19mo has started trying to climb out of cot - recommendations for bed guards for move to bed etc please!

[Bellepink]

Caught DD giggling and putting her foot on the top of the cot side. It can't be long before she climbs out. Have got a single bed already in nursery, should I take the side of the cot off or just move her to the spare bed? WWYD? It's not a drop-side cot BTW but I can take off the whole side.

Also, what are good bed guards because she is a big climber. The spare bed is a single but not a child bed so it's average single-bed height off the floor (rather than the lower child's bed height). It also has high wooden head and foot boards, do toddlers try to climb over these do you think? The head and one side are against the wall but the foot board has nothing beyond it.

If I do move her to the bed, would I be better getting a clip-on bed guard or those special fitted sheets that somehow act like a sleeping bag and pin them in bed. Do they work, in anyone's experience? If anyone's got the bed guard, are there any nice looking ones, in white preferably?

Also, can anyone recommend a spring loaded gate for the door? This is one active, nosy and busy toddler so it all has to be toddler proof!

TIA.

I always thought that there would be a market for a cot with a lid on it.

Seriously, though, when ds1 started climbing out of his cot, I moved him into the travel cot - the sides were a bit higher, and he couldn't get purchase on the sides to climb out. That held him until I felt he was old enough for a bed.

LOL @ cot with lid!

I do have a travel cot but it seems a bit flimsy for every day use.

Anyone else got experience of moving toddler to a bed?

we have a lindam bedguard for dd3, don't think any of them are that great looking. It only covers the top end of the bed so she can get herself off at the bottom of the bed no problems. I do like the all in one bed covers but they are not cheap and don't allow you to change one bit of the bed if needed. When dd1 was little we just put the cot matress on the floor next to the bed in case she rolled out, as it happened I don't think she ever did.

Hi Belle, TBH, I didn't bother with bed/cotsides. I found that child beds are quite low anyway, so even if your LO does fall out, they usually end up a bit shocked with maybe a bump.

You could put your LO into a child bed and, when she stops falling out of bed then you could probably put her into a full sized single bed.

My DS did it that way and was in a full sized single bed by the age of 3yo.

Put the cot mattress on the floor next to the bed (as bigcar suggests).
Put the duvet on sideways, tucked under the mattress, so it's hard to roll out.
Only bother with a bedguard if you are really worried about her rolling out, it certainly won't stop her climbing out. (They aren't all that long).

My hv suggested putting the single bed matress on the floor for my dc because all of them got to the climbing out stage fairly early. Worked a treat, and it also meant that it was easy for me to bunk in with them if they were ever poorly. We then moved them to normal single beds with the cot matress beside it, and they soon got used to being in a bed. Never bothered with a bed guard, we did buy one for dd1 but it was rubbish.

DD moved to a single bed (wooden, a bit lower than a normal divan, with head and foot board, but in alcove of room) when she was 18 months, I have a baby dan white wooden guard, she has only fell out once (last week) she's now three.
If you are really worried. I'd put the mattress on the floor.

Thanks all! Some really great suggestions.

Another query though, DD is currently in a gro-bag, should I keep her in that or get a duvet? Do they kick duvets off in the night and get cold? I like the idea of putting it on sideways so it tucks her in tight and I don't think she does too much moving around once asleep. (but then I wouldn't know because it's hard to tell from a cot).

My ds did stay in a grobag because for reasons unknown he never wandered in it, but not the dds. I bought the fleecey sleepsuit with feet things as suggested by maryz for dd2, and she also liked the small size snuggle sacs, or even normal pjs with socks. Dd1 was fine with a normal duvet.

Mothercare did the fleecey things last time I looked.