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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

cot to bed? and when and what's best?

23 replies

tab · 18/09/2004 16:41

Has anyone recently done the transition from cot to bed. DS is 2 and 3 months and we're thinking about it because we've got to buy some new beds anyway cos a load of relatives are coming to stay next month.

Thinking of going straight for a grown up bed but want somehting fairly near to the floor that isnt a futon. Has anyone bought similar recently for their ds or dd? and how did the transition go? Did you use one of those barrier things that you clip on?

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Furball · 18/09/2004 16:53

Luckily the fashion at the moment is for quite low beds, which is good as when we put DS in it (just before age 2) - He didn't have far to fall!! It also mean't he could get in and out of it with no trouble. We just put the cot matress on the floor next to the bed for a few weeks so, if he did fall it wasn't too bad. In fact I think he did fall out one night, landed on the cot matress but didn't even wake up. We also put a stair gate on his bedroom door, to stop him 'wandering' in the night, but took that down after about 6 months.

We bought This one from Argos. Who also do other low beds, depending on your budget.

LIZS · 18/09/2004 18:36

We bought a Flexa (Danish) bed for ds and are about to buy another one for dd. ds went into it at 2 1/4 at a low level with the full wooden bars around, then at 4 1/2 we added the mid height legs and ladder to create a mid height cabin bed. dd is 3 but small so has been in her cot with side off but is now starting to feel cramped , roll out and generally sleep less well so the time has come.

These beds are so flexible - you can add different height legs , slide, put two together to make traditional bunks or in an L shape. They come in natural pine or whitewash finish and have accessories like curtains to make dens, towers to make a castle, clip on side tables and so on. You can also add pull out under beds or drawers for the low level which is fine and solid for a toddler to get on and off.

Furniture Village used to do them but we found ours at a local store where it was on promotion.

essbee · 18/09/2004 18:40

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Demented · 18/09/2004 18:46

My DS2 has just moved into a bed at 2 years 3 months, so far so good (DS1 was a nightmare, DS2 seems to understand that he is supposed to stay in his room). His using the IKEA extendable bed which has a guard on it already, the bed grows and eventually ends up the size of a single bed and you can take the guard off.

Original poster

tab · 18/09/2004 19:13

thanks, furrball - Id forgotten about argos. was it a pain to put together?

LIZS those flexa beds sound good but do you know of anywhere that does them - I might look on the internet.
I did see the IKea extendable one but dont you have to have an extra kind of matress cushion - I thought that might be a bit funny when they were older.

OP posts:

logic · 18/09/2004 19:19

I was going to post a new conversation about this yesterday but didn't get round to it. I am moving ds into a proper single bed in a different room tonight and I'm expecting trouble. He is only just 2 but he's had access to the new room as a playroom for weeks now and loves it. Any tips for making the changeover easier?? I've got a Tomy bedguard and a nightlight already...

Sorry for hijacking your thread, Tab

Original poster

tab · 18/09/2004 19:57

No dont apologise logic. wish you lots of luck. Tell us how it goes tomorrow! Hopefully your ds will be so chuffed that he'll stay in it all night.

OP posts:

Twiglett · 18/09/2004 20:19

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LIZS · 18/09/2004 20:22

Have look at the Flexa site here where they may be able to give you a list of stockists and here is site of a UK stockist who delivers. Unfortunately it isn't the cheapest furniture around.

prefernot · 18/09/2004 20:50

I'd be really interested in getting one of those 'flexa' beds but couldn't find a picture of how it looks as just a straightforward first bed for a 2 year old. Also couldn't find any prices!

misty · 18/09/2004 20:58

Looks like it's the night for it!!! We just decided (well, been thinking about doing it for months but finally got round to organising it today!) to move our 2 yr 7mth ds into a proper bed. He went to bed at 8pm and still not asleep - has got out of bed about 10 times !
I suppose it's quite a shock for them, having all that space after being couped up in the cot, and to be honest ds wasn't making noises that he was uncomfortable in the cot, we just thought he looked very cramped!
Good luck all!

Furball · 18/09/2004 21:19

tab - Dh says it was quite easy to put up and he's hardly a handy andy type.

deegward · 18/09/2004 21:59

Put ds2 into ds's1 cot bed about a three weeks ago now. He's 17mths, have a Tomy side on it, he loves it and took to it straight away, I think children are far more adaptable than we give them credit for. He climbs out if he really doesn't want to go to bed, but keep puttin back ina nd goes to sleep no problem at all, good luck all

eidsvold · 19/09/2004 04:56

we just bought a plain single bed for dd when we moved from the UK to Australia - figured after sleeping in a variety of travel cots and beds she may as well just move from cot at home to bed in new home. We have a bed guard and have had the odd bump in the night - usually when she is restless and has managed to turn upside down and sleep at the bottom of the bed......

We did start her with a matress for a few weeks whilst we waited for the bed to arrive - she was fine at night but during the day would just wiggle off the mattress when she did not want a nap.... the bed stopped that. She can climb down off her bed but at this stage shows no real desire to do so...

Her bed is standard size so not close to the floor iykwim.

She was under 2 when she went into her bed - perhaps about 22/23 months

Original poster

tab · 19/09/2004 09:00

Thanks for all messages. We're going to Dreams beds anyway today to look for other grown up beds so I'll look there, dig out the Argos catalogue and probably look on the net. I dont feel so worried about it now.

Did you all move to duvets or has anybody stuck to grobags?

OP posts:

logic · 19/09/2004 09:37

Well, that was a disaster! Ds wouldn't settle at all in his new room, he kept popping up like a meerkat and shouting "Room!". By 10pm we gave up and put him back into his cot. Tab, he's had a duvet in the cot for ages and generally sleeps on top of it...

eidsvold · 19/09/2004 10:05

dd sleeps in her grobag still... although she also had to duvet on a few cold nights...

eidsvold · 19/09/2004 10:06

coming into summer she will just have her grobag.

Twiglett · 19/09/2004 10:56

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prefernot · 19/09/2004 15:57

Dd is 23 months, almost 2!!!!!!!!!! , but is still in her cot and not being of the most physically adventurous dispositions, has never yet climbed out or even tried to. So I'm going to avoid beds for now.

But one thing I wondered about is how daytime naps in a 'big bed' work out? At the moment I sort of feel if it wasn't for the cot being relatively confining, dd wouldn't stay put in the daytime for her sleep. Wondered what those who've made the transition have found has happened with regard to daytime sleeps?

LIZS · 19/09/2004 20:53

Hi prefernot

Sorry basic pictures seem a bit scarce but have a look at here for the line drawings. The basic bed is top right and then you can choose which safety rails etc you want to add. We had one full length set and one 3/4, leaving an exit at one end. Then we could just add a set of mid height legs and straight ladder when he was ready although will probably get the sloping ones with handrail for dd. She has decided on the whitewash finish !

Twiglett · 19/09/2004 20:57

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prettycandles · 20/09/2004 14:15

Have a look at the Danish website.

We've also got a Flexa bed for ds. We've got the semi-high sleeper and it's been a great success. The only real drawback to it is that it's difficult to change the sheets when the mattress is so high!

Ds moved out of his cot at about 3.5y, IIRC. He had no interest in moving out, but was only a few cm shorter than the cot, so had no choice. We got him interested by letting him climb all over the beds in the bed shops, and by having him sleep over at my mum's on a proper bed. At my mum's he uses a clip-on barrier (the Babydan one, I think), but at home he has the built-on bar on the bed of course.

It took about a month before he realised that he could get out of bed if he wanted to!

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