-3 weeks, a month at most, I moved the crib out altogether and she's done great ever since. We have a two-story house, so I did start using a baby gate when she began sleeping in the toddler bed exclusively. I would go ahead and have her get used to the new bed being in there first, and then just take it slow for a month or so and eventually move the crib out once she seems comfortable sleeping in the toddler bed, then you can have the crib for the new bundle of joy and she won't feel like she lost her crib to the new baby. Hope this helps!

Due to the closeness of my kids(I have 4), the oldest was always out of the crib by 13-14 months and in a toddler bed. I tried to make the transition before the baby came so that they would not associate the new baby with the loss of their bed.

My daughter came out early of her crib too. We put a baby gate at her door so in the mornings if she got up before us she would know to play in her room. Just make sure you extra kid proof her room, it is so much easier than explaining to everyone that your child loves to climb out of the crib, you know thoses injuries no mother likes for any child.

Yes! Move her into a toddler bed with guard rails. It is much easier and less stressful to do it now than when your new arrival comes home. Also, you can make it a special time with her now instead of her possibly resenting it when the baby uses it. Positive encouragement and reinforcement. (ps - you don't want her sleeping with you in your bed - been there done that won't do it again!!)

start with naps in the toddler bed.
and maybe she will like that bed because you do not want her to feel like the new baby just took her bed. my kids are 25 mth apart. but i put my son in a twin bed i did not use a toddler bed.

Hi,
My daughter is 15mo old and i put her in her toddler bed about a month ago when she started taking her naps on a cot at daycare.i haven't had a bit of trouble getting her used to the transition, despite a million horror stories i've heard. if your little girl is big enough to crawl out of her crib, then it might be a sign that she's ready for the big girl bed that's a little lower to the floor. It's better than the alternative of her falling out of the crib and hurting herself.

I would do it now. We put my son in one at 15mo because I was expecting my second as well. I wanted to do it BEFORE the baby got here. I thought the youngest would not adjust as well with the new baby ariving. It will be hard enough to deal with the adjustment of having a new baby in the house. We had NO trouble getting him to sleep in a toddler bed at 15mo. Hope this helps.

We got our child a toddler bed when she was about 1 year old. We started out using it at naptime only, to get her used to it. Then eventually she was sleeping in it full time. Although, she will find it neat to be able to get up when she wants to to go run around. We started using a gate so she would not wander around the house at night and get hurt. Anyway, that is how we handled it.

M.: Move forward with putting your little girl in the toddler bed. Since she is trying to climb out and potential hazards are possible. This is a great time to get her situated before the new baby arrives. Sometimes our children send messages to us in unique ways. This may be a message!

I say MOVE FORWARD with the toddler bed.

I.

My oldest moved to a toddler bed at about 14 or 15 months because our second was coming (sooner than originally planned!) when she was 16 months old. We had to transition right around the holidays because our second was due in the middle of January. We were lucky enough to have an extra bedroom and that became the "big girl"room. The crib stayed up in the "baby room." We started off by having her take naps in the bed and then, after a few weeks, moved her completely over into the new room. We did put a gate on the door because for the first few weeks she would get up and I didn't want her to wander at night. She never cried, I would just sometimes find her asleep with her pillow next to the door. She figured out before too long that the bed was more comfortable stopped getting out.

It worked so well that we moved our second one at about the same age when there was no pressing reason to do so. It seems like the younger they are, the less of a big deal it is to them.

Good luck!
K.

Yes, I would start transitioning her to the toddler bed now. When we moved our daughter to a toddler bed, I left the crib set up in her room, and put the toddler bed next to the crib (with some walk space on both sides). This way the crib is still there and doesn't scare her with a drastic change in her room.

At first, I would also put some pillows on the floor on both sides of the toddler bed. Even if the bed has half-sides, they can still find their way out!

Once she is comfortable with the toddler bed, you can move the crib out of her room. I think we took our crib down after 2 weeks. She loved her toddler bed!

Hi my advice is to get your baby as used to sleeping in the toobler bed as soon as possible. I say so because my daughters just turned one and two and the day of my two year olds bithday she started climbing out of her crib and shortly there after started climbing up the side of her sisters crib and flipping herself over the rail (not only dangerous for her but also for my youngest.) If you plan on the babies sharing a bedroom and even if you don't keep the other crib set up and teach your daughter that this bed if for the baby and she can't climb into it (trust me out of curiosity she will try.) Also untill your daughter learns that her new bed ain't got "walls" like her crib did put some pillows on the floor next to it because she will fall out a few times before she is used to it, it did'nt wake my daughter up but scared me. You don't wanna put your daughter at risk by keeping her in the crib and having her fall and break something expecially if she is putting her knees through the slats. Good Luck!

Having 2 boys, now 7 & 10, my advice is NO.. keep them in the crib for as long as possible.. you will need the peace and she is much safer.. i wish i had left mine in longer and i took my first out at age 2 1/2 to get ready for the new baby.. he wouldn't stay in the big bed and we felt like we had twisted his whole world.. brought in a new baby, took his bed, took his time, etc.. We were exhausted at night once the new baby came..NOONE was sleeping at first..try to make as few changes as possible.. blessings with the new baby.. get some rest.. S.

Yes! As soon as they start to try to climb out of the crib is the time to change to the toddler bed. Plus it will all be done instead of trying to abruptly transition her when the new baby arrives, in case it takes time to do the transition.

Hi. I put my son in a twin bed at 19 months. I did this because I was expecting baby #2 right before his 2nd birthday. He loved his crib, so I wanted him to be already adjusted and comfortable with his twin bed before the baby arrived. I didn't want him to be jealous of her taking his bed. He was fine with the transition. For a few weeks before we switched him, I would show him "big boy beds" in magazines and we went to a furniture store and I let him climb on one. He loved it. Of course we got the bed rails and such. And we told him that there was one rule: not to get out of the bed until mommy or daddy came and get him (didn't want him roaming the house at night). It went great. By the way, we got a twin bed versus a toddler bed because we were told that parents really can't lay in the toddler bed with the child if they got sick. But I'm sure it's different with every parent. Good luck and congrats on baby #2!

I would wait a few more months before switching her. When they are so little they grow and develop so quickly in such a short amount of time. My oldest tried climbing out of her crib for almost a year. She started just before she was 1 and then didn't successfully make it out until she was almost 2. If you could keep her in there for just a few more months, I think the transition would be easier for everyone.

M.
I think I would wait a bit. She is a bit young to be in a toddler bed. My daughter was two. Wait until after all the holiday fun and then start in February to get her from the crib to a toddler bed. Will she have her own room? You will then have a couple of months before the new baby arrives.

S. Miller

I think she is ready... but I totally agree about waiting until after the Holidays. All the people, scheduling changing, events, etc... can put added stress on your daughter, so the big bed transition could be too much for her to handle, and therefore be less smooth- making it hard on both of y'all. I'd wait until late Jan/early Feb to start the transition.

I have a 14 month old daughter, & a 3 yr old son. Our daughter has been in a toddler bed for 7 months now. She was doing the same thing , climbing out of the crib. But she has done fine. I do not think it is too early to put your child in the toddler bed now. If you do so, it will break your child of the crib by the time your other child is born. Our son started in a toddler bed at 1. So yes I think it would be good to go ahead & start now.