Moving from cot to toddler bed

[MrsKJB]

This is my first post here on mumsnet so if this isnt the right place to post this or has been covered before i am sorry. Here goes!
My DS will be 14months when my second baby arrives in November and we have been considering all the options before purchasing another cot/bed. Have other people put their LO in a bed at around this age or are they all nearer 18months to 2 years???
DS has started walking and is able to get off mummy and daddys bed and sofa without falling (most of the time)!!
As he has to change room i will move his normal cot with him for a few months but we are unsure of what to do after that. Any ideas?

[Bozza]

Hmm not sure I can be of much help. I had a 3.3 year gap with mine and moved them both to full size single beds at just over 2. Is there no-one you could borrow a second cot off?

[housemum]

Do you have a carry cot/moses basket for the new LO to prolong it for a couple more months? I have had friends who have moved 18 month olds to beds OK. If you can afford it, Mothercare and IKEA do extending beds. We have one of these - it's a low bed, which has a cot bed size mattress and 2 foam sections you add to the ends of the mattress when you extend it to single bed size. It may feel a little more cosy than a full size single bed (and if you have a large cot you may be able to use the same bedding which would be comforting), and it is low to the ground so falling out isn't a problem - LO is unlikely to hurt himself.

[nimbs]

i've only just moved my ds to a normal single bed but he's 2 1/2 - his sister is still in her moses basket- if it hadn't worked ie he wouldn't sleep we were planning on using the travel cot for his sister when she out grew her moses basket - until he was older - maybe this is an option for you at lest your ds will be contained so to speak!! I'm of the opinion to keep them in their cots for as long as possible!! Ikea also do a v.cheap cot i think for £28 - so if you prefered to buy a 2nd cot?

[BABY2]

i moved ds1 to full size single bed @ 22 months to get him out of of the cot-bed (still used with sides on as a cot )so new baby now 8 weeks could have it without him fealing that the new baby took it from him, Bless him, he still dosn't get out of it till i go in to get him, he lays awake for over a hour in the morning , without getting out till i go in. He has a bed rail to stop him falling out during the night.

[vivie]

Definitely get another cot. 14 months is too young for a bed imo. Even if your ds doesn't fall out of a bed he will climb out when you don't want him to - last thing you need when you're having broken nights with a baby is a toddler getting up and wandering around too. If he's in a cot you'll be more likely to keep his naps going or at least fill it up with toys and books etc and persuade him to have a rest while baby2 naps and you get to put your feet up.

[CountTo10]

We put our ds in a specific toddler bed (rather than full on bed) at 17 mths purely because he was not comfortable in his cot anymore. We had bed guards etc and involved him in the building of it etc to make him feel part of it. He loved it and although the first week or so was difficult as there was the novelty of being able to get out of it, he adjusted really well and we haven't looked back. What I would say is that they do say its not a good idea to do it when there is a nubie in the house so it might be best to get it done before otherwise leave it for a couple of months after.

[jessicaandrebeccasmummy]

We put Jess in her bed at 16 months and have never looked back - we had 1 night where she fell out at about 2am and she has been fine since.

We havent even had a problem with her getting up and wandering - maybe lucky, but she was so squished in her cot (she has just turned 2 and is in 3-4 yr clothes) it has been a godsend.

By the time she comes out of the toddler bed, Becky will be ready to go in it, so we will buy her a big bed then.

[MatNanPlus]

I would either use a travel cot with the new baby or buy a ikea cot and leave him in his cot for as long as he is happy in it, I have had charges still happy in their cotbeds with sides till 3yo!

[hulababy]

I owould buy a crib for the baby to sleep in for the first 3 months or so, and then move your DS into a todddler bed at 17/18 months.

DD went into a toddler bed at 18 months and we never looked back. She didn't like her cot but loved her big girl's bed.

[MrsDoolittle]

I've just been through this. There is 22 months between my children.
I put ds into a crib for 6 months.
I have just given dd her own full-size single bed and moved ds into the cot.
Both are happy with this.

[Olihan]

My ds went into his toddler bed at 14 months. We bought it because I was pg with dd and wanted him to be used to seeing the bed before she was born. The first night it was in his room he demanded to sleep in it so we let him and that was that. He's never fallen out of it, it's got rails that go about 1/3 of the way down and for a while we filled in the rest of the gap with a bed guard but TBH the bed guard was more of a hassle because he couldn't get out safely.

At the end of the day, you know your child and if he can confidently climb in and out he's not going to be in any danger. Plus, as others have said, baby won't need the cot for a couple of months, by which time he'll be that little bit older.

[Bozza]

My DD is also one that will not get out of her bed - either after her nap or in the morning until I go and get her. She is 2.3.

[MrsKJB]

thanks for all your messages, I will discuss it with DH and see what he thinks. We do have a crib for new baby so might be able to put off changing his bed for a couple of months after the baby arrives and someone said he will be a bit older then. Will also look at the extending bed as that sounds like a brilliant idea. There is also a cot we might be able to borrow.
thanks everyone for your replies, now we have even more to think about!!!!
Kate