A step I wasn't ready for...

[Tanis]

Could someone please talk to me who can relate? My husband got this wild hair that we had to put up the toddler bed for my 18-month old. It's my last child and I'm very emotional about taking down the crib, which we have to do since the mattress goes on the toddler bed...we did it, but I'm sad (and so is my son, who's having quite an evening trying to get used to the toddler bed!!

[AnnW]

No great advice, just wanted to say welcome to IB!!!!

[Jeff]

I remember getting that same wild hair. Looking back it was really a bad choice. Tell the hubby to lighten and and keep the critter in the crib til the boy makes a jail break.

[Diane]

Welcome to the board!!! I didn't take any of my dd's out of their crib until they turned at least 2 years old. Even then I considered leaving the crib up... just in case, but actually they did quite well. I don't think they would have done as well if I had actually left the crib up... but knowing that it was "all gone" helped them realize that they really didn't have a choice. I'm not too sure that I would have made the big move yet at 18 months... unless they're climbing out of their crib and are in danger of falling out and injuring themselves. I actually liked them being IN the crib because basically, it kept them in bed and not up and running around at wee hours of the night/morning. LOL Good luck... I hope they adjust okay!

Bye... :wave:

[kat]

Well, the deed is done now, but i agree with Jeff and loved the way he phrased it! :lol:

[Linda/NE]

Welcome!!

That can be a hard transition, especially when it is the last child. I don't think any of my kids were in a crib past 1 yr. (Mainly because we were soon expecting another that would need the crib and the crib we had was old and unstable for very big babies.)

One thing nice about a toddler bed though, is that they usually have rails on the side to prevent falling out and the size is similar to that of the crib so it's not such a big adjustment to the child.

My youngest ds LOVES having a bed all his own. He's 3 now, but when we moved him out of the crib, we emphasized how he wasn't a baby anymore but a big boy. It made him feel important and part of the clan since he had a real bed like his brothers and sisters.

Sometimes I think the transistions are harder on the moms than the kids! :)

Hope everything works out!! :)

[Diane]

quote:
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Originally posted by Linda/NE
[B]Welcome!! One thing nice about a toddler bed though, is that they usually have rails on the side to prevent falling out and the size is similar to that of the crib so it's not such a big adjustment to the child.{/B]
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When my kids were making the transition between crib/bed they never had such things as "toddler beds" but went straight from the crib into a BIG bed. I like the looks of the toddler beds... their so nice and small and certainly don't take up a whole lot of room. It also makes it a lot easier for them to get in/out of on their own. LOL At what age do you usually change them from a "toddler bed" into a regular sized bed? I also agree that sometimes it's harder on the mom's than the kids... LOL It's hard to see your little ones grow up! :)

bye... :wave:

[KarlaB]

We moved ds #2 out of his crib at 18 months into a.....queen size bed!! Neither of my dks really liked the crib and usually ended up in bed with us, so I thought I would be okay with taking down the crib. It ended up being very hard for me :bawling: , especially since he may also be our last so I definitely know what you are going through. My ds actually sleeps better in his "big" bed though and he is so proud of it. When he wakes up from his naps he just gets up rather than sitting in there crying and waiting for me (a whole 30 seconds lol!) to get him out, so I do like that better. Hang in there. I know it's hard to let go - it was very hard for me to even walk in his room for a while once we took the crib down, but it does get better. It's just hard to see our babies grow up. :bigcry:

[Mickey]

Welcome, Tanis! (Didn't you used to post on the old board?)

I can sympathize with the not being ready to let go thing. But I also think it's a safety issue at 18 months...my ds would have been roaming around the house getting into all kinds of stuff if he weren't confined to a crib at that age. Any way you can put it back up?

[coulie]

My first ds did a header out of the crib at 6 months old. he used to scream to shatter glass and he somehow shimmied his way over the bar and onto the wood floor head first. Later on, he managed to scream and kick his legs through the bars and got himself hung up by his knee as it was caught in the ribbed crib bars. He used to shove the crib out from the wall into the center of the room with his feet.
We took the crib apart with his help at the ripe old age of "one" My second ds never used a crib because I was so frightened he would get tangled up in it as well. I had him sleep on a futon on the floor or he slept with me and DH.
Most of my friends let their kids stay in the crib until they could manage to climb out and answer the phone on Sunday morning. I thought that was a wise choice. :)
If I had it to do over that's what I would do.

coulie

[RCT]

Welcome aboard the Idea Box, I am sorry your sad about the toddler bed, my ds stayed in his crib until he was three and ahalf, yikes, but my dd saw the spare bed in her room, we had no where else for it, and decided at 18 months, she was a big girl and no more crib...no toddler bed nothing, it was heart breaking and I know how your feeling....sorry your having one of these days...how is ds handling the transition?

[Diane]

I was just wondering how your little one is adjusting to her bed of if you ended up moving her back into her crib??? I hope all is going well for her. :)

Diane... :wave: