Toddler Bed for a 13 Month Old

[candelaria80]

We recently transitioned our LO to a toddler bed for her naps and the first stretch of her nighttime sleep (she sleeps with us from 1:00am-ish to 7:00am). It seems to be going great. She loves that she can climb in and out of the bed and I think she likes that there are not bars around her like the crib.

She is very independent and after the second nap learned that she can get herself out of the bed on her own to greet us after her nap; however, I am worried of her climbing out of bed at night and falling, hurting herself because it is dark and she is groggy. I have the monitor on and run to her the second I hear anything, but it still worries me. So far she hasn't tried to get out of bed on her own at night, but I know it is coming.

Anyone else transition early? How did you deal with this or do they simply adjust and work it out?
Thanks in advance!

[Cartesia]

We put LO on a mattress on the floor with 2 safety gates locked in a rectangle all the way around the mattress and pillows/blankets in the crack between mattress and gate. During the day and at bedtime we keep the gate open so we do lots of reading and snuggling in there and he feels free to come and go. At night we close the gate and he has never tried to climb out. He just says "Mama" and I can hear it on the monitor.

I think the reason he hasn't tried to climb is because he has so much free mobility with the gate the rest of the time so he doesn't feel trapped.

This is also nice because it makes a good nest for reading & bedtime - I can lay with him (we use a fullsize mattress)

We have been doing this since about 12 months and he is 21 months now. I LOVE it.

[sillysmile]

Cartesia - what type of gates do you use? We are thinking about doing something similar and I would love any recommendations. Thanks!

[Cartesia]

Summer - Sure & Secure

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-.../dp/B0009RG8R8

You need two of them and once you put them together they can adjust to fit around a twin or a full. We also use bungie cords under the mattress to keep the sides close - otherwise there is too much of a gap.

Expensive, yes. Absolutely worth it? I think so. This arrangement has been wonderful for us.

[rzberrymom]

We just put the mattress on the floor and skipped the bed frame.

[akind1]

does your LO have a night lite of some sort? if you are worried about falling due to inability to see?

we are thinking about transitioning early also, but with the toddler bed in our room . . . I wish there was just room for a twin mattress on the floor, but there isn't.

[Lilygoose]

My DD was about this age when we first tried transitioning her to a toddler bed. We had the bed in our room. When we were still awake we would just leave the door open a crack, our bedroom is pretty central to our living room and we would hear her if she got up or cried. Once we went to sleep I just gated the room. My DD also comes into my bed in the middle of the night still, but b/c its in the same room this isn't a problem. She did occasionally fall out of the toddler bed at first, but its really low to the ground and she has always been a sturdy girl, so she never really "hurt" herself. And after a couple of tumbles her body learned where the parameters of the bed were. She hasn't fallen out in ages, and she typically sleeps close to the edge. When she was your DD's age, although she could get out of the bed, she typically did not upon waking. She would either cry (if it was the middle of the night) or call for me if it was after her nap. Now she's almost 2 and she just gets up and comes into bed with me or comes out of her room when she's done with a nap to find me.

[sillysmile]

Thank you, Cartesia, for the recommendation! DD occasionally rolls toward the edge during the night. I usually notice and reposition her when I'm lying next to her, but if she were in her own room I think that I'd feel more comfortable with a gate to stop a potential fall (even though the mattress is on the floor).