[musikat]

First, a little background. My son is 20 1/2 months old and has been sleeping in his crib nicely since he was about 15 months. Before that, he mostly slept in our bed. Now, I'm pregnant and due in January. We are painting and doing a bunch of remodeling on the house (including the nursery) and I'm wondering whether this is a good time to buy the toddler bed and just have it in the room along with the crib?

Eventually the two boys will share a room and the new one will use the crib, but not for several months. The new baby will be in our bed or the pack and play in our room for AT LEAST the first six months, so there's not necessarily any hurry. And I don't think I'm ready to try my son in the toddler bed yet. I just wondered whether, since we are moving furniture around anyway in there, this would be a good time to introduce the bed, and maybe read books and cuddle there, just to get him used to it for whenever it becomes appropriate? OR, is it better to introduce it much closer to the time he will actually sleep in it so the "novelty" of it might entice him to sleep there?

Also, for those of you who have toddler beds, how much weight will they take? Basically, I'm wondering if I will be able to sit/lay on it with him to read to him, etc., which is part of my "plan" if I go through with buying it now. And where did you get your toddler beds? Is Babies r us a good place? on-line?

Thanks!

 

[5796]

I don't have anything brilliant to say except that we got a toddler bed at Ikea. We put in in our room when ds was 22 months. he usually falls asleep on our bed next to me. I then transfer him to the toddler bed and probably somewhere around 4 or 5 he wakes up and crawls into bed with us.
evenutally we'll move it into his room but for now he is befriending his bed...somewhat nocturnally.

not much more insight than that to share.

 

[Irishmommy]

I only have a toddler bed 'cos it was given to me, otherwise dd2 would have gone straight to a regular twin (as dd1 did). Don't forget, you will need crib mattresses for both bed and crib.

My toddler bed, I believe, holds 150 pounds, but it's not comfortable for lying on with her.

 

[carminex]

Dd loved playing in the toddler bed but when it came to sleep she was scared adn wanted her crib. She sleeps great there and can stay in there as long as she will fit!!! Our neighbors gave us another crib for the new baby so we don't have to force the switch. I don't think the toddler bed is big enough or strong enough to hold you reading books. They are the same size as a crib and our has a thing at the bottom so your feet couldn't hang off.

 

[Trishy]

If you are going to buy a bed I would say go straight for the twin bed. A toddler bed will be outgrown in a few years and a twin will allow for you to climb in and give snuggles if he needs them.

 

[luckylady]

I agree with Trish. Most of my friends who bought toddler beds, by the time the child was used to a bed, they were ready for a regular bed. We have a twin matress we keep on the floor in our BR for DD to nap on. I also move her down there when I get up the AM - so she wakes up there as well.

 

[Very Snoofly]

Our toddler bed (from Babies R Us) will only hold 50 lbs, and it has bars on the side that pretty much preclude any snuggling. It was a present from my inlaws--I would've preferred going straight to a twin, but oh well. My daughter loves it, though--meaning, she loves to sit there and read books by herself or play with her dolls and stuffed animals. The major benefit is that it's short enough for her to climb on and off of herself, but not so high that falling off would be dangerous. She had refused to sleep in her crib for about three weeks before we got it so the transition was not a problem. (She still comes to bed with me around 1 or 2 a.m.)

 

[ja mama]

We put the toddler bed in with the crib 6 months befor eI was even due. ds was 22 months. He wanted to nap in it at first maybe once a week he'd ask and we'd let him, then once he was pretty reliable we'd ask him every nap or bedtime where he wanted to sleep, if he wouldn't choose he got the crib (neg associations). By the time Andrew was born he was totally in the toddler bed. We called all the second-hand stores around us until we found one. It supports me (110 pounds) with him, but it is NOT comfortable to be all smashed up trying to cuddle him, especially if it's longer than just reading a book. I wish we would've went straight for a twin right on the floor. He doesn't want to give up his 'cozy' bed for a bigger one now, even though he sleeps on the floor in a 'nest' almost every night.

 

[Jillerina]

I have no first hand experience (DD has been on a twin matress since she was 9 months old when she is not in bed with us) with toddler beds but my good friend just bought one from IKEA for her 18 month old. She was not planning in having her DD sleep in it right away but surprisingly as soon as her DD saw it in her room she climbed right in and hasen't looked back!

The cool think about this bed is that it converts to a twin bed and as a result has no weight limit like other toddler beds may have.

 

[DarkHorseMama]

A couple of months ago, we started the transition into a "big girl" bed for our DD who was ~22 months old at the time. Since she shared a family bed with us, I didn't want to go to a toddler sized bed in the event that either DH or myself would need to cuddle or sleep with her occasionally. We have two guest bedrooms upstairs, so we brought one of the mattress sets downstairs to our bedroom for her new bed.

We set everything up, got some Hello Kitty sheets and a moon and stars quilt....boy! Was she excited!

She talked non-stop about her new bed to anyone who would listen. It warmed my heart because I *knew* she was ready to transition and it wasn't a case of us pushing her into something.

Granted, because of the layout of our house, she is still in our bedroom. Our king-sized mattress is pushed next to her full-sized one (both off the frames) so it's kind of like having one giant bed except she definitely has "her" space now. Since we're expecting to add a new addition to our family bed in February, DH and I both wanted to start the transition several months prior to the anticipated birth. Fortunately, everyone is sleeping nicely now and we do enjoy the nightly ritual of snuggling and reading books in her bed. Heck, all three of us (and the dog!) pile in there sometimes. Can't imagine trying that in a toddler bed.