Avery still happily sleeps in her crib and doesn't try to climb out. I'd like to get her out of her crib and sleeping in a bed, mainly because I want to get potty training going in earnest.

Have you found a toddler bed or bedrails on a regular bed work better? She loves the toddler beds at Pottery Barn Kids every time we go in there, but I'm not sure if it's a "novelty" to her or not.

If you do have bedrails, where did you buy them and what kind do you have?

Thanks!

tony's in a twin bed (since 17 months) with these bedrails (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000DH5TP/ref=ase_thenewparentsguide-20/104-4779971-3975101?v=glance&s=baby) his bed is up against a wall as well. i've actually been thinking of taking them off :lol: :


http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DH5TP.01.PT02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Rebekah went right to a twin bed from the crib because she was already too long for the crib and toddler beds are the same size so it seemed like a waste of money to me. We got a bedrail similar to the one Kim posted from Toys-R-Us.

We also got a bed rail similar to the one Kim posted, but only on one side and his bed is up against the wall.

Col - the bedrails Kim posted are the ones we have on Ashton's bed. Love them!

A toddler bed is a waste of money, IMO. If you really want the toddler bed concept, why not convert the crib? We moved Ashton out of the crib when she tried to climb out. I feel this is one of those things you have to go cold turkey on. Once Ash was out of the crib, there was no going back in there. I think going back and forth between a crib and any kind of bed will just defeat the purpose.

We have a toddler bed but ONLY because Julia's crib converts to a toddler bed OR a twin bed. I think going straight to a twin (or even double) with the side rails is perfectly fine!

Col - the bedrails Kim posted are the ones we have on Ashton's bed. Love them!

A toddler bed is a waste of money, IMO. If you really want the toddler bed concept, why not convert the crib? We moved Ashton out of the crib when she tried to climb out. I feel this is one of those things you have to go cold turkey on. Once Ash was out of the crib, there was no going back in there. I think going back and forth between a crib and any kind of bed will just defeat the purpose.

Our crib isn't a convertible one. We'd have to buy a toddler bed frame.

Our crib isn't a convertible one. We'd have to buy a toddler bed frame.

Oops, I thought it was.......then I would say go right to the bed with the rails.

We went from a crib to a toddler bed, only because my mom had a toddler bed frame already. We only used the toddler bed for a couple of months and then we bought her a new bedroom suit with a full size bed. She loves her BIG bed and looks so tiny in it. :lol: We do use bedrails because she moves all over the bed at night. We only have them on one side and I just put pillows on the other side. She seems to favor the right side so that is where we put the rail. My sister bought her bedrail at a consignment store called Once Upon A Child. I would skip the toddler bed and go straight to a bed with bedrails.

We have a toddler bed but ONLY because Julia's crib converts to a toddler bed OR a twin bed. I think going straight to a twin (or even double) with the side rails is perfectly fine!

Ditto!

If our crib didn't convert to toddler we'd go right to a twin bed (or full) too. And get rails.

Kaitlyn was into a twin bed with bedrail when she was 22 months old. We finally removed the bedrail a month ago - and she only fell out once in the first 3 days... and nothing after that :)

I have to agree with everyone who says that purposely going out and getting a toddler bed is a waste of money.

We have these bedrails http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/baby/B0000E0JDV/qid=1113249995/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/103-5064800-5693418

Her bed is not against a wall so we use both. James is always asking when we can take them off, but I'm so nervous about it seeing how sometimes her head isn't where it should be when I check on her. So, not quite yet. :)

I definitely say jump right into a regular twin bed and then get the side rail (or rails if you need 2). You will certainly get more use out of that than a toddler bed. :)

We had the same bedrails as Dawn. We used them from 7/04 when the big girl bed came to this past January. Caroline has only fallen out once in that time (last night, so I'm amused that this discussion is up now!). If you have a very tall child, I think it's better to go to the twin bed because the toddler bed uses the crib mattress.

The one Dawn posted is the one we have :nod:

We only had the bedrails up for a short time, as Aden did great w/o them the one night we decided to test and see how it went and he did great! It was a pain having them on, so I'm glad we don't need them anymore :aok:

We have these from One Step Ahead:
http://www.onestepahead.com/images/product/detail_views_jpgs/10353-dv-1.jpg

We like them b/c they are longer than most I've seen. We switched Emma into a full bed, because we were moving her into a different room and we already had a full bed in there. She still looks so tiny in it! :lol: DH wants to take the rails off now, too, but I don't think she's quite ready for it- I found her horizontal this morning.

DH wants to take the rails off now, too, but I don't think she's quite ready for it- I found her horizontal this morning.
Yup, exactly! :lol: THis sounds like Alexia. :lol: The way she's going (or shall I say sleeping), she'll be 5 yrs. old before we take them off! :lol:

We have these from One Step Ahead:
http://www.onestepahead.com/images/product/detail_views_jpgs/10353-dv-1.jpg
.

We have this one too. We like it.

We also just put Carter on the mattress on the floor for a while. That worked well to transition him.

Madelynn has a toddler bed and I plan on keeping her in it until she's potty trained at night. I'd rather have a pee soaked plastic mattress than a pee soaked regular one.

We have the same rails as Stef, too. I got them at Target instead of OSA, though.

Jackson went from his crib right to a full size bed with double rails and he did great. We still have the rails on, because he likes to sleep close to the edge. We just played up the whole big boy bed thing before we moved him and he did fine with it. I like that we can use it as he grows and don't have to worry about buying another bed.

We moved Colin at 23 months into a twin with a similar bedrail to what others posted. His bed's against a wall so we only need one.

But we moved Aidan to a loft bed at just a few weeks past 2. It's got a built-in side rail but it's not as high. He's not had a single problem. It's like this:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4db27b3127cce9b965ef72b6400000026108AbsWLFk0YtR (javascript:openSlideWin(1, '67b0de21b30f24334514', 39);)

Is my kid way behind??? Alex is just over 2.5 and still sleeps in a crib. Yes he climbs out in the morning but has never climbed out during the night. It does convert to a toddler bed but it will have one huge open side, which is a little scary. Could I use a bed rail?

We have a toddler bed, b/c it just fit better in the room than a twin and b/c I knew at least one other child (and now it will be 2) would use it, so to me, spending $70 was not a big deal... I think for potty training purposes it would be easier for a toddler to get out of a toddler bed herself as opposed to a twin bed with rails, but I don't know. Caroline naps in her bed, but sleeps in mine, so when she has to go in the middle of the night, she just tells me. At nap time, she wakes up and yells, so I guess that it probably doesn't matter what bed they are in if they are just going to yell for you! :lol: As Hilary put it though, if there are any pee pee accidents it is a whole lot easier to change and clean up a toddler bed than a big bed.

No, you're not ridiculously behind. Caroline didn't get a big bed until she was a month past 2.5 - she had never *once* tried to climb out. However, we had to do it because she was simply growing too long physically to stay in a crib (there was only 2 inches left before she would reach the crib from end to end).



Is my kid way behind??? Alex is just over 2.5 and still sleeps in a crib. Yes he climbs out in the morning but has never climbed out during the night. It does convert to a toddler bed but it will have one huge open side, which is a little scary. Could I use a bed rail?

We moved Aidan right to a twin bed w/ rails (same double rails Kim posted) , because we needed the crib for one of the babies. Initially, we put the mattresses on the floor, because he was only 16.5 months when we moved him and we wanted him to be able to get in & out safely. We removed the rails quite some time ago and he never fell out. The weekend he turned 3, we put the bed on the frame (finally) and he hasn't fallen out and he's a pretty squirmy sleeper. I dont know if he just has a sense as to where the edges of the bed are? :dunno: He naps in our bed (queen), and he utilizes the whole bed, so... :dunno:

Becky...... I dont think you're behind. If I can help it, N&E will still be in their cribs at 2.5!!!!!

I don't think you're behind either, Becky... Courtney loves her crib, and I'll keep her in it as long as she want to stay in it. Caroline just never really slept in the crib.

We moved Jordan to a twin bed at about 20 months. His bed was a little high so for the first month or so we put a twin mattress underneath. No bed rails or anything else, and to be honest, I think he might have rolled of once or twice, but then he found his boundaries.

I just wanted to add that you can buy a plastic mattress cover that zips over the entire mattress for twin beds (and maybe for full size beds, too). This way you don't have to worry much about "accidents," no matter what the size of the bed. Just clean off the plastic cover and go on. I have used Clorox wipes to clean off the plastic (especially for the middle of the night accidents) and then just put on new sheets.
My oldest daughter moved to a twin size bed at 19 months. We had one rail on the side and the other side was up against a wall. We left the rail on until she was about 2 1/2, but she never really even needed it. I think it was more for my peace of mind! Lol
My youngest daughter is 20 months and still in a crib. We do not own any more beds for her to move into and can't afford one at this time. We actually got a toddler bed recently for FREE from a nice person and she will move to the toddler bed very soon.
Someday when she outgrows the toddler bed, we will have to go out and buy her a new bed, but we plan to use the toddler bed for her as long as we can.
It is also a space issue for us. Her room is only 10' by 10', so the toddler bed will leave her more room for toys and other furniture!

Emily is 2 and 3 mos, and still happily in her crib. She & Molly share a room, so I don't know how things will work out once I move her to a twin/toddler bed. We are heavily leaning towards a twin mattress on the floor...just not sure yet. All depends on how things go when we go on vacation in July. We got a room with two queen beds, and plan to put both girls in the queen bed with rails (we'll get some and take with us). I'll still take our pnp in case it doesn't work out with both of them in one bed, but Emily won't fit in the pnp anymore, so I hope I can leave it in our van. DH said we also might just put the mattress from one of the beds on the floor.

Riley went into a toddler bed, only because I found a brand new one at a yard sale for $20. She just at age 3 went into a twin size bed.

And Amy, you can still borrow Riley's toddler bed if you want. I won't need it for Mr O for a couple of years :)

Shel, we're still thinking about it, mainly because I don't have much space in their bedroom for a twin bed!!