When to Put Child into 'Big Girl Bed'

I raised 4 and they each stayed in their crib until they could climb OUT of it on their own! That way I KNEW where they were lol. The new baby certainly won't need a full size crib for awhile and I used a "1 year" crib for the new baby until they became too active for the smaller crib. THEN I moved eveyone up a size bed. And yes there were a few months I borrowed a 2nd crib as I had 2 sons 11 months apart. So no rush!

I would wait. She is still pretty little to be in a big girl bed. Is new baby going to reside in the bassinette for a bit? Some little ones are more possesive about their beds than others. I think it's important that she doesn't feel "dethroned". Congrats on the newby!

My 2 older girls both transitioned to a toddler bed at about 18 months. They would get out of bed but put a door knob thingy on the inside of the room so they couldn't open the door themselves. There were many nights that we would go to tuck them in before we went to sleep and found them asleel on the floor. You can also use a gate in the doorway of the bedroom.
If you don't want to use a toddler bed you can also use a mattress on the floor.
BLessings, K.

K.,
Hello :) Well, my recommendation, based upon what what worked for us, would be to keep her in her crib until she starts climbing out or until you're ready for potty training. My boys were a little over 18 months apart and we didn't transition my oldest to a toddler bed until around the age of 2 1/2 when he started climbing out of his crib. For my little guy, we transitioned him at the same age (which was at the beginning of July) but for a completely different reason (he never attempted to climb out of his crib) - we are expecting baby #3 in about 3 weeks and wanted him to be comfortable in his toddler bed and well adjusted to the idea before baby came along and "took over" his crib. That's my experience... ultimately you need to look at your daughter and determine what will work best for her based on her temperament. My oldest is very rambunctious and when we switched him it was a bit of a nightmare for the first few weeks because he realized his new-found freedom and would hop out of his toddler bed every chance he got! My youngest, however, has a completely different personality/temperament and has not once hopped out of his toddler bed to play around. Everyone will give you their opinion based on their own experience and the temperament of their own children - do what feels right for you and your daughter. Hope this helps!

K. :)

My oldest boys are 18 months apart, and we bought a second crib before #2 was born. Well worth it, especially b/c our oldest slept well in his crib and didn't climb out of it.
In fact, we just converted his crib to a toddler bed, at age 3, and have kept my middle son, who is 20 months, in his crib. My third son was just born, so he too will have his own crib -- we will be a 3 crib household!

buy a second crib.

my kids are 18 months apart. we bought the second crib. my older child stayed in her crib until she was 3 1/2 years old.

You need to be able to put hte toddler in the crib and know that they are safe while you are so busy witht he second baby..

Dont move a child out ofthe crib until they are reasonable...and trustworthy most of the time. (not likely to get into things and make messes.

Ps.. the first year with 2 is very very hard.. but it gets easier.. mine are 2 and 3 and it is a breeze.

Lisa

if you value your sleep, buy another crib. Wish we did. Our son is almost 2 months now, and our daughter is 2yr old. She won't stay in her bed and well you can imagine...

Hi K.,

See if your daughter is ready. My kids are 21 months apart, and my son wasn't quite ready to give up the crib when my daughter was born. She's pretty young, you might want to keep her in her bed (normally when you switch to a big bed, expect no naps and some rough nights initially) and have one less transition for her. Just an idea. *C. WAHM son 4yrs old and daughter 2 1/2 yrs old.

there really is no "set" age for this just like potty training! If your child isn't too attached to her crib then I say move her, it will be rocky for about 2 days and then second nature! both my girls went from a crib to a twin bed at 18 months, it was a smooth and easy transition! they were scared at first and then both my girls slept better in a big bed than the crib! good luck! and congrats!

Oh My! Do NOT go out and buy another crib.... My kids are 19 months apart and I put my daughter in a big girl bed before the new baby came so she would be used to it. We bought a twin bed and put a side rail. We have not had any issues. I put a chest and step stool at the end of the bed since I figured she would want to crawl down and didn't want her to fall. This has worked out great for us!!!

We always moved ours (8,5,2)out of the cribs the first time they climbed out...Usually around 1 1/2 to 2... We then put them in a toddler bed until they were closer to 4...

Perhaps getting one of those convertable crib/ toddlerbed/ twin beds would be an all around answer. Then you can keep her in the crib until she is ready to be out of it and still not have to buy the other bed frames...

A bit of advice from one mom to another. Try to keep your daughters schedule as normal as possible!!! If you are running around being busy all the time now, trim your schedule so you have more down time. (She will get used to it now and it will not be such a change when baby comes) Keep naps the same and INSIST that naps happen. (not just for her, but YOU!)

I moved my son over to a big boy bed when he was 19ish months I believe... to make room for baby #2 as well. It went great. I was apprehensive at first but giving him his own room with a few special new toys just for the "big boy" made him never look back. He started calling the old room the "baby room" that very day.

Sure he falls out/climbs out occasionally, but as long as you are consistent with discipline and not let them roam around the room but put them back right away and say they can only get out when mommy/daddy lets them out, all will be well.

In the end I think it is better to do now than later. Why have two cribs when you will have to move him in a few months anyway? Most kids learn how to climb out of the crib anyway and even if they don't, I think it goes a long way in showing the "big boy/girl" their position in the family so that when the new baby DOES come, they are "big" helpers in that area too and don't still think they are "the baby."

Hi K.,
Like Cari S. said, there is really no set age to switch to a regular bed. Each child is different. We bought our son a twin bed when he was 24 months old. I wasn't pregnant or anything, we just thought maybe it was time. We left the crib in tact and kept it in his room along with the new twin bed. Our son was very excited and slept in the new bed the first night and never went back to the crib. After a week, we were sure it was ok to disassemble the crib and put it away. Give it a try! Maybe your daughter will adapt well. If not, maybe the new baby can sleep in a bassinet or pack-n-play for a while. Our son slept in the p-n-p in our bedroom until he was 9 weeks old. I'm sure you can make it work without buying a second crib...and if not, it's not the end of the world! Good Luck and congrats on the new baby!

My middle two are almost 16 months apart, when my daughter was born, I had to put my son in a twin bed. I used a bedrail so he didn't fall out of bed, and I remember the first week I had to keep putting him back in bed, he really liked his new "freedom"! If I remember right, (he's 14 this year) it didn't take him too long to get used to his bed.

Hello K., My first two were 21 months apart, so I was in your shoes. I chose to put a twin size mattress down on the floor so that if she fell out of bed the drop was not very far to fall. This worked like a charm. When she was about 2 1/2 we put the mattress in a frame. Good luck.

Hi K.!
Save yourself the trouble and purchase another crib. Try craigslist or garage sales to find a gently used one. We just bought at new crib mattress at wal-mart for $36.00. My girls are 25 months apart and we switched my eldest when she was 23 months old, she wasn't climbing out of her crib or anything but we needed it for the new baby. We had some trouble at first and she finally did adapt just fine. If I would do it over again, I would have kept her in her crib and bought a new one for the baby. Good luck and God bless!

I would leave her in the crib as long as possible...esp with a new baby! We actually had to buy a second crib when my son was 4 b/c that was the only way we could find a full size headboard...(we ended up buying a crib and conversion set).