Is my toddler trying to tell me she's ready for a bed?

[Enid]

Oh dear. Dd (2.7) is still in a cot. She has always been in a sleeping bag, but now we've taken it away (too hot, she didn't want it anymore) she is climbing, precariously, out of her cot. She has suddenly got it into her head that she doesn't want to be in her cot. This is accompanied by much crying and hysterics. For the last couple of nights I have sat by the bed until she's gone to sleep.

My first instinct was to move her to a bed. But she seems so freaked out and unsettled at the moment I'm worried that it might upset her even more. The problem seems to be a fear of being alone, but the cot seems to exacerbate it. I don't mind sitting with her till she goes to sleep as she works herself up into a right pickle otherwise. I sang endlessly on the first night, but tonight all she wanted was for me sit there in silence and she dropped off pretty quickly.

So I suppose my query is...should I move her to a bed? At least she won't hurt herself when she gets out (she whacked her chin this evening), but maybe it might unsettle her even more?

Could this possibly be due to the worry about a new baby arriving????? Or is it just her age?

Bluestar, surely cutting the legs off the bed seems a bit drastic??!!
My son had to go in to a bed when he was 18 months old as my daughter needed to cot. He fell out of the bed a couple of times (I put a duvet on the floor to soften the bump) but after a short time he was fine.

Good luck bluestar! I really wouldnt saw the legs off, just buy a low-ish bed - you'd be surprised at how quickly they learn to climb in and out. Dd fell out one night, but didn't even wake up and certainly didn't hurt herself. Sister's suggestion of putting a duvet or pillows round the bed is a good one.

Or putting the cot mattress beside the bed gives a soft landing, should he fall out.

Or, of course, you could buy a bed rail/guard thingy.

They do seem to learn pretty quickly once the cot rails are gone. We started by moving the side of dd's cot and got a few falling outs but it was very narrow and very close to the ground so quite understandable - only did this because she was adamant she didn't want a bed (age 2 3/4 !).

Eventually (following loads of advice from Mumsnet, sorry it wasn't acknowleged, kept waiting to see how things went.. !) we bought a low-ish pine bed from John Lewis. It's been the top banana thing this year and she loves it, she chose her own bedding and has fallen out about four times in four months. We borrowed a friend's bed guard but she still managed to slide her way around it onto the floor so I think for dd it just delayed her learning her boundaries (but she was quite old when she had her bed)