Jul 7, 2010

A Big Girl Room


As the new baby's arrival gets closer, I'm starting to think about Callie's "big girl room."  The problem is, I have no idea if I will need two cribs for a while or, at 23 months when the baby arrives, I could move Callie into a twin bed or something like that (I would be afraid of her rolling off!).  There's always the option of a toddler bed too...but then would I have to buy a new piece of furniture and everything for just a few months, only to buy a twin bed soon after?  We have this crib and have the option of doing a crib-toddler bed conversion, which seems like a good option, but then I would still need to buy another crib for the next baby?

Moms...help! What worked for you?  What did you do?  When are toddlers old enough to sleep in big bed?



I am currently loving light blue and pink for a girls' room, if you can't tell.  :)  Either Callie's room or the new baby's room if it's a girl...we'll see in a month when we find out the sex!

8 comments:

Lori said...

My personal advice is to keep her in a crib as long as possible!! That being said, if you don't want 2 cribs, you could probably get away with a twin bed. We moved Evan to a twin bed when he was 2-1/2. He fell out. He still falls out, and he's 4!! But he also had a new-found freedom being able to roam around the house at will, which is why I'd suggest leaving them in a crib as long as possible. :)

we first moved him into his twin bed we pushed his pack-n-play up against the bed so he'd roll over against it instead of off to the floor - he actually climbed into his pack-n-play and slept there the first night.

One last thing - I know of people who moved their 14 month-olds into a "big boy" bed so they didn't have to get a 2nd crib - it's possible to move kids that little, I would just think it's a more tricky...

Carry Grace said...

I think this depends on the child. We moved Cade to a toddler bed at about 18 months and had no trouble with him getting out of bed. He waited on us to get him out. We decided on a toddler bed so we could use his crib mattress, I thought this transition might be a little easier.

We moved him to a twin mattress on the floor at 3.5 to see how did with staying on the mattress. He is now 4.5 and we have moved his mattress on top of a box spring. He is a heavy sleeper and falls out of bed most nights. I'm starting to wonder if we will ever get to move his mattress to regular frame with headboard. It's not pretty, but I still don't want him falling out of bed.

The blue and pink is very pretty for a little girl.

Rebecca said...

ok...i feel kind-of funny commenting, since you don't even know me, and i have never commented before, but i'm hoping this helps! first..i just came accross your blog a few weeks ago and love it!
about the crib..i moved my first into a full size bed at 18 months because he was climbing out of his crib. he did fall out just a couple of times, but one side was against the wall and i think it helped that it was a full size. it was an issue that he didn't want to stay in his bed once he had the fredom of moving around. i moved my second to a toddler bed at 24 months because i was ready to change up her room a bit. the toddler bed i bought was from walmart, a cute little white sleigh bed for only $50. (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Baby-Relax-Toddler-Bed-White/13008311) it was perfect for the 6 months i used it before moving her into a big bed. i was able to resell it also for almost all i had initially paid. the only downfall to that is that you would have to purchase an additional crib mattress for the toddler bed that would be somewhat of a waste in the end.
if your main concern is her falling out, you could purchase a little side rail, or they also sell some super cute bolster pillow type things used to keep kids from rolling out. personally i feel the issue of them getting out of bed is going to come in time weather it is sooner or later. you will at some point have to deal with it.
good luck! can't wait to see how the room turns out!

Caitlin said...

We moved our son to a twin bed a few months before he turned 2 and he did awesome! Didn't roll out or get up... until he was about 2 1/2. Then he realized he could get up! It was terrible and we ended up stacking 2 clear gates in his doorway so he would stay in his room. He's 3 1/2 now and has a loft bed with a rail and does super. So it sounds like all kids are different. Haha. Good luck!

Nate and Natalie said...

I think it is completly up to you. Within one week, Elyse LOVES her new toddler bed and has NOTHING to do with her crib. Mostly toddler beds come with little rails so they won't fall out. We have also taught her that she can't get out until she calls for Mom or Dad. She's done great and I feel it will help her adjust when the baby comes. We also had her room decorated way back in November and played in it all the time. We called it "Elyse's room" and the nursery, "nursery". I think it helped her grow to love it and adjust to the change so easily.

Sydney said...

Ok, as you know I'm not a mom but this is what people who I babysit for do. At first they get the kid to get comortable with the bed. Maybe lay down with Callie and just read books during the day time. Then after maybe a day or whatever have her sleep in it. If she gets out, just put her back in and maybe lay with her. Have her bring a comfort doll or blanky. Put up one of those screen things that cling to the bed so that she can't fall out. The normal age to change from a crib to a bed is 1 1/2-3 1/2. I hope this helps and Good Luck to you and Kyle!

peter marie said...

We waited until a month before Harper was born and put him straight in a twin bed and bought one of those rails for one side and had the other side up against the wall. It really went better than I thought...he never tried to get out on his own for the longest time (now it's a little different!) Whatever you decide, I hope it's a smooth transition!!
One fun thing we did for Henry when the baby arrived was to have a gift for him "from" Harper at the hospital when he came. It was cute.

I love all those rooms!! I'm sure you'll have a blast doing her big girl room!

Kiki said...

With Sage, we waited until after Kolby was born to move him, he was about 23 months when we put him in a twin bed. He never fell out. We did buy one of those guard rails and had one side pushed up against the wall. Also, Sage never got out of bed without calling for us, we taught him that. But, I think it is a first born thing, meaning, he is a rule follower so when we told him to not get out, he didn't get out, when we told him to yell for mama and practiced it, he did it. Kolby followed his lead. Levi would do what he wanted regardless of instruction or correction!

But, you could probably find a decent/inexpensive crib on Craigs List and just buy a new mattress for it. And maybe paint it!

I know you'll make it adorable, no matter what you do!

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