Moving to a "Transition" Bed

Updated on March 08, 2009
D.D. asks from Keller, TX
4 answers

Update: we are transitioning because my little "monkey" has climbed out of her crib twice, both times landing head first. Hello fellow moms...I'm looking for advice on moving my daughter to a transitional bed. She is 19 months old. We have the Simplicity 4 in 1 crib. My husband just converted it today...it is a daybed with a small rail at each end. My daughter does very well with climbing in and out on her own but she was so used to standing in her crib and when she tried this time, she fell out head first. Should we try a toddler bed that's lower to the ground, a longer rail or is it just an adjustment thing? Any ideas on teaching her not too stand up? Has anyone ever heard of putting a soft mat on the floor or know where we could get one? One thing to keep in mind is that my daughter is epileptic and we are supposed to limit her head trauma. She also has speech delays so I'm limited in teaching her...she doesn't have much comprehension. Thanks ahead of time for your responses.

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So What Happened?

First, I would like to thank all the moms for their input and advice on this subject...it was greatly appreciated. I am happy to report that thanks to my husbands clever thinking we have solved our problem. I was dreading the idea of getting rid of my 4 in 1 crib so we improvised! While shopping for toddler beds my husband got the brilliant idea to use a memory foam pad a a cushion beside our current transition bed so if she fell she would have a soft landing. We bought a 4" memory foam pad and put it right in the floor all the way against the bed. It is perfect!! It worked like a charm. My daughter fell once and she just laughed. She even enjoys just laying on the pad. The bonus is that when she no longer needs it we can put it on our bed. (we bought a queen to fit). It doubles as a play mat so we don't have to pick it up when she's awake. I'm very proud of my husbands quick thinking.

More Answers

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T.T.

answers from Dallas on

My DD has PDD/NOS (pervasive developmental disorder)/ High functioning Autism, so I know what you mean about speech delays.

We moved our daughter from her crib to a Full size bed when she turned 2 1/2 and put a LONG rail on the side because she is all over the bed. To her it is like her crib but knows not to stand in it and says in it for the most part.

Her crib is like yours but chose not to convert it to the toddler bed because she would stand in it and also she needed more room to flop around because she would fall out.

NOTE: remove the crib all together when you buy a new bed...she will get confused. Found this out the hard way...my DD kept trying to move to her crib.

So my advice...MOVE TO A FULL SIZE BED and add a EXTRA LONG RAIL and leave enough room at the bottom end of the bed for her to get in and out on her own but the rest of the bed is secure. Chose a bed with a Head and Foot board.

Full size bed is better so if she has a sizure she has plenty of room in the bed without hurting herself.

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A.C.

answers from Dallas on

Unless she is trying to climb out of the crib I would hold off on transitioning for her safety given her problems. When we put our daughter in a toddler bed at 21 months old we threw a few big floor pillows (cheap at Garden Ridge, but I had them for our reading area) around her bed. She hasn't ever actually fallen out, but she likes to "play" like she is falling out because the big pillows are soft and fun. Our crib converst to a daybed too, but because our daughter stood in the crib all the time we decided to get a cheap toddler bed and use it. She has tried standing on it, but we told her that wasn't okay and she hasn't tried again (she's pretty easy going in that area).

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K.M.

answers from Dallas on

Hi D.:

I'll just tell you what I did for both of my boys. It worked great, but I did have to put a child lock on the inside of their bedroom doors so they couldn't get out in the middle of the night - after the 'Sharpie marker incident'.

I went right from the crib to a twin size mattress on the floor (with a guardrail). I got their 'big boy' bedding and had it done up really cute. A couple of months later, I added the box spring. Then a couple months after that, the bed. It was such a nice gradual transition.

I always thought that putting a crib size mattress on the floor might be too small and that they would fall out of it too often and not get used to sleeping on the mattress.

Good luck with your big girl!

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K.R.

answers from Dallas on

Unless she is climbing out of her crib and you are worried about her getting hurt I would keep her in her crib. My boys are language dlayed also and they are 27 months and I still have them in their cribs. I plan to keep them there until they climb out or just get too tall because it is nice to have a safe place to put them.

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