We are talking about taking the front off C's crib sooner than later. He is lazy and not a trouble maker, so I dont expect him to challenge it too much, but what all should we expect? Is this a horrific idea? He is newly 2.
I am a Crib 4 Lyfe kind of person, but we took the side rail off and replaced it with the toddler rail last month. DS2 is about 2.5 (May birthday) and we recently potty trained him. He wasn't able to get out of bed at night to go to the bathroom, and even though he was in a pull-up, I didn't want to restrict him in that way. I fully expected him to pull all kinds of shenanigans because he's totally the type to do that, but it's been 100% fine. He has seriously been awesome with the transition.
All that to say, if there's no real reason to take the rail down, I wouldn't. If we hadn't PTed early, I wouldn't have taken down the crib rail. But if you want to for whatever reason, it may not be as bad as you think.
eta: We only took the rail off for DS1 because he started climbing out. He potty trained after we put the toddler rail on.
Post by steamboat185 on Nov 24, 2019 0:43:54 GMT -5
We tried taking the rail off a few months ago. DD wasn’t climbing out but she was just about 3 and we figured it was time. It was awful. She wouldn’t stay put at all. After 2 weeks we put her back into the crib. She’s happy in there and doesn’t try to leave so we are ok with it. When she wants to use the bathroom she just asks us to help her and I’m cool with that. We do plan to try again after Christmas and I’m hopeful that this time it will go a bit smoother. But for both my kids it was not a good transition. I figured it would be tough with #1, but #2 is pretty chill and we underestimated how hard it would be for her.
Post by sillygoosegirl on Nov 24, 2019 1:10:07 GMT -5
We did it early, under 2. DD was trying to climb into the crib at bedtime, so we figured she'd appreciate the independence. She couldn't do doorknobs yet, so when she got out of bed she couldn't leave her room anyway, and figured out to stay in bed. At various times in the 3+ years since, she's had phases of coming out of her room at bedtime and we've occassionally babyproofed the door for a few nights. You need to find new ways of setting boundaries, but it's really not that different.
We switched to a toddler bed ridiculously early (16 or 17 months) because DD was over the height limit and trying to climb out, but still clumsy enough that we worried about her getting hurt if she went over the rail. We had a great experience and it was NBD at all. At 2.5, she still yells for us to come get her in the morning.
Honestly I think waiting until they’re 3 or so would be much harder because the tantrums are worse, they are more set in their ways, and they are more physically capable of escape. If you can do it before they can open the doorknob, it is easier IMO.
We did it just after two and it wasn’t really a big deal. My son wasn’t climbing out or anything but he had outgrown the pack n play. We wanted to have him used to a bed before vacation where he would be expected to sleep in a bed. He appeared at my bedside in the night a couple of times asking for cereal lol but once we put a doorknob cover on that didn’t happen again. He’s 2.5 now and it’s been fine. We’re probably going to transition him to a full size bed in the next few months.
Post by mccallister84 on Nov 24, 2019 8:19:17 GMT -5
I don’t know, I’d try to wait if you can but maybe I’m just scarred by our experience. We put her in a bed shortly after potty training around 27 months (last February). Girlfriend wouldn’t even stand up in her crib until we came in to get her so I figured it would be no big deal. It was months until she fell asleep in her bed on her own and to this day she comes in to our room every night around midnight.
Honestly I think waiting until they’re 3 or so would be much harder because the tantrums are worse, they are more set in their ways, and they are more physically capable of escape. If you can do it before they can open the doorknob, it is easier IMO.
Good luck!
That was sort of my thought. He still listens to the rules. At 3, probably not, lol.
Baby proofing question - what am I supposed to do with his lamp on the table next to his chair? I need something to read by that isn't the big overhead light.
We transitioned DS at almost 3.5 almost two months ago. He never climbed out of his crib, he was outgrowing it. We PT at 2y9m or somewhere around that. He doesn't wake to pee at night and still fills up an overnite+sposie so we aren't close to night time training. DS has only pulled one night of shenanigans o far. The surprise bonus of the transition is that now we get to snuggle with him in his bed in the AM when he wakes up. I get weekday snuggles because H leaves for work early and H gets weekend snuggles.
My kid might be a unicorn though. All the transitions I thought would be rough have been a breeze (getting rid of bedtime bottle at 16.5 months, taking away the binkie at just over 2... and he sttn at 2.5 months. Sleep training was a rough week or two, but only at bedtime itself, then nary a peep). Maybe I'll see myself out of this thread. :-p
ETA: Unlike a PP, my DS quit naps at 22 months, so that ship had already sailed.
Baby proofing question - what am I supposed to do with his lamp on the table next to his chair? I need something to read by that isn't the big overhead light.
For bedtime stories? Or in the middle of the night? If it's the former, could you just use the overhead light? My DS' room is small so we just have his dresser next to the rocking chair and use that as a table. The cord for anything (humidifier, lamp, air purifier) all plug in behind the dresser where even I can't reach unless I pull the dresser away from the wall. Is slightly rearranging his room to make something like that possible an option?
I don’t know, I’d try to wait if you can but maybe I’m just scarred by our experience. We put her in a bed shortly after potty training around 27 months (last February). Girlfriend wouldn’t even stand up in her crib until we came in to get her so I figured it would be no big deal. It was months until she fell asleep in her bed on her own and to this day she comes in to our room every night around midnight.
A dream pee before you go to bed might help with the midnight wakeup. A lot of night waking is needing to pee, but often the kid is too disoriented from sleep to know why they woke up.
Baby proofing question - what am I supposed to do with his lamp on the table next to his chair? I need something to read by that isn't the big overhead light.
So, for baby-proofing, we turned her bureau around so she couldn’t climb it and took out any toys we didn’t want her playing with. I worried about cords and outlets, but covered unfilled outlets and let everything else be. Instead, we watched on the monitor to see what else would need to be done.
The worst mine did was lie down to look under the door. She spent the rest of the time in her bed reading books or talking to her stuffed animals. We still have a monitor on her so I can hear any sheningans overnight. She’s done really well and I’m glad that I can trust her.
Every kid will be different so keep an eye.
EDIT - we gate her door, as well. But she doesn’t try to leave. 🤷🏼♀️
Post by thebreakfastclub on Nov 24, 2019 11:10:50 GMT -5
We converted to a toddler bed at 22m. My son never moved or wandered at night and barely noticed. Even now at age 6, he does not get up at night unless absolutely necessary.
DD never climbed out of her crib. She stayed in it until 3.5 when she started climbing in. We took the side off and she slept like that for a few months but she is really tall and was outgrowing the space, so a month ago we transitioned her to a regular bed.
She's always been really good about staying in bed, so much so that I'm trying to teach her it's okay to get up for things. I'm sick of getting called in the middle of the night to give her a sip of water she could totally get for herself.
Ughhh my 2.5 year old boys just started climbing out of their cribs this weekend. Sleep sacks and all.
I’m going to get a Hatch Baby Rest or a Gro Clock and see if that helps them stay put? They were up and out at 5:45 this morning. We are so not ready for toddler beds yet. Their collective problem solving skills are getting too advanced 😭 lol
Post by HoneySpider on Nov 24, 2019 13:38:26 GMT -5
We moved DS1 at 20 months from crib to bed since we moved and we were going to need the crib for DS2...we figured we'd give it a try and it was a really easy transition. He's tall and was trying to climb out of his crib which was making me nervous so I was really glad he took to the bed.
We'll probably transition DS2 around a similar time, we are hoping to eventually put them in a room together so we want to get him used to the bed before we do that.
We transitioned the first at 2.5 and the second will be 26 months. We are moving the kids into a shared room and making a big playroom in DS1’s larger room. I am hoping having DS1 in there will persuade him to just crawl into bed with him rather than getting up to find us! DS1 will love the company.
hamster - any way you can just install a dimmer on the overhead light and ditch the lamp? Is turning on the closet light for books an option instead of the lamp?
Post by thoseareradishes on Nov 24, 2019 16:22:04 GMT -5
I was crib for life but then she fell out one morning around 27 months old (thankfully I caught her). I actually love it; I can comfort her more easily and she likes being able to get into and out of bed by herself. She had nothing but her bed and a chair in her room at first. She stays in bed and she has always slept with the door shut so we haven't had any issues with her wandering around out of her room. She only tried sleeping on the floor a couple of times and I guess figured out her bed was much more comfortable.
We took the side off when E1 was like 21 or 22 months. We were TTC and I was cycling for my first FET, so we wanted the crib for the next kid. We babyproofed the room and added those doorknob covers so he didn't wander the house. Then he got a proper twin bed when he was 25 months.
Post by sunflower17 on Nov 24, 2019 21:27:06 GMT -5
I’m keeping dd in the crib for a while. She doesn’t climb out so we’re good. She’s almost 22 months and we got a new crib for dd2 who is due the end of January.