Considering a toddler bed for my 21 month old. Will it be a disaster?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

DS sleeps in a crib for the most part. He does not STTN, never has. He ends up in my bed most nights, sometimes not long after bedtime, other times he'll join me for the last hour or so of sleep. He typically wakes up 1-2 times each night, and it depends on his mood if he'll let me put him back down in his crib after nursing back to sleep.

My main issue with our crib is that it is a drop side. I wouldn't worry, except that when DS wakes up he treats it like a trampoline. He jumps up and down, hard, until I come get him. He is really not a big fan of the crib. He shares a room with our 4 year old, and constantly asks to sleep in big brother's bed. He has napped there a few times with no problem. I just nursed him down, then when he woke up he came to find me.

I think my main concern is the middle of the night wakings, and him having the freedom to walk around. Putting him in our room is not an option. We really want to move away from him being in our room at this point. If he is having a rough night he is welcome there, but his bed will be in his room.

I'd love to hear about other experiences with putting a young toddler in a toddler bed.

[thedenverduo]

We are not quite there yet with our 13mo ds. But we have been thinking about this because I'm fairly sure we'll move ds to a toddler bed early. We are also worried about night wakings and you know, what if he wakes up and we don't hear him and he just wanders around the house exploring?

I don't know what your layout is at your house, but we have thought about basically corralling him to our room with baby gates and super baby proofing his room. We would put up gates or close doors so his only options are to be in his room, the hall, or our room.

What about starting out with the toddler bed in your room so he gets used to what he's supposed to do when he wakes at night?

HTH!

[confustication]

Both our youngest are in their own beds- at ages 1 and 2. My oldest moved to a toddler bed at about 18 months. I used baby gates to ensure safety, but they actually sleep better (for us) when they are in beds instead of cribs.

[ellegoat]

We just moved our 21 month old to her own toddler bed, once she could climb out of her crib by herself, and it's worked surprisingly well. I thought she'd stay in her bed knowing she could so easily get out, but she'll stay in her bed once she knows it's bedtime, or she'll get out and get in by herself when told to.

She's in our room, but in your case I think you could keep the bed where the crib was, and if he wakes up in the middle of the night and comes to your room (or calls to you from behind the gate), you could just walk him back to bed. You could sit with him until he falls asleep at first or walk away quietly once he's settled in.

[faithsstuff]

try the toddler bed mama. We partially cosleep with our 21 month old. We sidecared a crib that I broke while turning it into a fort. After that we put his mattress on the floor next to ours. Even with the mattress he was still in our bed everynight. He was getting longer, and I wasn't getting any sleep. He loves his toddler bed at the same level as and against our bed. This is the first time he's stayed in his own bed. He takes a nap in it and when he falls asleep in our bed, we just scoot him over onto it. Eventually we'll move it away from our bed, but mama and dady aren't ready for that yet

[pbjmama]

We started my ds on a twin on the floor at 12 months. Wasn't a problem in our small house. I've heard from other crib users that sometimes older children who have been in cribs don't realize they can get out of bed with out a parent.

[redvlagrl]

We moved DD to a twin futon on the floor at 14 mths. We totally childproofed her room. Now she can open the door but doesn't roam at night

[NewMoonMum]

I think as long as you are scrupulous about childproofing and invest in a gate or two, you'll be fine. DS got his own room when we moved, he was about 18 months, then a toddler bed just after he turned 2. His room was completely baby-proofed, and we bought an extra gate so we could keep his door open if we needed, and just stack them 2-high so he could not climb it(and the cats would leave him alone!)
Now even during his quiet time(sans gate) he still does not wander out of his room.

[lifeguard]

We moved ds to a twin bed when he was 18 months. We got rails for the bed & a gate for the door & keep the room ds safe. He surprisingly never gets out of bed though. He just sits there & calls for me, even though is totally capable of getting on & off the bed.

I actually found things improved when we moved to the bed 'cause it is so much easier for me to nurse him down & easier to settle him in the middle of the night if he wakes.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by lifeguard

We moved ds to a twin bed when he was 18 months. We got rails for the bed & a gate for the door & keep the room ds safe. He surprisingly never gets out of bed though. He just sits there & calls for me, even though is totally capable of getting on & off the bed.

I actually found things improved when we moved to the bed 'cause it is so much easier for me to nurse him down & easier to settle him in the middle of the night if he wakes.

This is what I am seriously hoping for.

Your answers have been so reassuring and helpful!! We are going to go for it. I found a couple of toddler race car beds on craigslist that I'm going to look into. I asked DS today if he wants a bed. He nodded and said "RACECAR!! Night night." Then I asked if he would sleep in it and he said "Noooooo. Mommy." (Meaning, "No, I sleep with Mommy." ) Then he laughed his little head off. He has the nuttiest sense of humor. We'll just have to see what happens!