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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Toddler bed at 10 months?

18 replies

hardboiledpossum · 03/01/2012 22:15

DS 10 months hates being in his cot and can now throw himself out of it even when in a sleeping bag. He mostly co-sleeps with us but is there any reason why I can't try him in a toddler bed now?

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Flisspaps · 03/01/2012 22:16

No reason at all if he can get out of his cot!

CanadaCalls · 21/01/2012 16:39

Hi Hardboiledpossum

I know this thread is a wee bit old now but just stumbled across it and wondered if you went ahead with the toddler bed idea?

My DS is 9 months old, and barring a few nights here and there, has always co slept with me (DP has been booted into the spare room)

We're moving soon and wanted to have another go at getting him to sleep in his own room so that DP can come back into the marital bed :o

We was thinking of getting a toddler bed (Kidkraft Sleigh bed) thats low to the ground, plus putting up a rail and also a spare cotbed mattress on the floor incase of tumbles. And of course using a baby monitor. Also baby proofing his room and putting a baby gate on his door.

I'm really not sure what to do as he isnt crawling yet and I just worry that if he falls he wont be able to move??

How did you go about the transition?

tigerlillyd02 · 21/01/2012 18:57

CanadaCalls If your child isn't crawling and walking yet, I wouldn't!

I thought the recommended age to move a child to a bed was between 18 months and 3.5 years. I thought I was extremely early with DS at 13 months but he'd been walking since 9 months and was more than capable of getting on and off the bed I bought himself.

To me, it's like leaving a baby on a sofa alone when they're not moving around much and not capable of getting on and off themselves. It's cause quite a nasty bump which is easily avoidable.

Albrecht · 21/01/2012 19:24

Adult mattress on the floor so not far to fall and you can co-sleep if necessary.

CanadaCalls · 21/01/2012 20:57

Really not sure what to do?! He doesn't move much at all in his sleep and I'll be safeguarding it as much as I can.

He absolutely HATES his cot and always has done. I'm talking hyperventilating crying type if hate! I've done the whole staying up all night trick and keep putting him back in his cot, several times but it just hasn't worked, we both end up upset at the end of it and still at square 1!

RubyrooUK · 21/01/2012 21:15

Canada - I second the idea of a single mattress on the floor. He can't fall far and if you make sure there are no dangers in the room and a gate on the door, he will be fine. Plus, if you are used to co-sleeping, you can lie down with your baby (big advantage over a cot).

My DS hated his cot and we moved him into a single bed at 10mo (with bedrails and gate on door). I didn't want a toddler bed as DH and I were worried we might break it if we shared with him!

One of us still shares most nights with DS as he sleepwalks with his eyes closed (he is 17mo now) so probably a mattress would have been a better idea but he loves his bed and can get in and out, so we are sticking with it and hoping the sleepwalking is a phase!

But there is no reason to stick with a cot if it isn't being used or liked - a mattress might be a better solution.

CanadaCalls · 21/01/2012 21:20

I think I'm gonna go for it! The bed we have looked at is really low to the floor and if anything I can just sit by it while he settled himself back to sleep.

I've noticed the last few weeks that when I get in the bed a couple of hours after him, he seems to wake up and then be unsettled the rest of the night.

Thanks everyone, my mind is made up :)

shouldabeenwashedinajug · 21/01/2012 21:24

How on earth does a 10 month old throw themselves out of a cot?

Surely the base isn't low enough if they're old enough to do that?

shouldabeenwashedinajug · 21/01/2012 21:24

able to do that, I meant!

RubyrooUK · 21/01/2012 21:34

washed Although my son wouldn't actually sleep for any time in his cot, he could climb out of it at its lowest level at 10mo when I tried to encourage him to nap there. He is tall for his age and became obsessed with climbing everything (stairs, sofa etc) at that age. And even when he didn't succeed in climbing, he would try and do it, resulting in him hurting himself and generally causing me stress.

So there are some pesky kids out there who can climb. My husband and his three siblings all fell out of their cots at around the same age, so it must run in the family!

shouldabeenwashedinajug · 21/01/2012 23:03

But, logistically, I mean, HOW do they climb it ruby? How did he get purchase on it - did he grip the bars with bare feet or something? Or could he just haul himself up and over by his hands? How did he actually do it?

RubyrooUK · 21/01/2012 23:18

Oh, right.

He would grab onto the underside of the top bar bit, then wedge his foot acrossways between two bars to give himself purchase, then push up and slide his arms forward, grabbing the top bar better. At that point, either he would fall back in the cot bashing himself, get stuck with his foot trapped (cue mental screaming) or would be able to wedge in another foot and push himself over the top. At least, that is what he did on the couple of times I caught him at it. It was a normal Mamas and Papas cot.

He has shown no great motor skills in any other area of life sadly. I was wildly predicting that by 12mo he would be scaling Everest.

shouldabeenwashedinajug · 21/01/2012 23:23

Nightmare for you, but respect to your DS ruby, that's pretty cool

RubyrooUK · 22/01/2012 13:16

Yeah, it's one of those life skills that will only benefit him if he becomes some sort of danger-loving, base-jumping loon.

smoggii · 22/01/2012 21:00

Our DD has just turned one and we weren't sure if we made the right move taking the cot off her cotbed. It's been a week now and so far (touch wood) no fall outs and she loves going into it bedtimes have been far less stressful, she just hated the bars.

CanadaCalls · 22/01/2012 21:50

Mine too smoggii!

The bars were a major problem, even when he was in his crib, he hated them with a vengeance.

I just think, in my Nan's day, they didnt have such things as cots and what not and they all seemed to survive (they dont make them like they used to ay)

I think a lot of aspects of motherhood in this day and age are dominated by what we are told we 'should and shoouldn't be doing' that makes us scared to be different and go with what our instinct tells us.

Mothers are the biggest critics of other mothers I think, someone always has an opinion on how you do things, sod the lot of them! Do what feels right for you and baby, if all goes wrong, you only have yourself to blame but at least it went wrong for a mis judgement made by yourself and not because you was told to do it!

Mummy Power!!

P.S - DS 10 months old and going in a toddler bed ASAP.....discuss or flame me, do as you will :)

Original poster

hardboiledpossum · 23/01/2012 18:23

Sorry only just saw this thread again. We haven't moved him yet, we're keeping him in our bed for a while longer but moving him soon. He is walking and quite a big now 11 month old, on 98th centile for both weight and height. He pilled up his teddies and climbed up the side I think.
Canada- let me know how it goes!

OP posts:

BexusSugarush · 22/11/2016 20:48

Just stumbled across this thread and have a similar situation. Have co-slept with my 11 month old for about half of her life and even though her cot is right next to us she absolutely refuses to sleep in it and I refuse to try controlled crying.

Letting her fall asleep on the bed then trying to lift, transfer and place her in her cot would wake her up 10 times out of 10 without fail and she won't even be left in another room without us without screaming the house down. Very clingy stage.

So I'm considering getting a toddler bed with a safety rail on the far side, push it up against our bed so she has the freedom to climb in and out, can be close to me but not practically ON me and I can easily sooth her if she wakes and gently put her back in her bed if need be. I thought this might be a good transition to getting her to sleep on her own while still having the comfort of being close to us.

What do you guys think?

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