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Toddler Bedrooms
So I know nobody is really on at night, but I finally got a moment on a functioning computer at work, and the stupid Mac laptop I have at home simply won't allow me to post on here- it just keeps re-routing me through the login process. So, please know I appreciate any feedback- but will probably helplessly read it and not be able to respond tomorrow when I'm back on the Mac 
Anyway, we are thinking ahead to a "big girl" room for Ais. I know Baby Bargains said toddler beds aren't worth it, and I tend to feel that they are expensive for a short time of use, but then I'm wondering what else to do. Do we get a regular size bed and bedrails? I just feel like she'll be this tiny girl in a big bed though. Is there another solution I am missing? We aren't looking to do this til summer, but I am in the idea-gathering stage right now. Any ideas are appreciated. Whatever we get, I want it to look like furniture, not chinsy character crap (i.e. the Princess toddler bed at BRU that looks like it would just break apart in two seconds). TIA
Re: Toddler Bedrooms
is her crib a convertable?
my best advice is dont make the transition until you HAVE TO. my experience w/ keira was this: at 2-1/2 she escaped and never got back in. ours was a convert, we never ordererd the part to make it a toddler bed, just took off the front part ( the crib was already low) she flat out refused. at this point we didn't order the conversion kit to make it a full size bed....here it was discontinued and took months to get once it was ordered. in the meantime, she insisted on camping out on the floor (nightmare)
soooo...when all was said and done, she got a full size bed. never got a rail, she just had her animals and a body pillow. i liked the full size b/c i would lay with her and read her stories at night. i will do the same with #2. i bought them both convert cribs...things was keira was 2 and a few months when ari was born and still in her crib....i didn't want to rush her out to give it to #2. you need to consider that also...do u pass down the crib of get another?
we lucked out on a great mattress clearance at macys....retailed for 1000 and go it for 300. also, i never had a video monitor until she escaped from her crib, i went out and got one the next day. it is tough, b/c they can wake up and wander at night. so my best advice is to try and figure out when she is ready to transition....dont rush her. godd luck
Ditto anna, I would not make the transition until you have to. Sam is still in her crib, I was actually just online looking at bedroom furniture for her! She is fine too, never tries to escape etc. But she is old enough to maneuver a twin bed so we will do it within the next couple months (mr. eagles is pushing it, I am content to let her be). I don't even think she will need rails
Charlie's crib was a convertible and we changed it to the toddler bed at 2.5, but only because he was SO big, the crib wasn't comfortable for him anymore. We converted it to a twin a couple months ago and he is doing great
anna - I told mr. eagles we had to buy the conversion kit right away, othe wise we never would!
DS 3.12.08
DD 7.11.09
DD 8.01.13
Our crib converted into a toddler bed but if it did not then I probably would buy a twin so DS would have more room to play in his bedroom.
I did buy a railing but I suggest you hold off until you are sure that you need it. We used it 1 night so that was a waste of $.
We moved DS up over 6 months ago. I know it's early compared to others but it felt like the right time (and I was correct).
Depending on how picky you are... you can try craigslist. A few moms I know usually sell their kids bedroom sets on there. Either way I HIGHLY suggest you get a new mattress.
Good luck!
What about Ikea? We're keeping Oliver in his crib as long as possible (hopefully until he's at least 3, or he starts to climb out). But when he's ready we'll probably get a twin or full platform bed from Ikea. We have a Malm bed in our guest bedroom and he can easily climb in/out of it. It's great. They're inexpensive but they hold up really well (it was our main bed for 6 years before we recently moved it into the guest room).
I think it depends on why you're moving her. I plan to keep DS's nursery in tact for babies 2 and beyond and move him out into a new room. Therefore I'm inclined to get a toddler bed as he may be too young/small for the real deal bed, and a toddler bed is less expensive than a second crib but can use his existing crib mattress. And I feel that I would use the toddler bed the same way - move em in, move em out - so he would be in it for a short time, say a year, but multiple times over.
Otherwise, I agree with the others and say keep her in the crib for as long as possible and wait until she's big enough for a real deal bed.
Brooks never took to his crib, I think he slept in it a total of two weeks, thanks to Ferberizing gone wrong. Plus at 10 months he was starting to climb out of it, he actually managed to do it one day and that's when the crib came down and the mattress went on the floor. This worked great for a long time, but it was hard for John and I to put him down. If he fell asleep in our arms we had to reach and bend all the way to the floor to lie him down or we had to lie next to his mattress until he fell asleep.
Around 13 months someone gave us a toddler bed and I set that bad boy immediately. It's been great for my dude, he can get in and out of it just fine, but that's the down side too. About a month after starting daycare (so 2 weeks ago) we would do our bedtime routine and then started asking him to get into bed by himself and he does EVERY night. But since toddlers move around so much I don't know that I would recommend a toddler to anyone.
If I had to do it all over again, I would not have done a crib at all and then transitioned him directly into a twin mattress on a box spring, or a low platform bed like the MALM that a pp suggested. Something where they feel a slight independence, but also cozy enough, and room to spin like a clocks arms all night long.
We transferred Drew to a twin bed in August when he was 20 mos. It is against one wall and has a rail on the other. I did buy a step, it's a double step, so he can get in and out. I put a gate at the door so he can't "escape" his room at night. I have all his toys in there and I made sure any toys that would need "supervision" were in our play area of the house vs. his room. (like things with strings, choking hazards, etc)
He did soooo well. I was scared crapless that he'd do terrible in the bed. Also we bought two twins because he will eventually share a room with his brother.
how the helll did he do that?
Thank you all so, so much! We had looked at Ikea, and I like a few things there, so we may go back and let DD check it all out a little more. I certainly do not want to rush her, but she seems interested in other kids' "big kid" beds, and loves our bed (my fault on that one), so I'm also wondering if she would be more content to sleep through the night without drama if she had her big girl bedroom set up. I really appreciate all the different viewpoints and opinions.
katieg- we also plan to use the nursery for any future babies. So while we bought a convertible crib, we also spent $$$ on nursery furniture and mural paintings we LOVE, which is why I don't want to dismantle or change any of that!
The great thing about the Ikea toddler beds is that they are very low to the ground. V also loves our bed and can get on and off of it easily, so that is why we felt we were not rushing her. (Also, her strong dislike for her crib.)
We had her check out the beds in the store before we bought one.
Good luck. Your nursery sounds fancy