Cot bars off at age 1 - have i done the right thing?

[smoggii]

My baby was 1 two weeks ago, she is a big girl, has just started to walk and she has also just started to climb.

For a while she has hated her cot, bats at the bars and shakes them and screams to get out and the last couple of weeks she has been pulling up on the bars.

So today we turned the cot into a bed, she now has a pillow and duvet and we have lined loads of blankets alongside the bed to cushion any falls out of bed. We have a stairgate at the top (and bottom) of the stairs and the bathroom door is closed.

But have we done the right thing? Everything i read online says wait until babies are 18 months. Does anyone know of babies who have been moved to a bed atthis age?

Mine went into a bed at about that age. Safer than cot if they are climbing out. Only problem was getting the little darlings to stay in it at bedtime, but you get there in the end. We had a bedrail too but they just end up going round it anyway.

My son hated his cot-bed so much it lasted a week. Since then he's either co-slept with us or slept on a futon in his room. Never had any problems. We've yet to turn his cot bed into a bed but it won't be long. You could try a bed guard or those bed tube things to prevent roll-outs.

Hope that helps!

You've made me feel so much better, i've been threatening DH i'm going to get the bars back out of the garage, he didn't look happy and said next time i should google before not after the event!

She's not a baby that rolls about much in her sleep usually so fingers crossed.

I wouldn't say it's too early. As others have mentioned you could get a portable bed guard, which doesn't cover the whole length of the bed, allowing them a gap to get out. We tried no bed guard at first and the first couple days when we went up to bed we found DD asleep on the cushions we laid out for her at the side of the bed. She wiggled out from under her duvet as her room was a little warm. Sleeping soundly thou. Now she has the bedguard, can climb out, and generally feels happy about her new 'big girls' bed.

We've also got friends who moved to big bed fairly early and their daughter sleeps perfectly well, also.

I'd say see how your daughter gets on, and provided she sleeps well then no need to put sides back on.