I am checking every night before WE go to bed and sometimes he is asleep on the floor and we move him to his bed and other times he is already on his bed but again...how long does he stay there? Does he roll off? Here's where all my questions come into play.
My research on the subject of transitioning babies to toddler beds tells me for the most part he is not ready for this transition. He doesn't understand the concept, nor was he unhappy in his crib...he had just learned to get out of it and for safety reasons I thought "if he can get out, let's make it so he's not going to hurt himself and so he can get back IN". But now I am second guessing myself. I hate thinking that he is sleeping on the floor or rolling off in the middle of the night or just playing for the majority of the time he's in there alone. Right now it's 12:30 and I have gone back in his room 3 different times to make sure he's in bed and actually put him BACK in bed twice.
So now here are some thoughts I would LOVE mommy feedback on.
1) I can stick it out, see if he gets used to it. Not worry so much. I f he sleeps on the floor or plays through the night, oh well. (Knowing myself, this will be a tough one!)
2) We can bring the ACTUAL toddler bed over here (it's at mamaw's). The one that has little side rails so he is less likely to roll out unintentionally but he will still be able to get out if he's trying. My issue with this is just simply the comfort and normalcy of switching his bed on him. In the middle of moving him to a new house, switching his bed to a toddler and actually taking away the bed he's used to all together...I just don't know. Maybe it's not that big of a deal.
3) I can convert the bed BACK into a crib and hope that when he is sleepy he won't try to get out. At least it would be harder than getting out of the toddler bed but the risk of him getting hurt is greater.
4) I can get what they call a "crib tent" which basically just looks like a mosquito net/ pop up tent that goes over the top of the crib so he CAN'T climb up and over. This seems a bit harsh and kind of like baby prison but it might be the safest option until he understands the whole toddler bed thing?
So give me some feedback. I don't want to walk the halls every night until he can understand the whole "you have to stay in your bed till morning" speech. Closing him in his room will only work for a very very short period of time. I would say a couple weeks at most, he has already learned how to open some of the doors in this house and he is dangerously close to getting that doorknob thing down, then he will be free to roam the entire house at night and that just won't work.
3 comments:
I say crib tent or toddler bed. The tent is a good option just to make sure he is safe when you aren't watching him. There are so many issues in any room if he is unattended. Chocking on a small toy or something he finds, maybe sticking something in a plug, anything can become a hazard. Although his room is safe, babies are just crazy smart and can get into trouble so quickly. I think that would worry me more than sleeping on the floor. Plus, he is still young enough to need the confinement to get some rest. Maybe it will be a security thing for him for a while longer and allow him to drift off faster? I don't know. Each kid is different. If you don't like the tent, then the toddler bed with rail seems to at least teach him he has some bed boundaries and feel secure. It's a tough one. Kat starting climbing out of hers too and we switched to her twin cargo bed with rails.. Just so she wasn't so high off the ground when she climbed out.. LOL
I agree with Kimbrliann, toddler bed or tent. However, it might be too late for the tent since he has already tasted his freedom. The toddler bed will be safer than the crib at this point. I don't think he will have a problem losing the crib although you could leave it in the room for a few days when you bring the toddler bed over. Do not worry about him sleeping on the floor. He will be fine. Put him back in bed once when you go to bed if it makes you feel better, but don't drive yourself crazy. It won't hurt him at all. Just put a blanket on him. All my kids did this when they were transitioning from crib to bed. Make sure you have covers on all your outlets, pick up the tiny piece toys and relax. Before he learns to open the door you might consider putting a little hook and eye latch on the outside of the door.
Good Luck.
With both of my kids, when they learned how to climb out of the crib, (thanks daddy for teaching that, by the way)we just put a step stool by the bed so if they wanted to climb out, they could. But, they wouldn't roll out either. We actually never had a toddler bed. We went from the crib, to a twin mattress on the floor (so when they rolled off, they wouldn't get hurt), to a twin bed with a side rail on one side, the wall on the other side. We went through some time where we'd go check on them and learn to open the door very slowly because they were in front of the door.
I don't think the tent will work. He's tooooo smart and will figure out a way to rip it off and still get out.
Good luck!
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